Sustainable, ecological, organic agriculture, food and farming

Young Agrarians is hiring a full-time Manitoba and Apprenticeship Program Manager

Position: Manitoba and Apprenticeship Program Manager
Organization: Young Agrarians
Location: This is a remote position based in Manitoba. Please include your location in your application. We welcome applicants interested in the Apprenticeship Program Manager portion of the role from other Prairies provinces, as there is a possibility to split this into its own role.

Deadline for Applications: April 28, 2025. This position will start in early June 2025.

Help Us Grow the Next Generation of Farmers in the Prairies!

Are you passionate about building vibrant food systems, supporting new farmers, and cultivating community from the ground up? Young Agrarians is looking for a strategic, organized, and heart-forward leader to help grow our programming in Manitoba and across the Prairies.

Like a good cover crop, you’re someone who supports strong foundations—nurturing people, processes, and partnerships so that good things can take root and thrive. If you’re equally at home swapping farm stories or managing spreadsheets, and love the challenge of leading people and programs across wide open landscapes, this might just be the role for you!

JOB DESCRIPTION SUMMARY: This role will include: supporting program and project growth alongside staff and contractors, stakeholder education and engagement, managing and securing funding, and overseeing communications and network building. The goal of this role is to ensure that the YAAP and Manitoba programs grow and sustain themselves with strategic oversight and management.

ABOUT YOUNG AGRARIANS

Young Agrarians (YA) is an educational resource network for new and young ecological farmers in Canada. YA recognizes the Indigenous lands and territories that we work on and alongside. YA is committed to providing programs and services that are inclusive and available to farmers and friends of diverse backgrounds. Since 2012, the YA network is volunteer-driven, with farmers across the country organizing on-farm events and building communities to create spaces for knowledge sharing and growth.

YA began as a seed of an idea and since has grown into a dynamic educational network and set of programs that target the educational needs of new and young farmers.

1. National: aggregate resources and opportunities online;
2. National: coordinate educational and networking events on and off farm year-round, as well as e-learning;
3. Western Canada: on-farm apprenticeship training program (YAAP) in regenerative agriculture;
4. BC: land access programming and supports (BCLMP); and
5. Western Canada: business mentorships (BMN).

YA’s Grow-a-Farmer Strategy works to deliver the following programs:

1. National: aggregate resources and opportunities online;
2. National: coordinate educational and networking events on and off farm year-round, as well as e-learning;
3. Prairie provinces: on-farm apprenticeship training program in regenerative agriculture;
4. BC: land access programming and supports; and
5. Western Canada: business mentorships.

YA works to grow the sector by supporting new entrants through farmer-to-farmer learning. The theory of change is to engage new and young farmers and the farm-curious online, bring them together to network and learn together on and off farms, support access to training opportunities and resources, and when ready to start farms, provide educational supports for on-farm training, land access, business readiness, and peer mentorship. The long-term goal is to grow connections to each other and the land in order to grow a resilient and climate-adapted food system for a healthy future.

WORKPLACE CULTURE: We strive to create a workplace that reflects the diverse communities we collaborate with and serve. The organizational culture is focused on bringing your whole self, emotional intelligence and leadership, and working together to support farmers to overcome barriers and challenges through educational supports and resources.

COMPENSATION & HOURS

• This is a full-time, year-round position
• 35 hours per week
• $35/hr
• Mileage is reimbursed at provincially-approved rates
• Vacation starts at 4%
• Additional bonus week off last week of the year
• Contract is renewed annually
• Semi-flexible schedule

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy & Funding:

Develop and steward a YA Grow-a-Farmer Strategy that outlines Manitoba’s context, current activities, and potential areas for development to address new farmer needs, as well as strategic partnerships and funding opportunities to sustain activities in the province.

• Support ongoing program development for the Prairies.
• Develop grant applications, funding proposals, sponsorships, donations, etc. for Manitoba program activities.
• Work with program budgets and oversee project revenues and expenses.
• Support project reporting through annual and longitudinal evaluation and impact assessment tools.
• Create wrap-up reporting focused on project deliverables, providing recommendations for best practices and next steps.
• Support strategic partnership development with other organizations and continue to liaise and maintain relationships with funders.
• Support with other YA organizational duties and administration as needed

Oversight of Manitoba Program Staff & Deliverables:

• Foster strong, collaborative relationships with staff and contractors by coordinating, attending, and documenting meetings, and supporting clear communication across the organization.
• Provide guidance and support to YA Manitoba staff in building program capacity and delivering on goals.
• Support with stakeholder engagement and outreach activities to build the network, build awareness of YA programs, and support program delivery in Manitoba.
• Uphold and implement Young Agrarians’ HR policies and procedures.
• Assist with recruitment, onboarding, training, role reviews, and performance documentation as needed.
• Oversee work plans and maintain thorough workplace documentation to ensure smooth transitions, handovers, and long-term role sustainability.
• Support staff in troubleshooting challenges and finding solutions related to project deliverables.
• Coordinate and manage Manitoba wage subsidy positions when applicable.

Young Agrarians Apprenticeship Program (YAAP) Management:

This will include managing program staff and program procedures, ensuring program deliverables and goals are met, monitoring and supporting coordinators in their work with host farms and apprentices.

• Lead HR functions for the Apprenticeship Program team, including supporting with and/or leading hiring, onboarding, training, performance documentation, and managing role transitions.
• Supervise and support the work of the Apprenticeship Program Administrator and the B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba Apprenticeship Coordinators to meet their program goals.
• Attend weekly team meetings to align priorities and foster collaboration.
• Provide support and guidance for participant issues and program challenges.
• Liaise with the Business Mentorship Network Program Manager and Coordinators to align cross-program efforts.
• Manage the YAAP Work Plan to ensure timely delivery of tasks and program goals.
• Support the ongoing development of project management in Monday.com and train staff as needed.
• Maintain and update Standard Operating Procedures for program consistency.
• Oversee documentation systems, including Google Drive, Salesforce, and Monday.com.
• Support ongoing Salesforce development for the Apprenticeship Program.
• Lead program evaluation and impact assessment; conduct an annual program review.
• Collaborate with the team to develop and implement program improvements.
• Manage program budgets and grant deliverables; track and report expenditures.
• Prepare funder reports in collaboration with the Executive Director.
• Administer Memorandums of Understanding and waivers for host farms and apprentices (updated annually).
• Maintain up-to-date YAAP information on the website.
• Collaborate with the E-Learning team to maintain and update online learning modules for host farms and apprentices.

Working in this role offers a unique opportunity to deepen your leadership, strategy, and project management skills within a dynamic, mission-driven, and collaborative remote team. You will play a key role in shaping the future of sustainable agriculture in the Prairies by stewarding program development, strategic planning, and funding initiatives that directly support new farmers. With oversight of both regional staff and program deliverables, you’ll develop your capacity in team management, HR practices, and cross-organizational coordination. You’ll also gain valuable experience leading multi-regional programming, streamlining operational systems, and driving continuous improvement through evaluation and impact assessment. This position is ideal for someone who thrives in a relationship-based environment and is passionate about creating meaningful change in food and farming systems.

QUALITIES & QUALIFICATIONS

• Qualifications

  Essential

  • Demonstrated ability to think strategically, identify emerging needs, and implement creative and effective solutions.

  • Strong relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills, with demonstrated capacity to build and maintain strategic partnerships.

  • Highly organized with excellent administrative skills and a strong interest in process-oriented workflows and thorough workplace documentation.

  • Passion for team leadership and collaboration, with a background in providing human resources support.

  • Self-motivated and able to thrive independently within a remote work environment.

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills that foster engagement, motivation, and collective action.

  • Equipped with a home office setup, including a computer, reliable internet connection, and cellphone.

  • Proven track record of achieving goals and meeting program deliverables in a dynamic, mission-driven environment.

  • Comfortable using and/or learning digital tools and platforms including Google Applications, Salesforce, Wordpress, Monday.com., Zoom, and Mailchimp.

  Assets (minimum 3 out of 8)

  • Minimum of five years of experience in diversified sustainable, ecological, or organic agriculture, with a connection to food and farming communities in Manitoba/prairie provinces (and B.C.)

  • Experience in a management role within the non-profit or charitable sector, overseeing projects, programs, and staff.

  • Solid understanding of agricultural business operations and the needs of new and young farmers.

  • Experience working in government or government relations

  • Experience working in education, apprenticeship training or work-integrated learning

  • Experience identifying funding opportunities and developing grant applications, funding proposals, sponsorships, and donation strategies.

  • Proficiency with budgeting and financial oversight, along with experience in project reporting using annual and longitudinal evaluation and impact assessment tools.

  • Experience coordinating community-building events and programming

TO APPLY

Please submit applications by email to Taina Uitto at om@youngagrarians.org with the following:

Subject line: Firstname Lastname – MB & YAAP Manager

Please attach a PDF cover letter and resume as ONE document with the following file name: Firstname Lastname – MB & YAAP Manager.pdf.

In your application:

• Indicate where you are located
• Provide a short summary of how many years of experience you bring in reference to the qualifications listed in either your resume or cover letter.
• Clearly list on your resume what computer programs or platforms you are familiar working with (e.g. monday.com, Google Drive, Salesforce, WordPress, Zoom, Mailchimp, design programs, various social media, etc.)
• Optional: submit a video (up to 1 minute) to support your application and help us get to know you better. Feel free to have fun and be creative! Videos should be submitted in one of the following ways: 1. As an attachment to the same email containing your PDF, or 2. As a link in your PDF to a video hosting platform where we can view the video. Your video can be filmed as an Instagram Reel or Tiktok and the link submitted.

Please mention you saw this at FoodWork.ca.

Due to the volume of applications we receive, we will not be available for phone calls or lengthy email inquiries. If you have 1-2 questions, please ask by email. Thank you for your time and interest!

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUNG AGRARIANS
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