Operations Director, Ground Corps (Copy)

operations director, Ground Corps

JOB TITLE: Ground Corps Director

REPORTS TO: Deputy Executive Director

EMPLOYMENT TERM: Full-Time Salary

SALARY RANGE: $55,000 to $60,000

DESIRED START DATE: July 2023

Position Overview:

The Ground Corps Operations Director will be the senior leader for Groundwork Milwaukee’s workforce development and social enterprise program Ground Corps. Ground Corps provides an experiential learning experience for younger adults through landscape and green infrastructure construction and maintenance. A significant part of the Ground Corps Director’s role will be to build on Groundwork Milwaukee’s 2023 internal priority to improve the quality of our team work, project management processes, and resource management. The strategy to improve quality in 2023 is in preparation for the growth in the number of participants, quantity of projects, and project scopes Groundwork is planning for 2024. The Ground Corps Director will be an integral part in planning the direction and ultimately implementing our growth strategy.

Confirmed menu of projects for 2023 include:

• 12 community garden building projects with ADA accessible amenities/features like pathways, pergolas, cisterns and other rainwater capture systems, seating, art, trees, and garden beds (vegetable and perennial);

• 2 green Infrastructure and green space monthly-service maintenance contracts with the City of Milwaukee;

• Maintenance, repair, and light construction throughout Milwaukee Grows, Groundwork Milwaukee’s 85 member network of community gardens in the city.

Key Responsibilities:

Leading, coaching, and supporting Ground Corps staff and team by:

• Ensuring that all Ground Corps staff, team members, volunteers, and community members are as safe as possible while going about Groundwork sponsored activities. Defining, nurturing and further developing a culture of collaboration and shared standards among the Ground Corps teamDirectly managing and supporting one Ground Corps Manager and one Ground Corps Crew Leader. The Ground Corps Manager serves as a training manager, leads hand-on learning/work in the field and supervises Ground Corps Members. The Crew Leader serves as a supervisor for Ground Corps Members;

• Supporting, coaching, and indirectly managing six Ground Corps Members;

• Convening weekly Ground Corps Teams meetings;

• Supporting the development of Ground Corps training curriculum and experience;

• Facilitating the co-creation of yearly and shorter-term goals across Ground Corps programming, and

• Supporting the recruitment, onboarding, supervising, and exit interview processes with staff and Ground Corps Members.

Project management for a menu of landscape construction and maintenance projects including:

• Creating and managing project plans and timelines with the support of the Ground Corps Manager;

• Lead point of contact for most partners, contractors, and customers;

• Projecting costs, budgeting, maintaining & developing vendor partnerships and purchasing materials/supplies;

• Documenting project completion and soliciting feedback from customers;

• Learning on-the-ground practices of field operations for our current menu of services;

• Supporting the on-the-ground supervision, leadership, and participation of Ground Corps Members in project construction/maintenance;

• Assessing the program and organizational capacity and defining a catalog of services and projects Ground Corps is currently able to perform;

Program Administration/Leadership including:

• Managing, tracking, and ensuring the security/maintenance of Ground Corps resources including vehicles, trailers, and tools;

• Building meaningful and impactful relationships with the City of Milwaukee Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation and Department of Public Works;

• Managing the organization of Ground Corps digital documents, folders and event calendar, and

• Supporting the creation of a yearly budget, expense tracking, and invoicing customers.

Strategic Development of Ground Corps program and business:

• Securing additional maintenance contracts and service opportunities to support the increase of Ground Corps members in 2024 and beyond.

• Subcontracting for services to complete more technical projects. Services that the Ground Corps does not have the capacity to perform independently. 2

• Contributing to and leading portions of the strategic planning process related to Ground Corps growth over the next 5 years.

Other Responsibilities:

• Providing support across Groundwork Milwaukee programs including Climate Safe Neighborhoods.

• Establishing and maintaining positive and effective working relationships across the organizations and in the communities and partnerships Groundwork belongs to.. Participating in presentations, tabling events, and other relevant forums.

• Supporting the writing, evaluation, and reporting of grants and other external communication.

• Other duties as assigned.

Estimated Time Commitment to Position Responsibilities:

• 50% Program Operations/Administration and Team Communication

• 30% Supporting and Leading Ground Corps Teams in the Field and in the Classroom

• 15% Organizational Leadership/Participation

• 5% Professional Development

Essential Qualifications, Education, and Experience:

• Expertise in building relationships and leading teams with people who have diverse lived experiences to reach common goals;

• 3-5 years of project and/or program management experience, preferably managing multiple projects or initiatives simultaneously;

• Excellent communication skills and the ability to tailor messages to diverse audiences;

• Navigating and managing cloud based work tools like Google Workspaces or Microsoft 365 for creating and contributing to documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other productivity tools;

• Operating and adapting in an ever-changing and developing workplace.

Highly qualified candidate will have several of the following experiences, knowledge, and skills:

• Project management, administrative, and subcontracting experience in a commercial setting, preferably related to the construction or service industries.

• On-the-ground work experience in construction and/or maintenance, preferably connected to landscape, hardscape, green infrastructure, residential/commercial, or paving operations.

• Planting and caring for trees and perennials.

• Creating and monitoring progress of both process and outcome goals.

• Organizing and managing program and administrative processes and systems.

• Building knowledge around issues of community development, green infrastructure, civic engagement, food sovereignty, climate resilience, and environmental justice.

• Lived experience in the neighborhoods Groundwork Milwaukee serves.

Required Certificates or Willing to secure within 120 days of hire:

• Valid State of Wisconsin Driver’s License (needed within 30 days of hire)

• First Aid/CPR

• OSHA 30

Preferred Certifications:

• Residential or Commercial construction licenses

• Clean Water Certificate (CWC)

• National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP)

Work Location and Scheduled Work Days:

This position has an office at Groundwork Milwaukee’s downtown office located in Schlitz Park. Local travel is required and candidates must have a Valid Driver’s License to be considered for the position. While we encourage staff to work with their supervisor to negotiate work location, life balance and schedule that aligns best with them, the person who fills the position will be asked to work around 15 evenings and 15 Saturdays during the year to best reach neighbors during their out of work hours. Typical hours are between 9am and 6pm, with staff expected to work 40 hours per week.

Compensation Overview:

• Salary Range $55-60,000 based on experience

• The position is eligible for 5 personal days, 15 paid holidays (which includes the time span from December 23rd, 2023-January 1st, 2024) and 20 days of vacation.

• The position is eligible for health , dental, and vision insurance benefits with 60% premium paid for by Groundwork Milwaukee.

• Employer paid EAP (Employee Assistance Program)

• $35 Monthly technology stipend

To Apply:

Please click below and submit a cover letter and resume to Colorful Connections here:

In the cover letter, please describe:

● Why you are excited about the position.

● The skills you will be most interested in contributing to the role as written and how have you excelled at those skills in the past.

Groundwork Milwaukee encourages applications from community members who have served in AmeriCorps and other national service programs as well as those who live in the agency's primary service area, which consists of the entire city of Milwaukee and focuses on the areas North and West of downtown. 4 Groundwork Milwaukee provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status or civil union status, past or present military service, or any other protected classification. This policy applies to all employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, compensation, and training.

Garden Friends 2023

What do I do as a community garden friend?

Groundwork Milwaukee takes volunteers all growing season long (and longer) to support gardens across the city. Regular volunteers may volunteer for one afternoon or all season long, with opportunities across the network. This support is invaluable, and a great option for folks with busy schedules, or who are just starting to explore their interest in environmental work. For most of our gardens, the support that is most needed are volunteers who can commit dedicated time each week at the same location. With this need, we created our Community Garden Friends program for 2023. Rather than volunteering for different gardens across the network, garden friends will be paired with a specific garden in the network and asked to give at least four hours of their time to the garden weekly all summer long (May - September).

• Garden friends will learn the inner workings of the community garden they work with, getting the satisfaction of seeing a growing season the whole way through, practicing community outreach and engagement with neighbors, and seeing what it really takes to run a community garden.

• Additionally, garden friends will meet together once every two weeks to learn together in a cohort model - building soft skills in community outreach, technical skills in gardening & constructions, and touring other gardens in the network. Garden friends will be learning from the garden leaders they apprentice under, Groundwork staff teaching workshops, as well as learning from each other!

Growing Community Leaders

The community garden friend program is designed to be a crash course in what it takes to lead a community garden. Folks with passion & experience in community organizing will learn the basics of gardening, while more experienced gardeners will benefit from practicing community outreach and engagements. Community garden friends will finish the summer with the skills and experience to start their own community garden.

Beginner Gardeners Invited

Anybody can become an environmental steward! All community members, especially folks who have never gardened before, have something to teach & something to learn from fellow community members and from the earth itself. In the United States, the vast majority of public greenspace is tended to by volunteers. The only requirement to becoming a community garden friend is having passion to build community!

What happens after the program ends? 

Garden friends who have the interest and capacity will be assisted in securing a plot of city land and obtaining the resources necessary to begin their own community garden in 2024.

Continue working with Groundwork staff and help us create more gardens for all Milwaukee residents!

**Garden friends interested in this option will be asked to complete 6 hrs of service learning May - September rather than 4 hours.**