Director of Education

Foodwise is a nonprofit organization that champions an equitable and sustainable Bay Area food community through farmers markets and education programs.

Foodwise is seeking an experienced, passionate Director of Education who is accountable for the reach, quality, and impact of Foodwise's education programs, and who sets the department's direction in line with our strategic plan. You will coach and develop a team of educators in building and delivering mission‑driven content for youth and adults to increase their understanding of and connection with food and sustainable agriculture.

Education is at the heart of our work operating farmers markets (currently Ferry Plaza, Alemany, and Mission).

Foodwise’s Education department works collaboratively with the Operations, Development, and Communications departments on organization‑wide initiatives, including but not limited to grants, fundraising events, market programming, and more.

Importantly, Foodwise will be embarking on the design and construction of a new teaching kitchen at the Ferry Building within the next few years. This will involve a complete redesign of Foodwise’s current outdoor kitchen space to transform it into a multi‑purpose culinary and event space. The Director of Education will lead the programmatic vision and define requirements for the new teaching kitchen, in partnership with the ED and Operations team.

They’ll be re‑envisioning education programming and the way we should structure our kitchen to accommodate programmatic growth.

You are a passionate, strategic, and creative leader and educator with a gift for connecting with and inspiring people to become aware of their role in their local food system. You care deeply about food, the environment, social justice, and community building. You are a collaborative manager who can zoom out to see the big picture and plan strategically, while also stepping in to lead programs with both youth and adults.

You’re adaptable, hands‑on, and able to respond thoughtfully and effectively when unexpected changes arise.

• At least 5 years of demonstrated expertise leading food, agriculture, and/or youth education programs, including at least 2–3 years managing and developing staff
  ability to implement educational vision and launch new projects aligned with Foodwise’s organizational values
• Experience evaluating educational programs, including using data and feedback to strengthen programming and inform decisions
• Successful track record working with and managing teams and supervising others, including staff, interns, and volunteers
• Ability to establish and maintain great working relationships with a variety of constituents such as staff, students, teachers, school district administrators, funders, farmers market sellers, volunteers, donors, event attendees, chefs, and restaurants
• Foundational understanding of sustainable food systems, especially food access and food equity issues, with a clear sense of the Bay Area food landscape in particular
• Multi‑cultural and/or multi‑lingual competency and familiarity working with people from diverse backgrounds, particularly in San Francisco
• Excellent public speaking skills and comfort representing the Education team
• Enthusiastic, welcoming personality and an open‑minded, can‑do attitude
• Strong writing skills and attention to detail for a variety of correspondence such as professional emails, grant applications and reporting, policies and procedures, informational documents, and contracts
• Demonstrated experience managing project and program budgets
• Self‑directed and accountable, punctual, adaptable, and comfortable making decisions, able to work both independently and in collaboration with fellow directors