Program Coordinator

Career opportunity: Program Coordinator, Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking

Location: Remote position, location is flexible

Status: Full-time; indeterminate

Language Requirement: Fluency in English is required; working knowledge of French (oral and written) is highly desirable.

Job Purpose:

The Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking at the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute is seeking a full-time Program Coordinator with experience in project coordination, reporting, and meeting facilitation. Reporting to the Centre’s Executive Director, the successful candidate will be an integral member of a team advancing sustainable agriculture and agri-food in Canada. The Centre does not prescribe or endorse any specific farm practices. Strengthening the resilience of the sector calls for diverse farming systems and the flexibility to support local innovations. Primary responsibilities include supporting the Centre’s team with project implementation, maintaining the contact database, and interacting with external partners.

Who we are:

About the Centre:

The National Index on Agri-Food Performance measures outcomes relevant to Canada’s agri-food sector, providing a comprehensive view of sustainability—from food production to retail—on a consolidated basis. Since 2020, a growing coalition of over 150 private-public partners has developed a framework of indicators tailored for the Canadian agri-food landscape. The Index provides a holistic view of sustainability across four areas: environment, finance, social factors, and food integrity (e.g., safety & traceability). Launched as a pilot in May 2023, the Index includes 20 indicators and more than 130 metrics. The initiative seeks to improve alignment across the food system in measuring sustainability and strengthen data collection and reporting practices.

The work of the Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking and the coalition is to continuously monitor and maintain the relevance of its indicators and metrics on the global stage, vis-à-vis other standards such as SASB, GRI, ESRS, and ISSB/CSSB. At the same time, the work of the coalition is to understand its indicators, to prioritize what data is needed, to debate and determine ‘what counts’ as evidence and to curate and plan for work that will improve evidence for each of the indicators to measure sustainability outcomes. The Index serves as an essential tool for measuring, reporting, and advancing sustainability across the sector, poised to become even more effective with the transition to open data and open science.

The Opportunity:

The Program Coordinator plays a key role in supporting the coalition and the Centre’s efforts to enhance reporting and measurements within the sector. The coordinator will handle a range of tasks to ensure the smooth execution of multiple projects, collaborating closely with team members on operations support and partner relations. Reporting to the Executive Director and directly engaging with coalition partners, the key responsibilities of the position are outlined below.

Primary Responsibilities:

Supports the Centre’s team in the implementation and management of projects by:

• Coordinating and participating in project-related meetings, collecting presentations, drafting agendas and meeting minutes.
• Facilitating document reviews by collecting input, summarizing feedback, synthesizing comments, and making edits or formatting changes.
• Collecting, uploading, and maintaining documents in SharePoint promptly. 
• Project/program reporting (monthly, quarterly, annual).
• Exporting reports and graphics from Monday.com for monthly progress update emails.
• Reviewing, updating, and improving administrative processes and maintaining procedural manuals.
• Requesting updates to the website and Intranet.
• Assisting with tracking financial reports, forecasts, and updates.
• Updating the Centre’s activity calendar in Excel and requesting updates on the Intranet site.
• Developing and administering new processes using Microsoft Forms, Monday.com, and SharePoint, integrating them into workflows across projects.

Interacts with external partners by:

• Managing emails from the shared account (info@agrifoodindex.ca) and handling partner requests related to projects, membership, events, and meetings.
• Maintaining records of correspondence for working groups and committees in Monday.com to support agenda-building for respective teams.
• Managing membership in working groups and committees, including tracking replacements and monitoring auto-responses to identify members who may no longer be with their organization.
• Updating and maintaining the contact database by adding new partner details, updating existing records, and removing departed members while notifying Centre staff of these changes.
• Updating the membership list and converting it to PDF for the website.
• Assisting in the creation of surveys for partners (currently 151 and growing).
• Contributing to the coordination of large events.
• Supporting the Executive Director with onboarding new partner organizations by ensuring they receive the necessary documents and access.

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal skills are necessary to communicate effectively in written and oral communications with external partners, ensuring that information provided is clear and accurate.
• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) is required, and proficiency in Monday.com is an asset.
• Proficiency in project management software such as Monday.com, or equivalent tools.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team while also being self-motivated and able to work independently.
• The ideal candidate will possess strong organizational skills, be flexible, and able to meet deadlines while dealing with multiple priorities.
• Maintains strong knowledge and understanding of the Centre’s policies, procedures, and operations.
• Displays flexibility when required to support the Centre’s team.
• Bachelor’s degree in Science, Business Administration, Project Management, or a related field.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in project management and administration. Experience working with stakeholders and partners is an asset.
• Work experience, preferably in agriculture, agri-food, technology, or consulting environments is also considered an asset.

Why Work at Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking: 

We offer a flexible, inclusive, and innovative work environment, including:

• The ideal candidate will be offered a competitive salary and compensation package based on skills and experience.
• Competitive paid leave programs.
• Opportunity to be part of a growing organization at the forefront of innovation in the agri-food industry, with the possibility for growth in responsibilities and compensation.
• CAPI and the Centre is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We accommodate people with disabilities throughout the recruitment and selection process. Please indicate your need for accommodation in your application.

How to Apply:

Please submit your resume with a cover letter indicating why you are uniquely qualified for this position and send them to: t.drevet@agrifoodindex.ca

We thank all candidates for their interest in the Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled; reviews of applications will start on December 12, 2024.