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Project Manager for the Carbon Ranch Initiative’s Waste to Plate Project

About Quivira Coalition’s Carbon Ranch Initiative (CRI)

The Quivira Coalition is a Santa Fe-based nonprofit that builds resilience on arid working lands. We foster ecological, economic, and social health through education, innovation, and collaboration. The Quivira Coalition aims to shift current practices of agriculture and land stewardship to those that produce good food, support meaningful livelihoods in rural places, sustain biodiversity, and remedy the impacts of climate change. We do this work through agricultural apprenticeship, land and water restoration, and rancher- and farmer-led knowledge exchange. Knowing that it is critical to the success of our work, Quivira Coalition is committed to diversity and inclusion, and we aspire to build a diverse staff team and community, including groups that are traditionally under-represented among stewardship and agricultural support services.

Quivira Coalition’s Carbon Ranch Initiative (CRI) is dedicated to research, outreach and technical support that helps producers build soil carbon on working lands. We focus on engaging with land stewards around the Healthy Soil Principles, circular economies (making waste productive), and using monitoring and evaluation to inform planning as ways to both combat and built resilience to climate change.

The project manager is a technical position supported by grant funding and we seek someone who can commit to the entire 5 year project. The Carbon Ranch Initiative (CRI) Manager will work with the CRI team and partner organizations to

implement on-the-ground projects to support the transformation of agricultural waste into compost, biochar, and other organic amendments,
use organic amendments to build soil health,
train producers and other stakeholders in how to monitor and evaluate use of amendments both for carbon and dollar accounting,
support production and use of a marketing toolkit for producers making and/or using organic amendments as a climate-smart practice,
conduct other outreach and technical support to meet grant deliverables, and
effectively manage and document the project resources.

Additionally, the manager will support other CRI and Quivira projects such as ranch/farm planning, open source monitoring and evaluation, and Quivira’s ongoing work to become an antiracist organization.

The CRI Manager will bring professionalism and organization to working with diverse groups of people on their land, the other programs in the Quivira Coalition, and the partner organizations associated with the Carbon Ranch Initiative. The manager will be expected to: work with farmers, ranchers, and natural resource management professionals from diverse communities; manage land-based projects and data, write reports and educational materials that are useful for working ranchers, farmers, and technical service providers, as well as applications and reports to funding agencies to support ongoing work; navigate the challenges, opportunities, and social dynamics in agricultural and natural resource management and collaboration; communicate complex land management issues in clear, constructive, and non-polarizing ways; organize events and facilitate a community of practice around working lands collaboration. Ideally this person is located in New Mexico, but closely adjacent areas will also be considered. Some travel throughout the Southwest will be necessary.

This position is salaried and the pay scale is fixed between $47,227 – $63,895 per year in the first year. After 3 months, benefits include health care, dental, vision, simple IRA, paid-time-off, short and long term life insurance and disability policy. While we actively seek funding to support staff long term, we can not guarantee employment beyond the duration of the grant.

The CRI Manager tasks and activities:

Implementation and documentation of activities

Develop relationships with ranchers and farmers in the Southwest and work with them to implement projects and educational activities centering carbon storage and soil health priorities

Includes multi-day site visits, facilitation of trainings/workshops and in-field monitoring, and remote work using remote sensing or model-based data collection and analysis.
Work remotely and independently to organize logistics and resources.

Delegate tasks and responsibilities to complete deliverables

Track deliverables, stay on-budget and on-time for each project or provide sufficient advanced notice of issues, write reports for funding or collaboration
May include supervising coordinator, interns, volunteers as well as helping to track ti me and expenses (both paid and in-kind/match).
May include coordinating with outside contractors including assembling documentation for payment.
Work with the entire Carbon Ranch team to manage projects in other aspects of the program.

Engage in research and teach evidence-based techniques in regenerative agriculture in ways that are transparent.

Contribute to and use evaluation tools to adaptively manage projects to achieve program objectives and mission.

Internal

Report regularly to the program director.
Participate in fundraising to support Quivira’s work including grant seeking and writing, outreach with funders and collaborators.
Participate in internal meetings and subgroups in support of maintaining and evolving culture and internal work.
Engage with other program and Quivira staff in routine program and cross-program activities.

Outreach

Shape and facilitate other CRI activities, including contributing to communications that keep stakeholders informed.
Outreach through conference tabling or presentations, writing for general public or specific audiences, field days, etc. that support CRI’s work, some originating from within CRI and other to support partners.
Support Quivira’s annual REGENERATE conference in ways that fit capacity and align with program goals.

All of these activities will evolve with a commitment to identifying ways to more effectively include communities that have been historically underserved in agricultural support services.

Required Qualifications

Experience managing personnel and resources
Experience with land-based project implementation (including project planning, implementation, evaluation, and documentation)
Experience with monitoring and evaluating ecological, economic, or social information.
Familiarity with regenerative agricultural practices and soil health principles.
Strong skills related to working with diverse groups of people and cross-cultural communication.
Must be able to travel to remote locations where camping may be required for multiple days/nights at a time and drive long distances (up to 8h in a day).
Flexible schedule to accommodate weekend, evening, and remote work.
Strong organizational skills and ability to coordinate a diverse and busy group of stakeholders.
Must have a valid driver’s license.
Must be able to lift 25 lbs and work long hours bending and walking outdoors.
An understanding of how conservation and agriculture have historically and currently impacted Hispanic, Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color.

Desired Qualifications

Existing relationships or involvement in the southwest US’s agricultural community
Experience with marketing agricultural products
Experience with organic amendment production or use
Excellent, professional written and verbal communication skills
Experience working in and communicating about agriculture, natural resource management, or both
Experience in experiential/participatory education and outreach
Experience with G Suite (google email, drive, calendar etc.)
Multi-lingual in Spanish or Native languages
Experience writing grants and engaging in other types of nonprofit fundraising
Existing relationships or involvement in the southwest US’s agricultural community

Application Instructions

Please apply online here. Please include a current two page resume with the application. The application will be in place of a cover letter; no cover letter is needed. Please provide the name, phone number, and email of three professional references. References will be checked as a part of the hiring process.

Please send questions to Eva Stricker eva@quiviracoalition with the subject line “Carbon Ranch Initiative Manager Application.”

Deadline for best consideration of applications is March 17, 2023 with the intention of a start date in mid April 2023. Position will remain open until filled.

Since its establishment in 1997, the Quivira Coalition has prided itself on its history of working across differences at the radical center, though we have not always accomplished this and continue to strive for improvement. In the last year, we have become increasingly aware of the work that we must do to ensure that individuals and communities of all backgrounds are truly included and welcomed into our work, and the ongoing legacies of racism. Quivira Coalition is taking its steps toward becoming an antiracist organization, and reevaluating what diversity, equity and inclusion means for the organization. This is difficult, often messy, ongoing work, and we are committed to working through the challenges to join the movement for racially just regenerative agriculture. We have made mistakes, committed harm, and are committed to growth. We hope new hires and the perspectives they bring will continue to help us navigate this path. We invite candidates to ask questions about where we are in this journey, and to join us in moving the organization and the regenerative agriculture movement towards becoming more just, equitable, and inclusive.