Colorado Grain Chain Job Posting:
Education & Outreach Manager
Company: Colorado Grain Chain
Location: Remote (must be based in Colorado)
Employment Type: Full time, 40 hours per week, schedule flexible
Pay: $55,000 - $70,000 (depending on experience)
Job Summary
The Colorado Grain Chain is a small but mighty team and we're growing. As our membership network expands across Colorado, we're ready to invest more intentionally in something we've always believed in: education at every level. We're looking for a passionate, strategic Education & Outreach Manager to help us build that vision from the ground up.
The heart of this role is education and community engagement across two core audiences: the farmers, millers, maltsters, bakers, brewers, distillers, and food businesses that make up Colorado's grain community, and everyday Coloradans who can be reached with a simple but powerful message about locally grown grain and why it matters. Where it makes sense, we also want to support and amplify the K-12 agricultural and nutrition educators already doing great work in Colorado.
One exciting thread of this work is the connection between grain and water. Colorado grows some of the most water-efficient grains in the country, and helping consumers and businesses understand that connection is increasingly central to CGC's education mission. This role will help tell that story through field tours, demonstrations, and materials tied to CGC's Water Wise Grains programming.
In year one, you'll build a multi-year strategic education plan while simultaneously executing on the work below. You'll work closely with our Director of Events & Development, who owns event logistics, while you own the educational programming, content, speakers, and facilitation. Our Communications & Marketing Coordinator turns your content and ideas into polished, visually compelling assets and distributes them through our channels. You and our Membership & Programs Manager will work together to develop content to educate our business members as well as share their successes with our wider audience. This position reports directly to the Executive Director.
If you're energized by building an education program that is fun, engaging, and rooted in a community that truly believes in what it's growing, this could be a remarkable opportunity.
The heart of this role is education and community engagement across two core audiences: the farmers, millers, maltsters, bakers, brewers, distillers, and food businesses that make up Colorado's grain community, and everyday Coloradans who can be reached with a simple but powerful message about locally grown grain and why it matters. Where it makes sense, we also want to support and amplify the K-12 agricultural and nutrition educators already doing great work in Colorado.
One exciting thread of this work is the connection between grain and water. Colorado grows some of the most water-efficient grains in the country, and helping consumers and businesses understand that connection is increasingly central to CGC's education mission. This role will help tell that story through field tours, demonstrations, and materials tied to CGC's Water Wise Grains programming.
In year one, you'll build a multi-year strategic education plan while simultaneously executing on the work below. You'll work closely with our Director of Events & Development, who owns event logistics, while you own the educational programming, content, speakers, and facilitation. Our Communications & Marketing Coordinator turns your content and ideas into polished, visually compelling assets and distributes them through our channels. You and our Membership & Programs Manager will work together to develop content to educate our business members as well as share their successes with our wider audience. This position reports directly to the Executive Director.
If you're energized by building an education program that is fun, engaging, and rooted in a community that truly believes in what it's growing, this could be a remarkable opportunity.
Job Benefits
Flexible working hours.
A healthcare stipend to purchase individual health insurance.
Employer-matched retirement savings available.
PTO accrued from day one plus sick days.
Professional development budget.
Flexibility to attend industry events on CGC time.
Opportunity to work in a dynamic and supportive environment.
Opportunity to work in a dynamic and supportive environment.
Job Responsibilities
Education Programming - 50%
Develop a multi-year strategic education plan beginning with an assessment of the current landscape of grain and water education across Colorado to identify gaps and opportunities, then building toward clear programming priorities, target audiences, delivery methods, and success metrics. Build and maintain a multi-year calendar of educational events in collaboration with the Director of Events & Development, dividing responsibilities clearly between event logistics and educational programming.- Design and deliver educational programming for CGC's two core audiences: the grain and food system businesses in our network who want practical, expert knowledge to grow and everyday Coloradans curious about locally grown grain.
- Plan and execute a cadence of quarterly educational events including field tours, on-farm demonstrations, webinars, and in-person programming (at least 12 over our new three-year grant period). For each event, you own the educational goals, content, speakers, facilitation, and attendee data collection. The Director of Events & Development owns the logistics and event mechanics.
- Develop an Industry Days model for professional learning, bringing expert knowledge to restaurants, retailers, maltsters, bakers, and other makers who want to understand sourcing, quality, and the story behind Colorado grain.
- Build a hybrid delivery model combining in-person programming with recorded and asynchronous online content that can be reused and shared widely.
- Work with the Membership & Programs Manager to develop content that educates our business members and shares their successes with a wider audience, and collaborate on regional member meetups with layered adult education programming such as grain-to-glass tours, baking classes, and farm visits.
- Support the annual Colorado Grain Summit, which is a major lift for the whole team. Your primary responsibility is the educational programming, speaker coordination, and facilitation.
- Where opportunities arise, connect with K-12 agricultural and nutrition educators already doing great work in Colorado to explore how CGC can support and amplify their programming rather than build parallel programs from scratch.
- Collect attendee information, distribute follow-up surveys, and maintain engagement tracking. In-person presence at events is expected.
Consumer Outreach and Materials Creation - 50%
Research and write educational content for CGC's core audiences: grain and food system businesses and everyday consumers. Assemble the information, text, data, and narrative that our Communications & Marketing Coordinator subsequently turns into polished, visually compelling materials and distributes through our channels.- Develop a suite of consumer-facing CGC materials that can be displayed in member businesses, such as posters about the local grain economy and each business's role in it, cards connecting local products to the producers behind them, and visual representations of the impact of a single purchase, including water-wise grain education.
- Explore and develop a program that helps consumers and businesses understand and visualize the agricultural footprint behind their food and drink purchases. Programs like the Northeast Grainshed's Square Foot campaign (additional info) are an inspiration for the kind of thinking we have in mind, though we're open to what form this takes in Colorado. This kind of program pairs naturally with strengthening CGC's Colorado Grown Grains logo, and we envision them being developed in close coordination.
Work with our Communications & Marketing Coordinator to ensure all educational content and materials are consistent with CGC's voice, brand, and distribution strategy.
Ongoing
Attend and represent CGC at events including the Colorado Grain Summit, regional member meetups, field days, and other industry gatherings.- Assist with other operational responsibilities as needed.
Qualifications
Required
- Self-motivated individual with a working phone and computer with internet access.
- Excellent time-management, organization, and communication skills (written, online, and interpersonal).
- Experience in education, curriculum development, or program design.
- Confidence in writing and assembling educational content for a range of audiences.
- Experience with event coordination, speaker outreach, logistics, planning, and multi-stakeholder engagement.
- Ability to track program outcomes, synthesize participant data, and write clear impact reports for both internal and funder audiences.
Preferred
- Experience working with adult professional development, consumer education, or community programming.
- Experience with community outreach, grassroots organizing, or stakeholder engagement.
- Familiarity with agriculture, water resiliency, sustainable food systems, or the Colorado craft food and beverage industries.
Any experience with policymaker engagement is a plus.
Attributes for Success
- Organized and Detail Oriented: Able to build a strategic plan and maintain accurate program, event, and attendance records.
- Strong Interpersonal Skills: Capable of building and maintaining relationships with members, partners, educators, and policymakers.
- Self-Motivated, Proactive, and Resourceful: Able to identify programming opportunities and act on them without waiting to be directed.
- Collaborative: Comfortable working closely with teammates who own adjacent pieces of the work, handing off content clearly and communicating proactively.
- Adaptability: Comfortable working in a dynamic environment with the ability to prioritize and adjust as needs evolve.
- Tech-Savvy: Proficient in using digital tools and platforms for communication, content creation, and record-keeping.
Team Player: Willing to collaborate and support team members to achieve common goals (we're a small but mighty team!)
Application Instructions
To apply, please submit the following:
- Cover Letter
- Resume
- References (2-3)
- References will not be contacted until the final stages of the hiring process.
Email your application materials
- Send to hiring@coloradograinchain.com.
- Send with the subject line "Application - Education & Outreach Manager."
- Applications reviewed on a rolling basis.
About Colorado Grain Chain
The Colorado Grain Chain is a membership-based nonprofit growing and connecting a vibrant, community-centered grain economy in Colorado. We work across the full grain value chain connecting farmers, millers, maltsters, bakers, brewers, distillers, and everyday Coloradans who believe grain is the backbone of a resilient local food system.
The CGC has over 140 business members spanning more than 28 counties, the annual Colorado Grain Summit is gaining momentum, and the Microgrant program has reinvested over $90,000 into the local grain economy. The CGC is a small but high-impact organization at an exciting moment of growth.