Garden Coordinator

Job Description

Job Description

The Salvation Army
Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center
Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division
Ewa Beach, HI
Job Description rev. 05.05.2026

POSITION TITLE: Garden Coordinator
DEPARTMENT: Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center (Kroc Center Hawaii)
SUPERVISOR: Family Services Manager
FLSA STATUS: Non-Exempt
CLASSIFICATION: Part-Time, Hourly

GENERAL STATEMENT: The Salvation Army is a branch of the Christian Church, and the ultimate goal of all programs is a spiritual, emotional and physical regeneration of all people.

MISSION STATEMENT: The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

KROC CENTER HAWAII VISION: Kroc Center Hawaii will be a dynamic and flourishing gathering place for diverse community; where all are welcomed, inspired, and transformed through the love of Christ.

POSITION SUMMARY: The Garden Coordinator will coordinate and help maintain the Kroc Center community garden and establish educational programs and workshops. This position will teach program participants to grow food and promote the benefits of gardening and sustainability. Our ideal candidate is a person who is skilled in community organizing and has an interest in working with people of all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds to support their abilities to grow healthy and fresh foods.

The Garden Coordinator will be responsible for managing all aspects of the Kroc Center community garden to include, cultivating vegetables, fruits, and plants, while developing, and providing general maintenance tasks related to the garden. The Garden Coordinator will coordinate program volunteers in maintaining the community garden, creating, and implementing the program workshops, demonstrations, curriculum, and outreach programs. The Community Gardener will interface with other Kroc programs and local community organizations and groups. This position requires strong interpersonal skills, community organizing experience and a passion for gardening education

REQUIRED MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
1. Gardening and farming experience.
2. Minimum of two to five years of work in coordinating and maintaining a community garden, farm, or horticultural experience.
3. Must have knowledge & experience with regards to local plants & vegetable gardening
4. Experience of garden management and caretaking
5. Experienced in building relationships in diverse communities and working with families and children
6. Experience supervising volunteers. Promoting cooperation and team building
7. Ability to teach gardening workshops and educational classes to adults and children.
8. Strategic planning and long-range program planning
9. Must possess a valid Hawaii Driver’s license.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
1. Knowledge of health and safety in respect of general gardening
2. Knowledge of indigenous plants, flora and fauna
3. Physical ability to walk, lift, bend and carry up to 50 pounds
4. Excellent documentation and organizational skills and computer skills including Word processing, spreadsheet, and data management
5. Flexibility to adjust work schedule as necessary to meet the work requirement.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Admin Responsibilities
1. Organize and oversee community garden activities, volunteers, and participants
2. Maintains all Garden related documents and statistics.
3. Establish regular skills, and education sharing & training opportunities to sustain program engagement.
4. Coordinate special events on-site: monthly harvesting, garden demonstrations and community engagement
5. Develop program curriculum.
6. Maintain all participant registration forms, rosters, attendance, monthly statistical reports, purchase requests and other program data
7. Manage the development of marketing collaterals and program newsletters
8. Maintain working knowledge of The Kroc Center Hawaii programs and community resources to assist clients in achieving their goals. Facilitate access and provide linkage of these resources to clients.
9. Network and build relationships with community partners.
10. Serve as legally required Mandated Reporter, communicating immediately to supervisor, and completing Notice of Concerns when necessary.
11. Follow and ensure adherence to The Salvation Army Policies and Procedures.
12. Attend department meetings as assigned.
13. Perform other duties as assigned by the Management

Garden Responsibilities
1. Perform general maintenance of garden area and tools to ensure that it meets specific requirements and expectations. This will include basic maintenance such as watering, weeding, soil cultivation, pruning, mulching, composting, cover cropping, harvesting, emptying bins, managing weed control, and helping support other participants in garden maintenance.
2. Service all garden equipment, machinery and resources and keep pathways clear of debris.
3. Keep garden storage container neat and organized.
4. Plant and nurture new plants
5. Work with hand tools and basic light machinery and tools.
6. Maintain inventory & purchasing of materials and supplies
7. Lead regular garden activities & workshops and provide guidance and communication to program participants
8. Establish regular skills, and education sharing & training opportunities to sustain program engagement.

MENTAL DEMANDS
This position will work in indoor and outdoor environments with frequent interruptions, multiple deadlines, and competing priorities, and under stressful conditions. Interact with others with courtesy and tact, emote the “Aloha Spirit.” Manage and prioritize multiple projects in an organized and efficient manner to meet tight deadlines. Respond to crisis situations in a calm and effective manner. Complete projects on schedule.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS The position requires sitting; climbing and/or balancing, stooping, kneeling, bending, stretching, crouching and/or crawling; standing; walking; manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination; use of vision; driving a vehicle; pushing/ pulling/ lifting/ carrying 25-50 pounds and occasionally more than 50 pounds with assistance. This employee may also be required to work weekends and evenings.

COMMUNICATION DEMANDS The position requires talking to co-workers, clients, vendors; requires written communication to and from co-workers, clients, vendor; talking on the telephone; requires responding to written or verbal requests of co-workers, clients, and vendors; requires training/ giving verbal and written instructions; requires receiving verbal and written instructions; requires writing/ composing written language; requires reading; requires visiting/ working at other worksites; requires communication via the latest technologies.

The position requires the ability to interact with co-workers and the public in a positive, professional manner in conformity with The Salvation Army Mission Statement. The position also requires the ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds and circumstances.

EQUIPMENT NEEDS: Equipment used includes general office equipment such as computers, photocopiers, scanners, printers, fax machines, telephone (office and cell), video projectors, sound-systems, microphones, audio-visual and lighting equipment, 10 key calculator and automobile.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK ENVIRONMENT: Work will be at Kroc Center Hawaii in Kapolei. Attendance at training courses and conferences may be required.

CLEARANCES: The candidate chosen for this position will be required to pass a criminal history information check. Conviction of a crime will not automatically preclude employment. The circumstances involved in the conviction(s) will be considered.

The information in this job description indicates the general nature and level of work performed by an employee in this classification. It is not to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory, or all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications of employees assigned to this job. Management has the right to add to, revise, or delete information in this description. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position. Employee will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by management.

This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an "at will" employment relationship.

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Employee’s Signature: Date

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Employer’s Signature: Date