Job Opportunity: OCO’s Co-Farmer Campaign Project Seeks Interns
Posted: January 14, 2013
Categories: Food in the News / News from Sustain Members / Opportunities / Volunteer. Job and Writing Opportunities
From the Organic Council of Ontario:
Co-Farmer Campaign Project
The Organic Council of Ontario is offering, conditional on final funding approval, FOUR 26 week Co-Farmer Campaign internships. ALL APPLICANTS MUST HAVE AN ACTIVE CLAIM OR HAVE MADE A CLAIM UNDER EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE IN THE PAST 36 MONTHS OR UNDER PARENTAL LEAVE IN THE PAST 5 YEARS. NO applications will be considered that don’t meet this criteria of our funder.
NOTE: PLEASE submit your CV or resume with a cover letter and the position you are interested in applying for to: mary@organiccouncil.ca, subject INTERNSHIP, no later than January 30th. Interviews are set to take place the week of February 4th.
FOUR INTERNSHIPS:
Social Media Intern; Event Coordinator Intern; Outreach Intern; Administrative Intern
The Organic Council of Ontario is the voice for organics in the province. OCO works with government, NGOs and industry to put more organic food on Ontario’s plates. Formed in 2005, OCO is a full value-chain organization working across commodities and vertically to grow the organic sector. Our members identify as producers, processors, marketers, retailers, distributors, certifiers, NGOs and consumers.
The Co-Farmer Campaign is designed to create a consumer network of a minimum of 3,000 consumer members in the organization by the end of 2013. This new membership base provides financial support for the organization, and provides value to our trade members by giving access to thousands of committed organic consumers.
The Co-Farmer Campaign internships will provide valuable work experience, allowing the interns to develop and expand relevant skill-sets for careers in fields including public policy, adult education and marketing, social media and communications, not-for-profit fundraising, environmental education, public speaking, administrative skills and management.
The experience gained by our Co-Farmer Campaign interns will support the launch of values-based careers in the environmental and not-for-profit sectors. Without previous experience or senior degrees (or both), finding work in the not-for-profit and environmental sectors is a real challenge. This internship opportunity will provide recipients with the hard skills and valuable network connections necessary to begin a career in this field. It will also allow the recipients a unique opportunity to receive mentorship from a variety of OCO members and colleagues- professionals and entrepreneurs from within the organic sector.
Co-Farmer Social Media/ Communications Intern
The Co-Farmer Social Media/ Communications Intern will report to the Co-Farmer Campaign Coordinator & the Communications Coordinator. Skills developed will include social marketing, developing educational materials, mobilizing, IT skills, sales skills and planning.
- Work with OCO’s Co-Farmer Campaign Coordinator to develop and implement an organizational social media plan and media strategy for the Co-Farmer Campaign
- Perform regular updates to websites and social media accounts with a focus on Co-Farmer communications
- Develop engagement strategies for potential and new Co-Farmer members
- Monitor Co-Farmer member activity and build followers
- Develop the forums page and help drive traffic to it
- Extend our social networks to increase potential Co-Farmer membership base
- Develop leads for JCP Co-Farmer Outreach Intern
- Write regular blogs, articles, and postings for social and print media
This position would lead to a career in social media/ web communications,sales and marketing, communications coordinator, project manager, environmental education and builds towards a career as a not-for-profit manager or Executive Director. Previous design skills required.
REQUIRED SKILLS:
-excellent writing and editing skills
-familiarity with organic agriculture and environmental issues
-proven experience with social media
-previous design skills required
-would prefer someone with previous blogging experience
Co-Farmer Event Coordinator
The Co-Farmer Event Coordinator will report to the Co-Farmer Campaign Coordinator. Skills developed will include event planning and execution, developing sponsorship, budgeting, marketing and media relations, fundraising and logistics.
- Work with Co-Farmer Campaign Coordinator to develop and manage OCO Co-Farmer events
- Focus on Hart House Dinner, Ontario Organic Awards, 2013 Farm Tour planning, and retailer events
- Support Co-Farmer Campaign Coordinator to plan Organic Cycling Tour or other major fund raising event in 2013
- Develop volunteer program for training event volunteers and recruiting volunteers
- Work with the Co-Farmer Campaign Coordinator to develop and implement speakers series
REQUIRED SKILLS/ EXPERIENCE:
-strong communications skills
-highly organized and detail-oriented
-post-secondary education an asset
-ability to work as a team and independently
This position will lead to a career in event planning, volunteer coordination, project management, campaign management, sales and marketing, fundraising or media relations. This experience is invaluable for someone seeking a long term career in the environmental not-for-profit sector as a manager or Executive Director.
Co-Farmer Outreach Intern
The Co-Farmer Outreach Intern will report to the Executive Director. Skills developed will include sales and marketing, design, human resources management, strategy development, communications, reporting. Work with the ED and staff to implement and further develop Co-Farmer Outreach program specifically for trade membership.
- Develop and design new outreach materials to enroll trade members in supporting the Co-Farmer Campaign
- Develop in concert with the Executive Director training programs for trade members to implement Co-Farmer Campaign at the retail and Farm Market level; deliver training to engaged members personnel
- Establish recruitment strategies for Board members and engaged members to help with new Co-Farmer member recruitment
- Implement new tools for engaging consumers and producers through the Co-Farmer Campaign
REQUIRED SKILLS/ EXPERIENCE:
-strong written communication skills
-previous sales experience an asset
-public speaking skills
-post-secondary education an asset
-ability to work as a team and independently
This position is suited for someone with a career interest that includes membership services, communications, sales and marketing, program management, fundraising. This experience builds towards a career as a not-for-profit Manager or Executive Director or an Animator. License a must.
Co-Farmer Campaign Administrative Intern
The Co-Farmer Campaign Administrative Intern will report to the Executive
Director. Skills developed will include written and verbal communication, budgeting, book-keeping, reporting, grant writing, project development, database management, minute-taking, and working with a Board of Directors.
- Support JCP support staff and JCP interns on all aspects of record keeping, communications and planning specific to the Co-Farmer Campaign activities
- Provide administrative support to the JCP recipients and Co-Farmer Campaign Co-ordinator including minutes for Co-Farmer Campaign meetings
- Support ED with preparing Co-Farmer project grant application
- Support the Co-Farmer Campaign Coordinator and the Co-Farmer Outreach Intern to develop Organic Ambassador (OCO Volunteers) materials and correspondence
REQUIRED SKILLS/ EXPERIENCE:
-computer-literate; familiar with Office suite of programs
-ability to manage competing priorities
-highly organized and detail-orientented
-strong written and oral communication
This position is ideal for an inexperienced but highly motivated and talented worker to gain entry level experience in a not-for-profit sector setting; leads to a career as an Administrator for the not-for-profit sector, Project Manager, sales and marketing, personal assistant and more.
PLEASE submit your CV or resume with a cover letter and the position you are interested in applying for to: mary@organiccouncil.ca, subject INTERNSHIP, no later than January 30th. Interviews are set to take place the week of February 4th.