Director of Youth Programs

About Us

Harlem Grown’s mission is to inspire youth to live healthy and ambitious lives through mentorship and hands-on education in urban farming, sustainability, and nutrition.

Harlem Grown operates 13 urban agricultural sites featuring 5 soil-based urban farms, 4 school gardens, 3 hydroponic greenhouses, and a mushroom chamber. All of our sites are located between 122 and 152 Streets in Central Harlem, Manhattan.

Since 2021, our programming has served over 10,000 youth in Harlem, we've produced and distributed over 100,000 servings of food, and diverted over 50,000 pounds of food scraps into local compost operations.

Our Programs

Harlem Grown provides youth and community development programs focused on urban farming, wellness, and sustainability through the lens of racial justice, food justice, social justice, and equity. Our youth focused programs include intensive school partnerships, educational farm tours, a summer camp, a Saturday enrichment program, monthly community events, an afterschool program, and our Mobile Teaching Kitchen. Our community development programs open to all ages include wellness workshops, special events, food scrap collection for composting, and fresh produce distribution to participants, volunteers, and neighborhood residents.

Job Overview:

The Director of Youth Programs will provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for Harlem Grown’s food and farm education programs. This includes planning, implementing, managing, and evaluating current and future youth program offerings in partnership with the Chief Program Officer. The Director of Youth Programs will work closely with the partnerships and agriculture team to align strategies across programming to implement mobile food and farm education, farm tours and to ensure green spaces are accessible through programs. The ideal candidate is an experienced leader with a passion for food and farm education, youth development, and program management, with a track record of program innovation and the ability to manage and inspire a large, diverse team effectively.

Responsibilities:

• Oversee the design, implementation, and evaluation of all programmatic offerings, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and mission.
• Drive development and innovation in curriculum development and program delivery for afterschool, in-school, and community initiatives.
• In partnership with the leadership team, work to develop workforce development framework and programming.
• Collaborate with leadership to set programmatic priorities and ensure measurable outcomes.
• Maintain program compliance with all relevant regulations, policies, and grant requirements.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, professional growth, and accountability.
• Conduct regular team meetings, performance evaluations, and professional development opportunities.
• Build and sustain partnerships with schools, community organizations, and stakeholders to expand program reach and impact.
• Develop strategies to engage families, educators, and community members in the organization’s mission.
• Create and monitor budgets for all programs; ensure programs operate within approved budget; monitor and approve all budgeted program expenditures.
• Work collaboratively with agriculture and partnerships teams to reach program goals.
• Oversee program logistics, including scheduling, staffing, and resource allocation.
• Collaborate with the Development team to provide data and narratives for grant proposals and donor reports.
• Own program data, including collection strategies, system development, training, accountability, and reporting showing overall impact and outcomes.
• Participate in community initiatives and events.
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• 5-7 years of program leadership experience, including supervising teams and project management
• Demonstrated expertise in food and farm education, youth development, community-based programming.
• Strong track record of managing and motivating large teams.
• Excellent communication, organizational, problem-solving, and project management skills.
• Experience working with diverse communities and understanding of equity-focused practices.
• Proficiency in budget management and program evaluation.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Flexibility to work various hours, including early mornings, nights or weekends
• Spanish language fluency, a plus.