We’re Hiring: full time Deputy Director

Farm&City seeks a full time Deputy Director to lead fundraising and organizational development, further our mission by helping nurture our four major programs, and institutionalize our strategies for improving the quality of life for all Texans. Position has significant growth potential, intended as a path to succession of the Executive Director role.

Please read this job description below and contact jay@farmandcity.org with any questions. To apply, please send your resume, cover letter, and writing sample to jay@farmandcity.org.


Farm&City Deputy Director

Job Opening, September 3, 2020

The Deputy Director position is intended as a path toward succession into the Executive Director role. This position will focus primarily on fundraising to build this startup nonprofit into a sustainable institution, developing resilient organizational structure, and broadening our reach.

Since our formation in 2017, Farm&City has seen meaningful success through all four of our major projects. However, this was achieved with minimal budget, overworked volunteers, and underpaid staff. Our theory of change is working, but our reach needs to be exponentially increased to meet our goals.

To expand our success, it is time to build a sustainable institution, develop our successful strategies into replicable processes, and build a diverse team to rise to the challenge of our ambitious long term goals:

  • ending traffic deaths in Texas
  • building an equitable transportation decision-making system
  • dramatically increasing transit funding statewide
  • equitable, sustainable metropolitan regional planning

Beginning salary: Full time / exempt at $52,000 a year with no benefits to begin with, with the assumption that Farm&City will adopt normal benefits ASAP, as one of the initial tasks of the Deputy Director. Bonus package negotiable. Position will begin on a trial basis for the remaining four months of 2020, and will be renegotiated for 2021, dependent upon successful fundraising. Substantial room for future raises expected in 2021 and beyond with success in fundraising and creation of a partner 501c4 organization.

Reports to: Executive Director

Primary responsibilities:

  • Contribute to furthering our mission by nurturing all Farm&City programs.
  • Collaborate with Executive Director and Board to raise $250,000 for FY2021 and establish a sustainable development strategy.
  • Help Executive Director build inclusive, statewide board of directors and advisory boards.
  • Assist with managing staff, accounting, reporting requirements, and office / telework needs.
  • Facilitate board, staff, and close partners continuously updating strategic mission plan.
  • Coordinate communications strategy with development strategy.

The preferred candidate must:

  • have interest in career in nonprofit management
  • be able to work independently on multiple long and short terms projects
  • be able to collaborate with diverse teams on multiple complex projects at one time
  • have helped raise at least $50,000 gross for a charity from sources outside family and friends
  • have excellent writing, editing, word processing, spreadsheet, and internet skills
  • be skillful at communicating in various formats, such as: social media, meetings, presentations, testimony, desktop publishing, media work including interviews on tv/radio, email and business communications
  • live in the great State of Texas and have good internet access
  • be excited to learn new skills, new ideas, and new theories of change
  • be excited about the founding vision and goals for Farm&City
  • be able to manage other staff and interns

Ideal candidate will have: 

  • passion for sustainability, equity, urbanism, transit, safe streets, and public policy in general
  • poetic creative writing and content editing abilities
  • multilingual skills
  • substantial fundraising, nonprofit management, and/or startup experience
  • substantial experience in creative roles, such as: problem solving within an organization or government agency, music, theater, arts, public policy creation, graphic design, marketing, publications, teaching, or other roles requiring productive, flexible, innovative thinking

About Farm&City

Farm&City is a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to high quality urban & rural human habitat in Texas in perpetuity. We lead the Vision Zero Texas movement to end traffic deaths and serious injuries across the state, orchestrate long term changes toward equitable, sustainable regional planning for Texas metros, demand equitable representation in the Texas transportation decision making system, and support the growing statewide movement for a paradigm shift in access by public transportation for Texans.

Farm&City’s theory of change includes being vertically and horizontally integrated across Texas public policy to improve quality of life for all Texans. Vertically integrated means that we work at all levels of public policy in Texas, including state legislation and state agencies, regional policies and metropolitan planning organizations, counties, cities, and neighborhoods. Farm&City often plays a crucial role in spreading best practices and good ideas and fostering collaboration between different levels of government in Texas.

Horizontally integrated means that we work across distinct, but intersecting public policy arenas, because we believe improvements to housing and transportation affordability relate to Farm&City uses an inter-disciplinary method to bring complementary policy understandings together from transportation, urban planning, sustainability, and democratic/equity concerns.

We think that transportation safety issues are served well by an understanding of equity issues and deliberate collaboration with other charitable organizations focused on equity. We think that regional growth problems are better addressed with a deep understanding of transit planning, the impact of urban form on health, as well as market dynamics.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should send a resume, cover letter, and a writing sample to Jay Blazek Crossley at jay@farmandcity.org.

The position will be open until filled with an initial round of (virtual) interviews to be conducted as soon as possible. Candidates selected for interviews will be asked to complete several short tasks to showcase their skills & ability to work on Farm&City projects, as well as allow for more in-depth conversations about the expectations of this role.

Learn more about Farm&City at http://www.FarmAndCity.org