JOB OPENINGS:
Permaculture Landscape Designer (Independent Contractors)
Sustainable Solano is looking for Permaculture Landscape Designers / contractors interested in designing and leading installations of demonstration permaculture food forest gardens in Solano County through our Solano Sustainable Backyard Program.
Since 2014 we have been installing demonstration food forests throughout Solano County. These are beautiful and productive gardens that incorporate trees, build organic matter in the soil and are designed around secondary water: rainwater captured in the ground, roof water diverted to swales and laundry-to-landscape greywater. All gardens are installed by the community through educational workshops. We have been working with gifted and committed landscape professionals on these demonstration gardens. Unfortunately, many of these contractors have moved out of the area and we are looking for new designers to join our efforts.
The Permaculture Landscape Designer actively participates in site selection; designs each garden working with the homeowners (food forest keepers); and guides / educates community members to install these gardens in a series of public workshops. Additional work to finalize the site might be required (e.g. fine-tune irrigation installed by general public).
Find out more about the position here. To apply, please email a summary of your experience and aspirations to info@sustainablesolano.org with “Permaculture Landscape Designer” in the subject of the email.
Graphic Designer (Independent Contractors)
Sustainable Solano is looking for Graphic Designers who can support our programs through creating attention-grabbing materials, ranging from posters and handouts to publications. Are you familiar with our organization and interested in adding work with us to your portfolio?
Please email a summary of your experience and some work samples to info@sustainablesolano.org with “Graphic Designer” in the subject of the email.
Cooking Instructors (Independent Contractors)
Sustainable Solano is seeking cooking instructors with a flexible schedule on an as-needed basis.
These instructors will increase public awareness and knowledge of the health benefits, preparation and sourcing of specialty crops (including via CSA programs). While this work is specifically within the context of specialty crops (which include fruits and vegetables, beans, tree nuts, and culinary herbs), the cooking classes also offer a platform for educating the public about the overall benefits of buying local.
To apply, please email about your experience and interest to Program Manager Stephanie Oelsligle Jordan at stephanie@sustainablesolano.org with “Cooking Instructor” in the subject of the email.
Working at Sustainable Solano
Thank you for your interest in Sustainable Solano! Before you submit a formal application to become a team member, please read this document carefully to better understand the essence of the organization and the nature of our work. Demanding and rewarding, this work is not for everyone, and we want to give you a chance to reflect on your compatibility with our organization and determine the right fit.
Sustainable Solano is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to nurturing initiatives for the good of the whole. We’ve been in existence for more than two decades, yet we are still a small, flexible and dynamic organization with big vision and a hard-working team.
We work for people and with people
Many hold a belief that sustainability is all about smart plans, scientific research, data and new technology. While we also recognize the value of these, we strongly believe that sustainability begins in human hearts, in our ability to live well together, to truly hear and see each other, and to work together towards something bigger than ourselves. We are informed and inspired by the “One Planet Living” sustainability framework, principles and approach.
Your work will be all about people! You will engage with community members from all walks of life and partner with organizations in the public and private sectors. Our public event and community workshop attendees range in age from 5 to 95 and are as diverse as the communities in which we operate. What’s your role? To inspire, educate, listen, unite and to nurture everyone’s capacity to consider the good of the whole. One day you may lead a permaculture food forest public installation, the next day you may find yourself in a city council chamber presenting. There will be plenty of desk work, too – we expect you to have strong analytical skills, disciplined thinking, ability to grasp serious technical and scientific concepts (and convey it to the public in an accessible way), write and speak well, understand and manage budgets, legal contracts and risk management. We do not expect you to arrive to the team with all these skills mastered, but we do require clear thinking, timely and precise execution, a strong work ethic, self-discipline and an unending desire to learn and grow. Team members will support you and teach the technical aspects of the work on the job.
Absolutely critical are the relationships with community partners. We work with numerous nonprofit organizations, government agencies, businesses, elected officials and members of the press. In this ecosystem of relationships, every connection needs to be respected, nourished and supported, and every failure to do so results in a shock to the entire organization, since all the areas of our work (green infrastructure, local food system, education and so on) are closely connected and there is no such thing as “my program’s boundaries.”
For the longest time, we’ve been inspired by the Buckminster Fuller’s quote: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” Our work is to support this new emerging model of how we relate to our natural environment and to each other. As an organization, we envision the future that works for everyone and work hard to bring us closer to this vision.
We strive to be a self-managing organization
To work for the future, the organization cannot function based on the models of the past. We are inspired by the concept of the “Teal Organization” as described in Reinventing Organizations, and are building intentional culture and structures within the organization to move closer to this emerging model. Accountability, initiative, creativity, flexibility, integrity, open lines of communication, honesty, transparency, vulnerability, shared staff functions, and striving for wholeness – these and much more belong to this ongoing inquiry within the team and the board, and you will be part of this journey.
We have also learned that to thrive in an organization like ours, a person needs to operate from the juncture of individual calling and organizational purpose. Your pure motivation needs to come from service to the world supported by your personal growth and development. We ask you to take heart in the world, the work and the organization.
If all or most of it speaks to you and calls you forward, we’d love to hear from you!
Sustainable Solano Team
Would you like to dig deeper into our goals as an organization? Read our Theory of Change here.
