Food Safety Coordinator, Equal Exchange

The Food Safety Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that Equal Exchange’s food safety programs meet or exceed all federal, state, and local food safety regulations to protect the health and wellbeing of everyone in our supply chain: farmers, workers, and customers. This position is based out of West Bridgewater, MA, with occasional travel to Equal Exchange warehouses, suppliers, and co-packers.

To Apply:
Please send your resume, cover letter and answers to the application questions below to foodsafety@equalexchange.coop

Job Description:
Employment Status: Full Time, Regular Exempt Position
Hours: 40 hours/week
Starting Salary: $42,000
Benefits: Health/dental/vision insurance coverage, vacations, holidays, sick days, eligibility for worker ownership
Departments: Support Operations
Report to: Support Operations Manager


For more information and to apply, visit the equal exchange website.

Director: Rural Training & Research Center, Federation of Southern Cooperatives

Position Announcement

Director - Federation's Rural Training and Research Center

(RTRC)

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF, is a regional cooperative and rural development organization, serving a membership of Black farmers, landowners, cooperatives and other low-income rural people in the Southeast. We are seeking an

experienced, energetic and creative person to serve as the Director of the Federation's Rural Training Center in Epes, Alabama. The person will report to the Federation's Executive Director, based in Atlanta, be a member of the organization's Executive Staff and will have day-today responsibilities to operate and develop the RTRC facilities and demonstration farming and forestry components, located on 850 acres in Sumter County, Alabama; and supervise the programs and staff of the organization based at the RTRC, and other related activities of the Alabama State Association of Cooperatives.

PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR DETAILS
Director - Federation's Rural Training and Research Center
www.federation.coop

Persons interested in applying for this position should mail or email a letter of interest and an up-to-date resume to:

John Zippert, Director of Program Operations

Federation of Southern Cooperatives/ Land Assistance Fund

P. O. Box 95, Epes, Alabama 35460. 

Email:

johnzippert@federation.coop

The deadline for submitting your application is April 20, 2016.

More information on the mission, membership and programs of

the Federation is available at our website: www.federation.coop.

Executive Director, University of Arizona Natural Resources Users Law & Policy Center

The University of Arizona College of Agriculture & Life Sciences (CALS) and James E. Rogers College of Law have partnered to create the University of Arizona Natural Resources Users Law & Policy Center (NRULPC). The center will include a Law Practice Group to address the currently unmet legal needs of ranchers, farmers, miners and others whose business involves the use of natural resources and whose business often takes place on “working landscapes.” The Center will also support research, education and outreach to the resource users community. The Executive Director will report to the head of Cooperative Extension for all non-legal functions and the Dean of the College of Law for all law related functions.

Duties & Responsibilities

Implement, manage and provide leadership to the NRULPC, in three phases:

Phase 1. Engage stakeholders and the full range of CALS and university experts in natural resources to determine priorities for the NRULPC. The NRULPC will provide private and public lands natural resource users information and assistance when they face complex legal environments. The Executive Director will be tasked with determining which issues to focus on first based upon the needs of the industry.

Phase 2. Hire a Legal Director to establish a Public Interest Law Clinic within the Center that will offer College of Law and CALS students experiential learning opportunities by providing legal services and policy advice to resource users. The clinic will serve as a foundation to seek external funding to expand into the second phase.

Phase 3. Work with the Legal Director to establish a Law Practice Group, which is akin to a law firm, that will employ post-graduate legal fellows who can provide more advanced representation as full time lawyers and who will become a new source of legal expertise for the commercial world in this broad area, as well as CALS students whose expertise can inform policy work and research—this will be a clear contribution to Arizona’s and the nation’s economic development.

Collaborate with stakeholders, internal and external to the University.

Design and implement a consultative structure to ensure regular feedback and input from intra- and extra-mural stakeholders.

Report quarterly to intra- and extra-mural stakeholders.

Work with the Development teams in Law and CALS, develop and implement a fundraising plan so that the NRULPC is self-sustaining within three years of inception.

Travel will include face-to-face meetings, conferences, law/policy meetings, workshops, etc. The person will coordinate and attend face-to-face meetings with stakeholders such as Mining, Ranching and Forestry businesses. Plus attend law/policy meetings with the following types of agencies: Farm Bureau, Family Farm Alliance, Agribusiness and Water Council, Arizona Cotton Grower’s Association, the Arizona Cattleman’s Association (travel will be state-wide, but also throughout the West, and perhaps DC). Selected candidate should provide their own transportation.

Other duties as assigned.


For more information and to apply, visit the University of Arizona Human Resources website.

Student Trainee (Appeals Officer) USDA, National Appeals Division

The National Appeals Division is an independent office within the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that reports directly to the Secretary of Agriculture.

The mission of the National Appeals Division is to conduct impartial administrative appeals hearings and reviews of adverse program decisions made by officers, employees or committees of designated agencies of USDA.

This position serves as a Student Trainee signed to the appeals staff and/or regional office. Under the direct supervision of the Supervisory Appeals Officer (SAO) and the Deputy Regional Director (DRD).

The salary shown in this announcement reflects the base rate of pay for the Federal government. The salaries for each location are: Alexandria, VA ($53,435 - $69,460) 1 vacancy) and Cordova, TN ($48,968 - $63,654) (2 vacancies).

For more information visit the National Appeals Division Homepage at http://www.nad.usda.gov/
One or more positions may be filled using this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Duties

The Pathways Student Trainee (Appeals Officer) GS-09 position will provide assistance in a variety of functional areas, including, but not limited to, review Director review requests filed by parties and preparing review determinations for the Director, and reviewing Administrative Judge determinations. Such duties involve:
Examining first level National Appeals Division (NAD) decisions regarding direct and guaranteed rural housing loans and serving, commodity programs, deficiency payments, commodity loans, crop disaster programs, livestock programs, conservation programs, payment eligibility, and price support program which come before NAD;
Participating in examining evidentiary hearings in which one or both sides may be represented by an advocate or attorney;
Preparing memoranda in support of determinations for review by an experienced staff member and signature by the Director on regulatory issues;
Evaluating first level decisions to assess whether decisions are consistent with laws and regulations and their general applicable interpretations;
Performing administrative duties such as: gathers and reviews a variety of narrative and/or statistical data to prepare reports;
Conducting analyses of data to support conclusions or recommendations for action.




For more information and to apply, visit the USAJobs.gov site.

Clinical Law Professor, Center for Agriculture & Food Systems, Vermont Law School

Vermont Law School has a distinguished record of preparing students to serve their clients and the public interest. As the nation's leading environmental law and policy program (US News & World Report), which houses the nation’s most comprehensive sustainable food and agriculture law and policy program, we seek to fill the following position:

Clinical Law Professor

This new assistant professor position will work as a lawyer and teacher co-leading the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems’ (CAFS) dynamic clinical work with students, our LLM Fellows, and Program Officer for Legal Design to develop legal tools, resources and provide legal representation to support sustainable food systems. Responsibilities include developing creative legal resources for broad use; provision of legal advice; outreach and collaboration with local, national, and international organizations to amplify our progressive work; and representation of CAFS at conferences, professional organizations and vis a vis the media. For more about our leading edge clinic click here; for examples of our legal products click here. Teaching responsibilities include supervising students on projects & collaborating/assisting the other CAFS faculty in developing and teaching doctrinal courses. Requires min 2-3 yrs relevant legal practice exp, demonstrated commitment to sustainable food & agriculture, excellent analytical, research & writing skills, and interest in teaching. This is a two year position, with the second year dependent upon funding availability.









For more information on this and other positions, please visit our website at http://www.vermontlaw.edu/community/about-vls/employment-opportunities.









Apply via the link above or send a resume and cover letter with salary requirements to Human Resources, Vermont Law School, P.O. Box 96, South Royalton, VT 05068 or to cblake@vermontlaw.edu.









Vermont Law School is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in our workforce.

 

Farm & Food Legal Fellow, Rhode Island Advocacy Center

FARM AND FOOD LEGAL FELLOW, RHODE ISLAND 

Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) is seeking a legal fellow to work in its Rhode Island Advocacy Center. Working with the director of the Rhode Island Advocacy Center, as well as program staff, the Rhode Island Farm and Food Legal Fellow will be responsible for a suite of work related to CLF’s Farm and Food Initiative. Responsibilities will include identifying and advocating for policy changes, building coalitions, developing and overseeing a direct legal assistance pro bono network, conducting outreach and trainings, and communicating with the press and the public.

This position is based in CLF’s Providence office. The position will be full-time for two years, with the possibility of extension contingent on fundraising.

The ideal candidate will:

• Have a J.D. and be a member of a state bar (Rhode Island Bar membership strongly preferred);

• Have experience working with issues relating to agriculture, aquaculture, or other elements of the food system; 

• Have experience working with private law firms; 

• Have demonstrated experience with policy advocacy; 

• Have strong interpersonal skills, including the proven ability to work with people from different backgrounds and communities; 

• Have the ability to understand and explain scientific issues related to CLF’s environmental advocacy; 

• Have excellent organizational skills; 

• Have exemplary oral and written communication skills; 

• Be able to manage multiple advocacy projects; 

• Be a mature self-starter, able to work both independently and as a productive team member; 

• Be a persuasive, credible, well-prepared advocate; 

• Have the capacity to develop expertise in relevant non-legal technical or policy areas.

General Advocacy Work

• Conduct outreach to a diverse set of Rhode Island food-system stakeholders to identify common legal issues; 

• Build alliances and coalitions among community groups, public officials, business interests, and advocacy organizations; 

• Develop and oversee a direct legal assistance pro bono network serving farmers, aquaculturists, food businesses, and food organizations (the Legal Services Food Hub);

• Develop trainings to advise food-system stakeholders, pro bono attorneys, community groups, and other advocacy groups on legal and policy matters; 

• Write public educational materials, articles, and opinion pieces; 

• Educate and advocate to local, state, and federal legislatures and administrations; 

• Engage in public outreach and speaking on advocacy initiatives; 

• Work effectively with administrative support staff; 

• Work with other CLF attorneys and communications and policy specialists; and 

• Work with the media to amplify and disseminate CLF’s work and policy goals.

Management Responsibilities

• Participate in efforts to raise financial support for individual initiatives and for the organization as a whole, and prepare funder reports and related materials as requested by the Rhode Island advocacy center director and/or program directors; 

• Be actively involved in the mentoring and recruiting activities for interns, staff, and volunteers; 

• Prepare and present for management and board approval proposals for new work; and 

• Participate in program strategic planning. 

Experience in a nonprofit public interest advocacy setting is highly desirable. Candidate must be a registered member of a state bar (Rhode Island strongly preferred).

Salary and Benefits

CLF offers a competitive salary for a legal fellow, an extensive benefits plan, and an open, inclusive, and accepting work environment where differences are highly respected.

CLF protects New England’s environment for the benefit of all people. A nonprofit, member-supported organization, CLF uses the law, science and the market to solve the region’s most challenging environmental problems from climate change to ocean conservation to transportation. Every day, CLF advocates stand up for New Englanders — in statehouses, courthouses and boardrooms, regulatory hearings and community gatherings — to forge innovative paths to environmental progress and economic prosperity for all in our region. To that end, CLF works with communities of color, and also communities that are economically or otherwise disadvantaged, which often suffer disproportionately the impacts of environmental degradation. CLF is committed to representing New England’s diversity in our staff, volunteers, boards and membership and creating a positive, inclusive workplace culture where all can thrive. People of color are encouraged to apply.

To Apply

Send your resume titled "your last name-first initial-resume" (e.g. "SMITH J RESUME") and a detailed cover letter titled "your last name-first initial-cover" (e.g. "SMITH J COVER") to careers@clf.org. Please make "Rhode Island Legal Fellow" the subject of your e-mail. No phone calls please. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Temporary Position re: GM Labeling Compliance at Walmart

Walmart has a new temporary position open in their Labeling Compliance Department. It's a 3-6 months project, working with our alumna Amy White and her colleagues.  This position will primarily focused on GMO labeling in Vermont, data capture and analysis, but the successful candidate would also likely be called upon to research legal/regulatory issues in a variety of interesting areas as they arise.

 

If interested, send a resume and a cover letter to both Catherine Cosby, Catherine.Cosby@walmart.com and Amy White, Amy.White@wal-mart.com. 

 

Human Rights Attorney, Fair Food Standards Council (FFSC)

About FFSC

The mission of the Fair Food Standards Council (FFSC) is to monitor the development of a sustainable agricultural industry that advances the human rights of farmworkers, the long-term interests of growers, and the ethical supply chain concerns of retail food companies through implementation of the Fair Food Program (FFP), a unique worker-led, market-driven social responsibility program that emerged from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' successful Campaign for Fair Food. The FFP has been recognized by human rights experts as "the best workplace-monitoring program" in the US and "one of the great human rights success stories of our day." To learn more, please see the FFSC's annual report.

About the Position

Attorneys make findings of fact and apply the Fair Food Code of Conduct to those facts; draft comprehensive reports; negotiate corrective action plans; carry out complaint intake, investigation and resolution through negotiation or formal decision drafting; conduct legal research; prepare memoranda of law on issues affecting farmworker rights; and make presentations to staff and director, as well as the public. FFSC is based in Sarasota, FL, with work-related travel throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Salary and benefits are competitive within the non-profit sector.

Qualifications/Skills
Fluency in Spanish or Haitian Creole;
Strong communication and interviewing skills;
Strong writing and documentation skills, including attention to detail;
Ability to connect facts and discern patterns;
Ability to interact well with people of different nationalities, gender, and education levels;
Comfort working in rural areas, including onsite at farms (outdoors);
Willingness to work irregular hours and "do what is necessary";
Ability to work well as part of a team, as well as independently;
Discipline and initiative; and
Valid drivers' license




View the full Job Posting here.