Community Garden Development VISTA

Term of Service Dates: January 2025 – January 2026

Target Start Date: January 13, 2025

Position Overview: As the Youth Garden Project’s Community Garden Development VISTA, you’ll be making a transformative impact on households with limited access to fresh, affordable food. You’ll champion the “Moab Community Gardens” program, empowering low to moderate-income community members with irrigated plots to grow their own produce. You’ll be a key player in securing new revenue streams, engaging volunteers, and enhancing our program’s administrative systems. Be a part of a mission-driven team that nurtures both the land and its people!

The VISTA will work under the direction of YGP’s Executive Director. Remote candidates will not be considered. YGP cannot provide housing, but is able to provide some assistance with searching for appropriate housing after the position offer has been accepted. 

Primary Objectives:

Fund Development (70%)

• Research and apply for funding opportunities.
• Write grants and attend networking events for program awareness.
• Design an earned income program for neighborhood gardens and identify potential partners.

Program Development (15%)

• Set up an online communication platform for gardeners and volunteers.
• Develop effective plot application and assignment systems.
• Create policies for program safety and effectiveness.
• Establish maintenance schedules and infrastructure standards.
• Organize meetings and facilitate planning for a new garden site.

Volunteer Systems & Recruitment (10%)

• Attract and recruit new volunteers.
• Design and conduct training sessions for volunteers.
• Create engaging volunteer roles.
• Develop orientation materials and schedule volunteer tasks.
• Implement volunteer recognition programs and retention strategies.
• Track volunteer hours and evaluate volunteer program impact.

Program Evaluation (5%)

• Establish performance metrics and conduct evaluations.
• Identify opportunities for program improvement using evaluative data.
• Collect program metrics for grant funding purposes.

General YGP Responsibilities

• Assist with YGP community and fundraising events occasionally beyond normal work hours.  
• VISTA members are expected to work 40 hours per week; all YGP team members are required to work some weekend and evening hours, generally no more than twice per month.

Benefits: 

• End of service award (choice between $7,395 education award or approximately $1,800 stipend)
• Living allowance ($957.46 biweekly)
• Healthcare benefit through AmeriCorps
• Childcare benefit (if applicable)
• Non-competitive eligibility status for federal jobs (i.e for 1 year after service VISTAs can be non-competitively selected for federal jobs, like those with the Park Service, BLM, or other agencies. Applicants do not have to compete, and the hiring process can be much easier!)
• For more detailed information, visit (https://americorps.gov/members-volunteers/vista/benefits)

Desired Skills and Experience:

Not all are required, but please expand on these skills in your cover letter or resume if you have them.

• Grant writing
• Program evaluation
• Sales and/or entrepreneurship experience
• Proficiency with Google Workspace Suite
• Gardening experience
• Bilingual Spanish/English

Requirements:

• Strengths in time management, prioritization, organizing and delegating tasks, and collaborative work.
• Advanced verbal and written communication skills with external and internal audiences across all populations.
• Applicants must be at least 18 years of age by the target start date. 
• Final candidate must submit to and clear a background check.
• Must have graduated high school and have attended some college.
• U.S. Citizens, U.S. Nationals, Lawful Permanent Resident Aliens, or persons legally residing in a state that have the following legal residency classifications: refugee, asylum or asylee, temporary protected status or deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) status. By law, only AmeriCorps VISTA members who are either U.S. Citizens, U.S. Nationals, or Lawful Permanent Resident Aliens—sometimes referred to as “Lawful Permanent Residents”—are eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Segal Education Award.  All other members will receive an end of service cash stipend.