Community Garden Engagement Manager

COMMUNITY GARDEN ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

Industry: Not‐for‐Profit – Environmental

Department: Engagement & Programming

Reports to: Chief of Programs and Operations

Salary: $65,000/year

Start Date: April 29th, 2025

Schedule: Full-Time (40 hours per week) April to October: Tues–Sat, November to March: Mon-Fri.

Reporting Location: This is a hybrid position, requiring reporting in-person to NYRP’s main office at 254 W. 31st Street, 14th Floor on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Flexible schedule required, including some weekends, evenings and will require travelacross the city. A subsidized Metro Card will be provided.

Classification: Exempt

New York Restoration Project (NYRP) believes that access to nature is a fundamental human right. We work to ensure that all New Yorkers have equitable access to green space. For 30 years, NYRP has invested in and stewarded parks and gardens throughout the city’s five boroughs to strengthen communities.

The Community Garden Engagement Manager will concentrate on cultivating connection, communication and transparency in support of our work in community gardens citywide and is responsible for delivering frontline support and capacity building to NYRP community garden groups. Reporting to the Chief of Programs and Operations, the Community Garden Engagement Manager is an important conduit for communication with seasonal staff, partners, garden members, and internally with NYRP staff, both in their team and in other departments.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Manage 2-3 seasonal engagement staff in support of a portfolio of 50 NYRP community gardens;
• Assist garden groups with meeting NYRP requirements and expectations as listed on NYRP’s internal CBS ranking system. Use CBS to determine a road map for improving garden’s ranking;
• Provide garden groups with NYRP material resources, such as the Ready to Go Guide, the Gardeners’ Guide, NYRP Garden Rules;
• Ensure that all garden meetings are in the Planning Calendar, garden members have signed membership agreements and that coordinators have signed registration agreements;
• Prioritize support for gardens that do not have a well-established group, with a goal to build capacity for leadership;
• Add all required tracking notes and information to NYRP’s CRM system, Sugar in a timely manner;
• Manage community garden group relationships, facilitating resolution to conflict;
• Facilitate community input and participation in planned renovation and garden build projects;
• Attend and support community-based and NYRP-led events in designated NYRP gardens;
• Assist with the planning and execution of our Annual Gardeners Gathering celebration and network-wide events;
• Collaborate with the Public Programming Coordinator, Urban Agriculture and Operations teams to plan for community events, skill shares and workdays;
• Assist with identifying new partnership opportunities, emerging stakeholders and opportunities in the areas around NYRP’s portfolio of community gardens.

Job Requirements

• Strong communication skills, bi-lingual English/Spanish;
• 2 years supervisory or equivalent leadership experience;
• Community organizing or Engagement experience, particularly with underrepresented communities;
• A strong interest in community health, community gardening and urban agriculture;
• Excellent organizational skills; must be able to work independently;
• 3 Strong professional references;
• Ability to lift 35lbs.