ABOUT SEED YOUR FUTURE
Seed Your Future is a national movement established in 2016 by horticulture industry leaders to promote horticulture and inspire more people to pursue careers working with plants. Seed Your Future has a bold vision where everyone in the United States understands and values the importance of plants and the people who work in the art, science, technology, education, and business of plants.
Seed Your Future is making a difference and the movement’s impact since 2016 is evident in the numbers. To date, over $7.1 million has been raised and over 4.56 million middle-schoolers have been reached with Seed Your Future’s BLOOM! campaign that was developed in partnership with Scholastic. Seed Your Future’s online Horticulture Careers Search Tool features 140 careers and is the most popular resource on Seed Your Future’s website with over 287,000 visits in 2020. Seed Your Future is aggressively cultivating an online community of potential contributors and supporters with over 79,000 (and growing) advocates.
Seed Your Future is advancing its vision of changing perceptions about green-collar careers through its commitment to the following goals:
• Awareness. Improve the perception of horticulture and careers working with plants.
• Education. Excite youth about horticulture and careers working with plants.
• Workforce Development. Increase the workforce in horticulture and create a pipeline for future talent.
• Partnerships. Galvanize an active, passionate community.
• Resource Development. Build financial capacity to ensure sustainability of the movement.
Seed Your Future has reached an exciting moment in its evolution as it moves to strengthen its organizational capacity and long-term sustainability to deliver even greater results by formalizing its purpose as a charitable, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and establishing a permanent home within the highly regarded Society of American Florists (SAF). The next Executive Director of Seed Your Future will have the chance-of-a-lifetime career opportunity to facilitate the evolution of Seed Your Future from a successful, start-up grassroots movement to a nonprofit organization with permanent administrative and organizational support from SAF. Seed Your Future will formally transition to SAF on October 01, 2021.
THE POSITION
Seed Your Future seeks a motivated, innovative, and strategic leader to further enhance the vision and mission impact of Seed Your Future. The Executive Director must be an enthusiastic champion and a gifted partnership builder. The Executive Director will have proven leadership, development and communications experience that can establish and execute clear priorities, mobilize new donors and volunteers to achieve Seed Your Future’s goal to create a pipeline for future talent and increase the green-collar workforce.
PRIORITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Executive Director of Seed Your Future will report to the Chief Executive Officer of SAF effective October 01, 2021. Until the official transition of Seed Your Future to SAF the Executive Director will report to the volunteer Co-Chairs of Seed Your Future’s National Leadership Cabinet and will have the support of the movement’s current fiscal agent, Longwood Gardens, to provide financial, marketing, information technology and other organizational administrative needs. The Executive Director will be responsible for continued advancement of Seed Your Future’s 2021 strategic initiatives and engagement of Seed Your Future’s passionate National Leadership Cabinet, Advisory Council and other volunteers while working cooperatively with designated leadership of SAF to help facilitate a smooth transition of all aspects of Seed Your Future’s operations to SAF. The Executive Director currently has one direct report, a Program Manager, an independent contractor that is responsible for development and execution of a strategy for recruiting and engaging new advocates for the movement. Once Seed Your Future has successfully transitioned to SAF the Executive Director will be responsible for leading the continued evolution and advancement of Seed Your Future’s strategic vision and mission.
The ideal candidate will have a minimum of five years of experience in a leadership role working with boards and volunteers, preferably for a not-for-profit organization (e.g. public garden, museum, youth development organization, association, college, or university). Bachelor’s degree with a passion for plants, people and proven experience in marketing, public relations and communications is required. Also, enjoying being part of a start-up organization with a vision for impact is important; Master’s degree is a plus.
ABOUT SAF
The Society of American Florists is a progressive trade association representing all segments of the U.S. floral industry. SAF is in the initial phase of implementing a new strategic plan. Our mission: To connect and cultivate a thriving floral community. Our vision: The power of flowers in every life. We offer comprehensive health benefits, a 401(k) matching benefit, a competitive salary and a Metro-friendly location in Alexandria, Virginia. (Remote location candidates will be considered.) Even better, you’ll work with a team that thinks hard work should be fun, too. And it is.
Search will continue until a suitable candidate is found. Please apply online at https://longwoodgardens.org/employment/opportunities/full-time
For full consideration, please include with your application a resume, cover letter addressing pertinent qualifications, and contact information for three professional references. The deadline to apply is March 19, 2021.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that diversity, equality and inclusion strengthen our institution and the world around us.