WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR

Company: AMERICAN PUBLIC GARDENS ASSN
Location: Richmond
Posted on: November 25, 2022

Job Description:

Mission
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden's mission is connecting people through plants to improve communities.Vision
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, including the Lewis Ginter Nature Reserve, reveals the unity and integration of human and plant life, celebrates the fundamental significance of the natural world, and enriches communities through horticultural and educational excellence and innovative outreach activities.Values
Responsibility, Innovation, Integrity, Hospitality, and InspirationFounded in 1984, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is a nonprofit garden located in Richmond, Virginia's Lakeside neighborhood. The Garden encompasses 82 acres, four lakes, 5,500 unique taxa of plants within 15 distinct outdoor gardens, 11 major buildings including a conservatory and greenhouse, plus an 80-acre branch site, the Lewis Ginter Nature Reserve. Annually, Lewis Ginter engages over 17,000 students in innovative and exciting educational programs. This cadre of identified learners is just a fraction of the more than 400,000 annual visitors to the Garden. In recent years, the Garden has been honored with inclusion in several top ten lists for botanical gardens in North America.Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin in the hiring, retention, or promotion of employees. We support the diversity and inclusion policy adopted by The American Public Gardens Association: to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture where the contributions of all community members are valued, respected, and appreciated. Duties & Responsibilities - The Workforce Development Coordinator oversees the creation and growth of a workforce development program, including internships, apprenticeships, youth volunteers, and partnership programming. This individual will build and grow relationships with local school systems, colleges, universities, and youth organizations. They will support LGBG staff to create meaningful and immersive learning experiences for participants through mentorship, hands-on training, and exposure to experts in various fields.Responsibilities include building external and internal relationships to ensure strong recruitment and a consistent, impactful experience for interns and youth volunteers. The Workforce Development Coordinator will develop a framework for cross-departmental learning offering participants an introduction to careers in public gardens while also providing in-depth engagement within a specific field of interest, and opportunities to connect with fellow students.The ideal candidate will have experience with program creation, collaborative projects, and building and sustaining partnerships. A self-starter with strong written and verbal communication skills, a collaborative working style, and established Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practice (including work with people with disabilities) required. This position reports to the Youth and Family Engagement Manager and works collaboratively across the institution for planning, evaluation, and outreach.--- Develops and coordinates work-based learning and career training to meet the needs
and interests of youth of various ages, developmental abilities, and educational
backgrounds. Specifically, this individual will:
o Facilitate youth volunteer programs at the Garden.
o Partner and collaborate with other work-based-learning programs and partners,
including colleges and universities, technical schools, cultural non-profits, and local
work-study programs.
o Serve as key liaison between LGBG and local and state agencies that specialize in youth
programs and workforce development initiatives.
o Stay informed of local, regional and national youth gardening programs and work-force
development initiatives.
--- Coordinates experience of youth volunteers and interns across the Garden, including:
o Work with supervisors to recruit, train, and set expectations for youth engaged in work-
based learning programs.
o Coordinate with supervisors to monitor and evaluate youth performance, as well as
evaluate student input for future program enhancement.
o Establish consistent management and scheduling guidelines for staff members
responsible for supervising interns; directly supervises and schedules those youth and
young adults working within the Youth and Family Engagement team.
o Collaborate with Director of Volunteers, HR Manager, and supervisors across the
Garden on participant placement and programming to ensure a consistent positive
experience.
--- Additional duties:
o Plans, organizes, and leads training sessions for volunteers working with youth
programming.
--- All members of the Youth and Family Engagement Team
o Assist with general upkeep of Children's Garden spaces.
o Ensure that guests' fundamental needs for safety, security and comfort are met at all
times in the Garden.
o Complete other duties as assigned, including assistance with school programs, team
projects, special events, and horticultural maintenance.
o Work occasional weekend and holiday hours. Please note that this position will require
frequent late afternoon/evening hours.Skills and Abilities
--- Highly organized.
--- Ability to productively switch between multiple tasks/types of work within a single day.
--- Ability to handle day-to-day operations while also planning months ahead.
--- Communicates effectively with diverse ages, backgrounds and all abilities.
--- Works well independently as well as thrives in a team environment; adaptable and solution-oriented.
--- Comfort with learning new systems and digital tools quickly.
--- Must be able to initiate, build and sustain relationships with fellow staff, volunteers, and community partners.
--- This position requires attendance at offsite meetings and events in the Greater Richmond area.
--- Proficiency in conversational Spanish desirable. Education and Experience - --- Bachelor's Degree.
--- 2-3 years' experience managing an internship or youth mentoring program.
--- Experience working with volunteers.
--- Demonstrated ability to work effectively with cross-divisional colleagues, outside
community partners, and other stakeholders.
--- Work experience in higher education a plus.
--- Experience in a garden or other nature-based learning setting a plus.

Keywords: AMERICAN PUBLIC GARDENS ASSN, Richmond , WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR, Other , Richmond, California