Company description

About NEBHDCo, Communities for Healthy Food, and Youth Programs

Established in 1985, Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corporation (NEBHDCo) is committed to the preservation, development and management of affordable housing and homeownership opportunities; community and economic development initiatives and human services that effect social change in Central and East Brooklyn. NEBHDCo owns and operates 96 buildings comprising over 1,000 units of affordable housing. Our portfolio also includes 17 commercial storefronts and 8 gardens. Our Community Programs Department works across two broad areas:  Healthy Food and Living, and Tenant and Community Supports.  The Co-Facilitator works within the Healthy Food and Living program area.

 

Healthy Food and Living:

Golden Harvest Food Pantry, provides: Emergency food distribution on the main floor, supermarket-style client choice model; Increased availability of and education about fresh produce, including from local sources; Demonstration kitchen, classroom and benefits center.

 

Communities for Healthy Food Bed-Stuy, a food justice initiative, with a holistic approach to bettering the food system in Bed-Stuy through five main program areas: Urban Gardens and Farms; Advocacy and Community Building; Culinary and Nutrition Knowledge Sharing; Retail Work; Good Food Jobs.

 

Youth Programs at NEBHDCo

We believe that young people should have the opportunity to participate in their community and be seen and heard. Our youth programs empower young people to take action for change on food system and related issues on the local, regional, and even national level. We do this by having young people explore the current food system, vision what it could be, develop skills to grow and prepare their own food, and finally, engage in projects to improve the food system.

 

In 2014, we started two new programs for teenagers: FEEST (Food Empowerment Education and Sustainability Team) and the TurnUp Garden Youth Internship Program. Starting summer 2016, we have combined these programs to involve more teens, add more program hours, and deepen the curricula to increase youth leadership and involvement in food justice work. We’re calling this the Growing Youth Power Project. A 2-tiered program introduces new participants to urban farming, food justice, cooking from scratch, and job skills through a 5-week summer program. These new participants are led by two adult facilitators and peers participating in a new 7-week advanced track. The advanced track goes deeper into skills introduced in the beginner track, building new skills in leadership, workshop design and facilitation, and peer engagement. Food grown in the summer programs is donated to our Golden Harvest Food Pantry, increasing access to fresh and local produce in our neighborhood. During the school year, our FEEST leadership program recruits youth to co-lead monthly youth drop-in dinners and develop and design and implement food justice projects.

Job description

JOB DUTIES

Administration

Support and Assist the Youth Programs Organizer to:

• Create program materials for TurnUp Garden Internship Program.
• Organize special events for youth food justice programs – field trips, harvest festival, graduation, conferences, etc.
• Purchase and organize program materials.
• Work with a program evaluation consultant to implement program surveys and other data collection.
• Collect and store program documentation, such as photos, time sheets, and youth work products (like presentations or videos).
• Ensure youth timesheets are complete and ready for processing by scheduled pay dates.

 

Curriculum Design

Support the final development of the TurnUp program curriculum: review curriculum drafts, advise on future drafts and program components and familiarize self with all lesson plans.

 

Curriculum will include:

• A 5-week/75-hour Beginner Youth Garden Internship Track. The curriculum will highlight:
  • Gardening skills
  • Cooking skills
  • Job skills
  • Food systems and food justice
  • Special events, field trips, etc.

• A 7-week/200-hour Advanced Youth Garden Internship Track. The curriculum will highlight:
  • All that is covered in the Beginner program with more in-depth study.
  • Facilitation, leadership, and peer mentorship skills

 

Facilitation

Together with the Youth Programs Organizer, who will act as a co-facilitator:

• Co-facilitate the internship program according to program curricula.
• Work with NEBHDCo’s farmer to coordinate farm work with youth.
• Serve as a consistent and strong role model for all youth interns.
• Carry out program policies and amend when needed.
• Respond to and support the resolution of conflicts as they arise.
• Maintain effective relationships with youth and parents, communicating clearly and directly.

 

EXPERIENCE, SKILLS, AND QUALIFICATIONS

• BS/BA, preferred, but not required. Major in political science, food studies, education, nutrition, culinary arts, or a related field.
• Candidate should be well versed in food systems and food justice issues.
• At least 2 years’ experience in community organizing and/or as an activist for food or social justice causes.
• Direct teaching experience is a must. Preferred background in popular and experiential education with strong facilitation skills using collaborative and participatory models.
• Excellent interpersonal, community building, public speaking, and conflict mediation.
• Excellent verbal and writing skills.
• An ability to teach a racial and economic justice analysis, especially as it relates to the food system.
• Ability to work independently and within a team structure.
• Must be able to do manual labor around our gardens and have a desire to work outside.
• Solid expertise with Microsoft Office, Google Apps, and other industry-related software.
• Ability to interact well with diverse community members, volunteers, and staff.
• Proven team player who assists others, asks for help when needed and possess the ability to work independently.

 

WORK HOURS, EMPLOYMENT TYPE, COMPENSATION

This is a temporary consultant position. A contract will be signed from June 20th – September 11th. Total compensation for this period will be a maximum of $9250 for work averaging 35 hours/week. Hours must be flexible to align with program needs.  A 5-day field trip from July 18th – July 22nd is included in this contract.

Compensation

this position is: contract

Application instructions

Deadline

May 24, 2018