Director of Programs

Description

Position: Director of Programs

Status: Regular, Full Time, Exempt

Hours: 40 hours Mon-Fri. Requires regular presence during key program and event operations, 

including Sundays and Jewish holidays.

Reports to: CEO

Direct Reports: Education Managers and other program staff as assigned.

Coastal Roots Farm is a nonprofit community farm and education center guided by Jewish values. The Farm’s 

mission is to cultivate healthy, connected communities by integrating sustainable agriculture, food justice, and 

ancient Jewish wisdom. 

The Farm’s impact initiatives include 1) regenerative agriculture, 2) equitable food access, 3) environmental 

education, and 4) Jewish life. We grow organic food in a climate-smart way, donate the majority our harvests

with those who need it most, inspire youth to be the next generation of environmental stewards, and connect 

people of all backgrounds to Jewish holidays, values, and traditions through farming and food. 

Coastal Roots Farm is located in Encinitas, CA on approximately 18 acres of land which we recognize as 

indigenous to the Kumeyaay and Luiseño peoples. Coastal Roots Farm was incubated by the Leichtag 

Foundation in 2014 and received 501(c)(3) public charity status in 2015. 

Coastal Roots Farm is entering its next decade focused on refinement, integration, and long-term 

sustainability. The Director of Programs is a newly created senior leadership role responsible for overseeing 

the Farm’s full portfolio of programs and events and the teams who bring them to life. This role brings 

together work previously held across separate Education and Jewish Life pillars in service of a more integrated 

programmatic voice.

At the heart of the role are two core goals: inspiring youth to become environmental stewards and building 

Jewish community through the Farm’s unique land-based setting. The Farm’s environmental education 

programs reach thousands of young people across San Diego County through hands-on learning connected to 

farming, food, land, climate, and community. Alongside this broad impact, Coastal Roots Farm is part of the 

wider fabric of Jewish communal life in San Diego, offering a distinctive entry point rooted in earth-based 

Jewish tradition, sustainability, spirituality, and belonging.

The Director of Programs will lead strategy and execution across education, community, volunteer, tour, 

internship, family, adult, Shabbat, Jewish holiday, and public programs. This role requires a high-capacity, 

imaginative, and operationally strong leader who can set vision, manage budgets, supervise managers, 

strengthen systems, build partnerships, and represent the Farm with schools, families, Jewish organizations, 

donors, vendors, and community stakeholders.

This role requires comfort leading programs within a dynamic, multi-operational regenerative farm ecosystem, 

where education, community gathering, food production, distribution, volunteers, public events, and site 

operations intersect.

The ideal candidate will help shape Coastal Roots Farm’s next decade as both a leading environmental 

education partner in the region and a Jewish farm for all people, guided by the Jewish values that shape our 

work.

Requirements

Strategic Leadership:

• Set and steward the vision for the Farm’s Programs department across education, Jewish life, family, adult, and community programs.
• Maintain distinct education and community program areas while strengthening the integrated ethos that connects them.
• Translate organizational priorities into annual program goals, calendars, budgets, staffing models, and implementation plans.
• Ensure programs reflect the Farm’s commitment to Jewish values, environmental stewardship, inclusivity, accessibility, bridge-building, belonging, and care for community.
• Use data, evaluation, participant feedback, staff insight, and community needs to refine programs and guide decisions.
• Partner with the CEO and senior team to shape the Farm’s next decade of programmatic impact.

Staff Leadership and Operations:

• Strengthen systems for staff scheduling, program coverage, training, supervision, role clarity, compliance, and accountability.
• Ensure programs are well-run, safe, adequately staffed, financially responsible, and aligned with site capacity.
• Coordinate across Farm Production and Distribution, Finance, Philanthropy, Marketing, Events, Facilities, Security, and Operations.
• Ensure appropriate management coverage, escalation pathways, and cross-departmental communication for programs and events.

Education and Community Programs:

• Oversee the strategy, quality, staffing, and operations of all programs.
• Guide curriculum development and refinement in partnership with Education Managers and program staff, ensuring programs are inclusive, age-appropriate, experiential, place-based, accessible, and mission-aligned.
• Ensure Jewish life and community programs are accessible, meaningful, inclusive, and welcoming to people across a wide range of Jewish knowledge, identity, interfaith experience, spirituality, and religious or non-religious practice.
• Integrate Jewish holidays, values, traditions, spirituality, land-based practice, farming, food, and community into program design and experience.
• Build and steward relationships with schools, environmental education partners, Jewish community partners, and community leaders.
• Help position the Farm as a Jewish community space that fosters belonging, learning, connection, and relationship across difference.

Budget, Administration, and Impact:

• Develop, manage, and monitor program budgets in partnership with Finance and the CEO.
• Own program-level financial performance, including staffing assumptions, earned revenue, scholarships, supplies, contractors, registration fees, and program expenses.
• Ensure strong systems for registration, revenue tracking, scholarships, attendance, participant data, evaluation, and impact reporting.
• Partner with Grants, Philanthropy, Finance, and Marketing to support proposals, reports, donor communications, and impact storytelling.
• Identify opportunities to improve systems, reduce inefficiencies, strengthen coordination, and increase program sustainability.

External Relations and Storytelling:

• Serve as a visible ambassador for the Farm’s programs with participants, families, schools, Jewish organizations, donors, community partners, volunteers, vendors, and regional networks.
• Represent the Farm at community convenings, partner meetings, donor gatherings, school meetings, and Jewish communal settings, and occasional press or interview opportunities.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Required:

• 7+ years of relevant leadership experience in education, Jewish communal life, community programming, nonprofit leadership, environmental education, or a related field.
• Experience supervising managers and leading layered teams of full-time, part-time, seasonal, contractor, and/or volunteer staff.
• Demonstrated experience managing program budgets, earned revenue, scholarships, evaluation, and impact reporting.
• Strong operational management skills, including scheduling, program calendars, registration, logistics, risk management, and cross-departmental planning.
• Knowledge of Jewish holidays, traditions, values, education, spirituality, or Jewish communal life.
• Experience designing or overseeing programs for children, families, adults, or multi-generational audiences.
• Strong public speaking, facilitation, writing, relationship-building, and storytelling skills.
• Commitment to inclusive community-building across diverse backgrounds, identities, and levels of Jewish literacy or practice.
• Ability to hold both strategic vision and operational detail.
• Ability to work evenings, Sundays, Jewish holidays or Shabbat for related programs.
• Environmental education, sustainability, agriculture, food justice, outdoor education, curriculum development, or land-based learning experience preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience expected; advanced degree welcome but not required.

COMPENSATION

The salary range starts at $90,000 and is commensurate with experience. Coastal Roots Farm offers a 

competitive benefits package.