Assistant Director, Education

Organization Information

GrowNYC is a 54‑year‑old environmental nonprofit organization helping more than 3 million New Yorkers by providing essential services and taking action to make NYC a livable city. GrowNYC programs include:

• Our network of Green markets, farm stands, and the work of GrowNYC Wholesale ensuring all New Yorkers have access to the freshest, healthiest local food.
• Building and supporting community and school gardens through volunteer days, technical assistance, training, grants and more.
• Providing 70,000 children each year with programs that offer meaningful interactions with the natural environment.

GrowNYC Education delivers educational programming across several program areas across all five boroughs. The Assistant Director is pivotal in enhancing the program’s efficiency, effectiveness and operational capacity, improving its ability to provide accessible resources, engaging experiences and practical tools that build New Yorkers’ knowledge and capacity to address environmental issues in their communities.

• Assist the Education Director in overseeing day‑to‑day management of the Education program.
• Provide redundancy to oversee management and operations in Director’s absence.
• Translate program strategy and goals into clear, actionable objectives for staff and team.
• Work with the Director to design, implement, and track comprehensive program evaluation frameworks and performance metrics that measure program effectiveness and impact.
• Oversee continuous improvement of systems, workflow, and processes to enhance operational efficiency and cross‑team coordination.
• Implement and uphold the Education team’s operational policies and accountability structures to ensure consistency and compliance across all program areas.
• Take direction from Director to oversee program’s managers and staff in effectively executing program goals and objectives.
• Assist with Education’s HR needs including staff evaluations, recruitment, hiring, onboarding, engagement initiatives, and disciplinary processes.
• Provide mentorship, coaching and professional development to direct reports and other Education staff as needed.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive and high‑performing team culture grounded in GrowNYC’s mission and values.
• Serve as a bridge between the Director and staff, ensuring transparent communication, clear expectations, and consistent follow‑through.

• Support the Director in long‑term planning, including goal‑setting, budgeting and reporting to funding and stakeholders.
• Contribute to strategic planning processes by identifying emerging opportunities, risks, and innovations that strengthen the Education program’s impact and sustainability.
• Monitor and analyze program performance metrics to provide relevant insights and recommendations to the Director to inform decision‑making for strategic improvement.
• Collaborate with the Director to develop and implement long‑term strategies for marketing, procurement, logistics, and community partnerships.

• Represent the Education program in various internal and external meetings as identified by the Director to foster interdepartmental collaboration and key external partnerships.
• Collaborate with the Director to oversee the Education team’s various communications platforms and programmatic resources including newsletters, social media content, educational materials, etc.
• Support the preparation of reports and other communication materials for funders, partners, and senior leadership.
• Contribute to public‑facing events, site visits and other engagement opportunities that strengthen GrowNYC Education’s reputation as a leader in environmental education.

• Five plus (5+) years of related experience and/or relevant program management experience.
• Five plus (5+) years of experience in staff management, PIPs, professional development and performance reviews.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• Demonstrated experience with managing program budgets and/or grants.
• Steady leadership and team management skills.
• Ability to manage sensitive and confidential…