Director, LandCare

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) plays an essential role in the vitality of the Philadelphia region by creating healthier living environments, increasing access to fresh food, growing economic opportunity, and building deeper social connections between people. PHS Healthy Neighborhoods team delivers this impact through comprehensive greening and engagement initiatives in more than 250 neighborhoods. Together with community partners, PHS carefully designs projects that build on neighborhood strengths and aspirations to use greening to improve the environment, health, and quality of life in their communities. Together with the City and community-based organizations, PHS works to transform Philadelphia’s vacant land into neighborhood assets by building and managing a network of local contractors and community groups to stabilize, clean, green and maintain vacant lots in Philadelphia.

The PHS Director, LandCare, plays a key role in continued growth and expansion of PHS’s vacant land work while managing all day-to-day tasks to deliver services with excellence which currently include PHS LandCare, Community LandCare and special projects. In partnership with the Senior Director and Vice President, this position will demonstrate leadership by setting and implementing strategy for growth, leading operationalizing new initiatives and core services, and managing operations of the PHS Philadelphia Landcare Program. This position will promote PHS and the Landcare Program regionally and nationally. They will help build and maintain partnerships with local organizations and city agencies, develop the best practices and systematic procedures for the LandCare Program, and lead community engagement activities and special projects. This position serves as a thought-partner with PHS Executive Team and Sr Director of LandCare to chart future growth and director of PHS vacant land initiatives, and lead change and process improvement strategies to drive team towards increased impact and goals. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

  • Efficiently and effectively leads PHS and a network of over 35 community groups and contractors to deliver exceptional cleaning and greening services to improve quality of life and health for residents in Philadelphia and beyond.
  • Oversees the functioning of the Philadelphia LandCare team including site management, site audits, documentation, development of technological capacity, and data management.
  • Assists the Senior Director in developing strategic plans for the LandCare program.
  • Oversees the development of the Community LandCare program.
  • Oversees the process for program expansion including finalizing new target areas, overseeing data collection and compilation, process approvals with the City and operationalize new work with Team, contractors, and partners.
  • Leads team in building networks of minority-owned/led contractors and community groups to deliver services with excellence. Evaluates sub-contractor performance and identify recommendations for improvements. Partners with Workforce Development team to develop curriculum to address challenges and build capacity.
  • Drives improvements and cross team collaborations to streamline operations, leverages resources and builds systems to facilitate scaling up. Leads LandCare team in community engagement strategy for the LandCare program, including presenting at community meetings and stewarding relationships with neighborhood stakeholders, and assisting teams across PHS with upholding PHS beliefs and best practice for community engagement. They will also help assist community engagement for selecting PHS projects across the organization.
  • Develops systematic processes and capacity building among the LandCare team to effectively engage with the community in all work being done, not limited to special projects.
  • Works with the Senior Director to evaluate, plan and execute new projects. Engage and help manage relationships with project stakeholders, partners, and community members, often as the primary point of contact.
  • Responsible for performance of >$4 million budget. Works with LandCare Senior Director, Contracts Manager, and team to build and   manage annual budget. Oversees project and grant budgets and reallocates resources as needed to keep budgets on track. Facilitates invoice processing with Operations and Contracts Managers.
  • Prepare cost estimates and resource allocations for special projects.
  • Leads reflections, evaluation, reporting and learning processes to document and assess effectiveness and continuously improve programs. With support of Senior Director and Manager of Impact Analysis, compiles, maintains and reports on all data.
  • Manages, and develops team, ensuring that team members set and achieve professional development goals, monitoring performance of all team members and taking disciplinary action as needed. With support from Senior Director, hires new team members.
  • Develops and coordinates research and evaluation opportunities with internal and external partners. Research best practices and present impact at conferences, in media opportunities, and events to share learnings from the program, build strong connections and inform program design.
  • Coordinates with Marketing and Communications to manage the creation and implementation of documentation and storytelling processes that showcase our work and impact. Produces compelling written plans, updates, reports, and other materials as needed.

 

 EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS REQUIRED:

Qualifications include:

  • BA degree in urban planning, environmental sustainability, or related field.
  • At least 6 years of professional and relevant experience
  • Professional experience working in government, non-profit organization or with contractors preferred.
  • Big picture thinker with experience in operationalizing plans to create, manage and scale programs
  • Strong organization and project management skills, including the ability to effectively manage and prioritize multiple tasks, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects, on budget, while adhering to deadlines with a shifting workload in a fast-paced environment
  • High-level attention to detail and commitment to producing quality work.
  • Demonstrated ability in managing, developing, and mobilizing a multidisciplinary team and partners to work collaboratively across diverse organizations and disciplines, both internally and externally
  • Demonstrated ability in managing the performance of staff
  • Team player with excellent written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills across varied audiences
  • Demonstrated influential, collaborative, and relationship building skills with colleagues, community residents, organizational partners, and other leaders.
  • Advanced computer skills in MS Office or equivalent
  • Trained or certificate in GIS, preferably ArcGIS, preferred.
  • Familiarity with Philadelphia and surrounding counties and comfort traveling throughout the city and region preferred.
  • Career interest in horticulture, gardening, community development, public health, parks and/or open space
  • Passion for community-based urban greening initiatives

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

  • Must be able to lift 50 pounds, work in bending and standing positions for extended periods.
  • Standard Hours (including travel, evening, and weekend hours): Ability to work a flexible schedule, including some weekends and weeknights.
  • Flower Show requirements: Participates in PHS events throughout the year including annual fundraising events and the Philadelphia International Flower Show, expected to work a total of (9) 8-hour workdays (=72 hours) with 75% (=54 hours) worked at the Show including 3 weekend days.
  • Full-time year-round position
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