New Roots Intern

Job Description

OVERVIEW:

The New Roots program at IRC is an initiative to support gardening, food security, nutrition, enterprise, and production within the US network of IRC offices. New Roots Tucson supports refugee food security and aids in their transition to the community through gardening, nutrition education, local food access initiatives and small business farming. We are looking for committed, inventive, hard-working, and enthusiastic individuals with interests in organic farming and community empowerment. The position works alongside a New Roots staff member on site in the gardens as well as planning in the office. The New Roots Intern would provide support in order to increase the capacity of New Roots programming at IRC in Tucson.

Please note that this is an unpaid position. All interns have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

This is an in-person position.

RESPONSIBILITIES: • Help staff with ongoing garden projects at 4 garden sites (e.g. planting, cleaning, weeding, general site maintenance) • Develop new infrastructure projects to benefit the refugee garden sites (permaculture infrastructures, murals, accessible infrastructure, etc) • Assist with preparation and presentation of virtual farm and garden workshops. • Evaluate effectiveness of community programming on increasing healthy food access, engaging neighborhood residents, and changing food consumption behavior. • Assist in securing donations of materials and technical advice to support community gardeners. • Track inventory of seeds, tools and materials for the program.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES: • Practice communicating with limited English speakers • Practice languages you may be learning (Swahili, Arabic, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, French) • Gain a better understanding of the challenges associated with food access • Sustainable agriculture methods in urban environments • Monitoring and evaluation

Reports To: Julia Munson

Qualifications

REQUIREMENTS:

• Experience or demonstrated interest in food issues, gardening, garden design, or food security issues, preferably in a multicultural context. • Ability to communicate and work effectively as a team member in a multicultural environment. • Willingness to work outside in variable weather conditions. • Ability to meet at garden sites, primarily in central Tucson.

TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS:

• Interns will be required to use their own technology tools to work on virtual opportunities.

• IRC is not responsible for any personal device expenses such as personal smartphones, tablets, hotspots, data charges, etc.

All personal devices must:

1) Be kept current with all operating system updates and security patches, 2) Use a password or PIN with a minimum of 4 characters to log onto smartphones and tablets and 8 alpha and numeric characters for a Laptop. 3) Have lock screen set to 10 minutes or less with a password required to unlock the device 4) Configurations must be set to delete all data or lock after 10 unsuccessful attempts to enter a password or PIN. Lockout period must be no less than 30 minutes. Additional policy details will be discussed during orientation and training.

CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS: All offers are contingent on successfully passing background and criminal history checks as required by federal and state law or by IRC policy.

COMMITMENT: • SUMMER: Minimum 20 hrs/wk for 3 months • FALL/SPRING: Minimum 10 hrs/wk for 14 weeks • Primary availability during IRC business hours (M-F; 8:30am-5:00pm) • Preference given to applicants able to make multi-term commitment