Job Details

🌱 We're Hiring: Agriculture & Food Science Department Lead — SR1 (Mississippi)

SR1's Agriculture and Food Science Department (SR1 AFSD) is hiring a Department Lead to help us grow the future of farming — and to help us grow this department from a $500K operation into a $5M powerhouse over the next several years.

We work at the intersection of research, training, education, and food access across Mississippi and the broader rural South. Our mission: eliminate food deserts in our state, advance food as preventive medicine, build healthier communities, and grow a stronger pipeline of new farmers and food-science talent. If you've ever wanted a role where grant writing, teaching in the field, on-camera training, food-as-medicine program design, and building real for-profit ag ventures all live in the same job description — this is it.

What you'll actually do

Grow the funding base. Write, win, and steward federal, state, foundation, and corporate grants — USDA, NIFA, SARE, HHS, private foundations, and beyond. You own the pipeline from concept paper to final report.

Teach — and not just from a podium. Lead our C.O.O.L. Beginner Farmer, Empowerment, and Conservation trainings. You'll be in the field, in the classroom, and behind the mic. You'll also recruit and coordinate subject-matter experts (extension agents, ag economists, food scientists, veteran growers) when a topic calls for it.

Close the food-desert gap in Mississippi. Design and execute innovative models — mobile markets, hub-and-spoke distribution, cooperative grocery partnerships, school and clinic produce programs — that get fresh, nutrient-dense food into the communities that need it most.

Make food preventive medicine. Build "food is medicine" initiatives in partnership with clinics, hospitals, and public-health agencies — produce prescription (Rx) programs, medically tailored produce boxes, diabetes- and hypertension-focused nutrition pilots, and the research to prove they work.

Build for-profit ag ventures alongside the nonprofit work. Help us launch and scale revenue-generating agriculture projects that complement our mission. Profit-sharing is part of the comp package for the ventures you help build.

Reach the people we exist to serve. Partner with our marketing team to produce YouTube training series, social content, and outreach campaigns that meet farmers and families where they are — including Spanish-language and multilingual content where it matters.

Own the numbers. Build and manage department and program budgets, track spend against grant scopes, and produce clean, on-time financial and programmatic reports for funders, leadership, and the board.

Lead a growing team. You'll start as a player-coach and grow into a department head as the budget scales.

Who we're looking for

• Demonstrated grant-writing wins (please bring numbers — total $ raised, hit rate, agencies)
• Deep working knowledge of sustainable / regenerative / organic ag, food systems, or food science
• Innovative thinker on food access — bring us your ideas for closing the food-desert gap in rural and small-town Mississippi
• Comfortable designing food-as-medicine programs and partnering with the healthcare sector
• Comfortable training adult learners and youth — and equally comfortable on camera
• Real relationships with farmers and food-system stakeholders across Mississippi, the Delta, and the broader rural South
• Track record building partnerships across cultures, languages, and generations of farming families
• Business sense — you can build and manage a budget, read a P&L, and help shape a venture, not just a program
• Disciplined reporter — comfortable producing grant reports, board updates, and outcome dashboards on schedule
• Bilingual or multilingual is a strong plus (Spanish especially valuable; other languages welcome)
• Bachelor's required; Master's or relevant field experience strongly preferred (Agriculture, Food Science, Public Health, Ag Economics, Education, or related)

Compensation & details

• Salary: $75,000 – $95,000, commensurate with experience
• Profit sharing on for-profit ag ventures you help build
• Health benefits, PTO, professional development budget
• Location: On-site, Mississippi (some travel across the state and region)
• Reports to: SR1 leadership

How to apply

Send a résumé, a short cover note, and one example of a grant you've written or a training you've led to info@sr1tech.org with the subject line "AFSD Department Lead — Tamu Green.

Learn more about our work: www.sr1ag.org · #SR1FoodEquity

SR1 is an equal opportunity employer. We hire the best person for the job.