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The Growing GRASS Project is seeking an organized, creative communicator to help us fight climate change while building value in partnership with ranchers and market partners. Growing GRASS is a 5-year $35 million USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant-funded project of the American Sustainable Business Institute (ASBI). The Communications Coordinator will join a five-person administrative team and dozens of programming partners from across the country who are passionately committed to building beef and bison value for producers, people, and the planet.
We’re looking for an adaptive, clear and considerate communicator to join our Growing GRASS Project team as an independent contractor. Someone eager to embrace agriculture’s potential to be a positive force in combating climate change and supporting rural livelihoods and society, and someone able to help tell this story to many different audiences. The role will be best filled by a self-motivated team player, creative problem solver, who can scope and manage multiple initiatives. This person will report to and collaborate with our Strategic Partnerships & Communications Manager, Anna Claussen. If you have creative communications experience, thrive in a start-up environment, and are ready to advance our climate-smart mission by connecting regenerative livestock producers with the forward-thinking textile and retail industry, read on!
Regeneratively managed livestock and grazed landscapes can draw significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it in the soil through plants and their root systems. There is growing documented demand from consumers for meat, eggs and other products from these climate smart production systems. Yet much of the “other half” of these regeneratively raised animals (the hides, bones and byproducts that represent up to ½ of the total animal’s weight) is wasted or undervalued after the meat is processed, lowering overall value to farmers, the economy and the environment. But we say, no longer.
Under Growing GRASS’ approach, these co-products turned into leather, pet food and multiple ingredients can return real value to US farmers, ranchers and market partners while helping meet environmental and climate challenges. We were awarded a USDA Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities grant – Growing GRASS – in partnership with our research, farm, and industry partners to make it happen.
Growing GRASS will work over the next 5 years to bring researchers together with farmers, ranchers and supply chain businesses. The overall grant goals are to verify the climate-smart and regenerative benefits of the grazing systems, incentivize increased supply, and assess how these byproduct materials can be best processed and utilized in ways that return the highest value for producers and partners in leather, pet food and ingredient markets.
Translate Complex Systems: The intersection of the agriculture-consumer-climate realm is complex. Our partners – both individuals and organizations – bring differing levels of issue area knowledge and technical competency and differing right-brain and left-brain approaches to the work. To test and build something together that will transform systems and change hearts and minds, we will have to communicate our parts of the puzzle to each other, as well as to the world. This will require the continual translation of the work – the creation of infographics, fliers, charts and workflows will be most beneficial for the project team’s effectiveness. The development of promotional materials, annual reports, and dynamic press releases will be essential to the general public’s understanding and empowered role in shifting the current agricultural system.
Tell the Growing GRASS Story: This may be a USDA grant-funded project, but in the end it is driven by real-life supply and demand. And for demand to increase for a product that is better for the environment, we must understand, translate and sell the story of Growing GRASS (GGRASS). This will include website and social media content creation and maintenance, as well as the continual need for presentation materials for our partners work in community and on the ground with producers, ranchers, retailers, brands, industry leaders, consumers and more. This will require keen, curious listening ears and your empathetic presence at numerous meetings with program partners, producers, industry leaders, relevant consultants, and contractors.
Keep the Team on Track: No, this is not your sole responsibility. But we know that culture eats strategy for breakfast, and culture needs to be communicated well and felt deeply to take hold. Therefore the communications team takes great responsibility for creating and maintaining a culture of empowered accountability. To do so we will need to create and maintain a robust project and communications calendar that helps identify and fulfill deliverables proactively so that we can identify gaps in the project strategy and curate communication platforms that generate solutions to these inevitable roadblocks.
Prioritize Relationships: In order to build the supply for regeneratively raised beef and bison and test our hypothesis of the broken system – we will need to engage with MANY ranchers and producers. We will need to maintain contact lists and Mailchimp databases in order to manage the quantity of interested producers. The project will deploy over a dozen contractors and subawards to work towards our mission. These relationships are all paramount to us. With your leadership we can be sure to communicate with them clearly, routinely and effectively through e-newsletters, emails, etc in a way that values them and their time.
We understand that you may not meet every qualification listed above, if you still think you’d be a good fit for this position, we highly encourage you to apply. Applicants will be evaluated holistically based upon the factors stated above. As may be relevant to the position, ASBN may also consider other aspects of applicant qualifications not specifically listed above.
ASBN and the Growing GRASS project do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. We are looking for people who will be committed alongside us to further an honest, inclusive and welcoming environment.
This is a remote/work-from-home position. Occasional travel paid for by the project and in-person attendance may be requested for meetings and events. Candidates can be located anywhere in the U.S.
ASBN seeks to engage an independent contractor for this work, compensated per hour worked. The contracted pay rate will be $50 per hour with an estimated $50,000/year in total contract compensation. The contracted rate will include annual 3% increases in July of each year. This position does not include PTO or benefits. We expect hours for this position to vary between 15-25/ week. Our team is used to adaptive and flexible hours, with the assumption that you will attend regular team meetings and check-ins, and complete tasks within reasonable timeframes.
Open until filled. Priority to applications received by 2/11; early submissions are highly encouraged. Interviews will occur on an ongoing basis as applications are received. Start date will be as soon as possible. This is a limited-time grant-funded position, projected to end in early 2028.
Please prepare a resume and apply for this opportunity online at: GGRASS Communications Coordinator Position. If a google form is not accessible for you, please email us at [email protected], with the subject line “Communications Coordinator” and we will assist you with an alternative. Please email us at the same address for questions.
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