Director of Affiliates

The Giving Grove is a national 501(c)(3) organization that provides healthy calories, strengthens communities, and improves the urban environment through a nationwide network of sustainable little orchards. We partner with community-based nonprofit affiliates to equip local leaders with resources, training, peer learning, and practical tools to establish and sustain community orchard programs.

Our growing national network includes 17 affiliates and 850 community orchards. As we expand our reach, we’re strengthening the relationships, systems, and shared resources that help locally led programs succeed for the long term.

HOW WE WORK

We are a small, collaborative national team. #LittleTeamBigImpact.

We value initiative, transparency, thoughtful experimentation, and practical execution. The Director works closely with Programs & Impact leadership and colleagues in development, communications, finance, horticulture, research and data. The Director owns dependable day-to-day implementation and brings forward recommendations, and works collaboratively to establish priorities and improve our national program model.

This is a remote position requiring strong independent work habits, consistent communication, and the ability to collaborate across time zones. Our primary organizational operations are based in Central Time. This role involved approximately six trips annually, with occasional evening or weekend commitments associated with travel, events, and affiliate activities.

We are seeking a collaborative, hands-on leader who believes strong relationships and strong systems reinforce one another.

The Director of Affiliates will be the primary national program contact for The Giving Grove’s affiliate Program Managers, coaching local leaders as they solve problems, strengthen their programs, and learn from one another. Just as importantly, this person will turn what the network learns into clear processes, useful tools, reliable data, and well-executed projects.

This role is for someone who feels confident supporting the professional growth and program strategy of independent affiliate leaders while developing systems that strengthen the network as a whole. Success requires warmth, sound judgment, curiosity, excellent organizational skills, reliable follow-through, and the ability to move between big-picture planning and detailed implementation.

In our small team, the Director will both lead and do the work. First-year priorities will be established collaboratively with the Co-Executive Director, balancing organizational commitments and strategy, affiliate needs, and available capacity.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Affiliate Support (50%)

• Build trusted relationships with affiliate Program Managers through regular coaching, check-ins, site visits, and collaborative problem-solving.
• Strengthen local leadership and program effectiveness by connecting affiliates with peers, experts, training, and practical resources.
• Guide affiliates through recruitment, onboarding, ongoing support, program assessments, and renewal or transition processes.
• Coordinate regular affiliate and organizational assessments to identify strengths, growth opportunities, risks, and tailored support needs.
• Facilitate Program Manager meetings, peer learning, working groups, and trainings responsive to affiliate needs.
  Help develop a regional affiliate support model and, if positions are approved and filled, supervise and coach remote Regional Program Managers.
• Manage assigned contractors, providing clear expectations, coordination, and oversight to ensure quality work and timely deliverables.

Program Operations (30%)

• Translate approved strategy and affiliate needs into practical annual workplans with clear priorities, responsibilities, timelines and measures of success.
• Develop and implement program standards, operating procedures, templates, and practical tools within the Co-Executive Director’s approved framework.
• Coordinate affiliate-facing shared services, including TreeKeeper, online learning platform, the Little Orchard Shop, and shared resources systems, in collaboration with staff, contractors, and vendors.
• Maintain accessible program documentation, CRM and orchard data systems, and relationship records to support consistent service and informed decision-making.
• Coordinate affiliate agreements, subawards, reporting schedules, compliance requirements, and assigned grant-supported research deliverables in partnership with finance, development, and program colleagues.
• Manage affiliate surveys, data collection, quality assurance, and analysis to inform program improvements.
• Manage assigned program budgets, forecasts, and resource tracking. Provide accurate program information, outcomes, and implementation details to colleagues supporting grants, communications, and partnerships. This role does not lead fundraising or grant proposal writing.
• Coordinate affiliate newsletters, resource updates, training materials, and shared learning opportunities in partnership with communications and subject-matter experts.
• Plan and coordinate national gatherings, including Program Manager meetings and the National Orchard Leadership Summit, working collaboratively on agendas, speakers, logistics, evaluations, and follow-up.
• Translate horticulture, education, research, evaluation, and data expertise into practical training, tools, case studies, and resources for affiliates.
• Share program knowledge, promising practices, and research findings through internal resources and external publications.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN THE FIRST YEAR

• Strong affiliate relationships: Program managers report useful coaching, responsive support, stronger connections, and reliable follow-through. Initial feedback established baseline for ongoing improvement.
• Consistent affiliate support: Active affiliates have current program and organizational information, identified support needs, and a clear process for ongoing assessment and support planning.
• Practical, functioning systems: A prioritized operations roadmap is established, with core workflows documented, implemented, and actively used by staff and affiliates.
• Reliable project execution: Assigned meetings, shared services, communications, research coordination, reporting, and other program projects are delivered according to agreed-upon priorities and timelines