Program and Development Associate

Program and Development Associate

Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV) is a non-profit organization that provides strategic support to farms and food businesses in order to build a thriving and equitable local food economy in the Berkshire-Taconic region of Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.

BAV seeks a dependable, engaging, and well-organized person to be our Program and Development Associate. This position will play a key role in advancing our mission of building a stronger, more resilient local food system. This position will support overall external engagement with a focus on clients and donors, managing data and tools, and creating events for farmers, donors and the broader community. A successful Program and Development Associate will gain an understanding of BAV’s mission and programs while working with our small team committed to strengthening the local food system. This role is an opportunity to join a dynamic and evolving organization dedicated to the work of helping local farmers and food entrepreneurs thrive.

Our Values:

Equity is a core value at Berkshire Agricultural Ventures. We know that food justice is racial justice, and local food is not accessible to all. Our hope is to increase food access and land stewardship for more communities in our service area through our work. We acknowledge that much of what we have to do is listen, learn, and engage in community dialogue to inform and guide our work as an organization. As a staff, we are committed to learning more about food justice, and we invite you to do the same as a BAV staff member. (Read our full DEIB statement.)

Position Responsibilities:

• Assist team members with support and outreach to local farmers, donors and other constituents
• Work with program team members to field farmer inquiries and direct inquiries to appropriate team members
• Learn about our programming goals and work with program team members to improve and administer tools for program evaluation and outcome reporting
• Maintain donor data using database and other tools, including gift records, giving analysis, donor profiles, and tracking donor relationship building;
• Work with development team to research and create donor profiles, generate donor acknowledgement letters
• Manage logistics for fundraising appeals, including mailings and e-appeals
• Maintain contact lists (e.g. donors, farmers, service providers, etc.)
• Support or lead event planning and execution for farmer-focused workshops and donor education/engagement events
• Develop reports/tools to use data effectively for outreach, communications, program assessments, fundraising appeals, etc.
• Assist with Board meeting preparation, including assembling materials, coordinating logistics, and taking minutes.
• Help maintain office and virtual tools - check mail, keep supplies organized, help administer team software tools/subscriptions
• Other duties as assigned

About You:

• Dynamic, friendly, and willing-to-try attitude
• Demonstrated interest in or experience with farming, local food systems, economic development, or similar work
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, ability to engage with broad range of constituents on behalf of the organization
• Strong work ethic, naturally organized, excellent attention to detail and accuracy
• Experience with or interest in non-profit donor and contact management tools; not afraid to learn and teach how technology can help us operate more effectively
• Experience or familiarity with small-scale event planning
• Able to collaborate, lead from within, and also work independently
• Adept at working with a team remotely using collaborative workplace technology tools, e.g. Google suite, Adobe Acrobat, Zoom, workflow management (Asana)
• Experience with Canva, photo/video skills, and/or basic design principles are a plus

We recognize that knowledge, experience, and potential are expressed differently for different people. We encourage anyone with an interest in the position to apply, even if they do not meet 100% of the desired qualifications!

Location/travel: This is a hybrid position and requires office hours at our Great Barrington, MA office, minimum three times a week, with some flexibility.

Salary & Benefits: $47-$52k commensurate with experience and qualifications for full-time position. BAV provides health insurance benefits, 401K Plan, a generous time off policy (including three weeks vacation plus office closure for the December holiday week, floating holidays, volunteer days and paid sick days), and opportunities for professional development.

To apply please submit a resume and cover letter to jobs@berkshireagventures.org. We are happy to review 1-2 examples of past work supporting your application, but this is not a requirement. Applications will be reviewed through February 3, 2025. Applications received after that date will be reviewed on a rolling basis only if the position remains unfilled. Berkshire Agricultural Ventures is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. For questions, please contact jobs@berkshireagventures.org.