Vice President of Programs

Summary

About the Organization

Edible Schoolyard NYC (ESYNYC) is on a mission to make edible education accessible for every child in New York City. We believe edible education—where kids experience hands-on cooking and gardening—helps kids gain the skills to contribute to a healthy and sustainable food system for us all. We believe in a future where all children are empowered to make healthy choices for themselves, their communities, and their environments. Together with public school communities across the city, we’re building spaces for kids to flourish.

During the 2025-26 school year, we reached over 4,000 students across 32 public schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island through our core school model, mobile education programming, garden builds and technical assistance, family and community engagement, and professional development workshops.

Established in 2010, Edible Schoolyard NYC is a nonprofit organization committed to bringing Alice Waters’ vision to New York City public schools. As the first official “Founding Edible Schoolyard” in the Northeast, Edible Schoolyard NYC has created a curriculum and a vision to fi t the unique needs of New York City public school children and communities. Now in its 16th year, ESYNYC has grown to a $3 million organization and is poised for continued innovation and growth in its program model.

As an organization, the Values we live by include:

• Community: We believe the greatest impact can only be realized by centering the community in our work.
• Equity: We commit to cultivating and advancing a culture of diversity, inclusion, and belonging as we strive for equitable opportunities for all.
• Stewardship: We know it is our duty to respect and care for all around us: our environment, our community, and ourselves.                                                  
• Adaptability: We listen, learn, and act in response to the ever-changing needs of those around us.

About the Position

Reporting to the President and Executive Director, the Vice President of Programs (VPP) will drive the strategic development, execution, ongoing refi nement, and growth of ESYNYC’s programs, ensuring strong impact for students, families, partners, and communities.
These programs include:

• Core School Model: At four Title I public schools (where at least 40% of the student population are from low-income backgrounds), ESYNYC’s hands-on kitchen and gardening classes are fully integrated into the curriculum. We serve the entire school, have two full-time Program Managers (educators) leading classes, and make signifi cant investments in our kitchen classrooms and outdoor gardens.
• Mobile Education: This adapted program delivers targeted instruction and technical assistance to schools without a full-time ESYNYC Program Manager or permanent kitchen classroom and garden, allowing us to bring seed-to-table instruction to even more students.
• Garden Builds and Technical Assistance: We partner with 8-10 NYC public schools annually to build or update existing gardens. ESYNYC also assists the schools with securing funds and off ers skills based training on garden management and upkeep.
• Family and Community Engagement: Through open garden hours, family cooking events, and free farmstands, we distribute fresh food, foster community connections, and extend learning beyond the classroom.
• Professional Development: Our expert staff lead workshops for NYC Department of Education teachers, staff , and the general public empowering them to bring edible education and horticulture into more classrooms and educational spaces to support children.

The VPP will manage a team of three direct reports (Director of Education & Quality, Director of Horticulture & Operations, and Director of School Programs), and lead a staff of 13 including 12 full-time and one part-time staff member, serving 30+ schools and over 4,000 students annually.
In addition to overseeing ESYNYC’s multifaceted programming, the VPP will serve as a key member of ESYNYC’s leadership team. This is an ideal opportunity for an experienced program leader to build, grow, and enhance a creative, inspiring, and joyful program that deeply impacts the lives of students, families, and communities across NYC.
 

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of professional experience working in nonprofits, including at least five years leading a team of managers responsible for their own direct reports
• Significant experience leading in-school and/or out-of-school time programs in NYC public schools
• Experience with food education and/or outdoor programming is a plus but not required
• Experience managing a team with unionized staff members is a plus but not required
• Demonstrated experience and commitment to building and helping teams adopt new systems, processes, and tools to drive efficiency, collaboration, and productivity
• A strong understanding of, significant experience with, and commitment to incorporating diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all aspects of program work
• Experience integrating an equity framework into all aspects of program management and team leadership
• Strong strategic thinking and analytical skills, with a commitment to the use of data and evaluation to drive outcomes
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with a demonstrated commitment to driving clarity through communication among team members working at multiple sites with different responsibilities
• Experience collaborating with Development Teams to support storytelling for funders
• Skilled in handling sensitive HR issues with professionalism and discretion and takes a strengths-based approach to managing program staff and work
  ● Excellent project management and organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize, and see the big picture
• A strong listener who is able to understand multiple perspectives, build consensus, and create buy-in
• A bias for action and high degree of comfort making difficult and/or nuanced decisions
• Ability to build strong internal and external partnerships
• A growth mindset; ability to give and receive constructive feedback
• Proficiency with Slack, Google Suite, Zoom and other tools for online collaboration
• Comfort learning and using new technologies
• Experience with and committed allyship to students and communities of color
• Passion and commitment to ESYNYC’s mission

You don’t need to meet every qualification to be considered! If you’re excited about this role and believe you could succeed in it, we encourage you to apply.

Duties

Team Management and Executive Leadership (60%)

• Coordinate, organize, and oversee the operational activities of the Program Team, providing strategic leadership, professional development, and coaching to support a collaborative, innovative, professional, and high-performing culture
• Directly manage, collaborate with, and support the Director of Education & Quality, Director of Horticulture and Operations, and the Director of School Programs to execute day-to-day operations.
• Build systems, processes, and tools to ensure strong day-to-day communication, efficiency, transparency, and collaboration
• Lead annual budget development and goal-setting for the Program Team; oversee ongoing tracking and reporting to ensure strong accountability
• Continuously assess the Program Team structure, roles and responsibilities, and recommend changes as needed to meet organizational goals, team objectives, and individual position needs
• Work closely with the Director of Operations and Finance to create and amend processes and policies to support team members’ learning, growth in their roles, and accountability such as processes for staff member onboarding and exiting, performance reviews, and any changing work requirements to address organizational needs
• Serve as a key member of ESYNYC’s senior leadership team, contributing to the development and refinement of organizational strategy and goals, and ensuring strong cross-team communication and collaboration
• Collaborate with the Vice President of Development and External Affairs to ensure cross-team projects and events (e.g. corporate volunteering, external communications and marketing, donor site visits, etc.) are integrated into program operations and aligned with ESYNYC values and strategic priorities
• Serve as the primary programmatic liaison to ESYNYC’s Board of Directors; lead the Program Committee to ensure their engagement with program implementation and outcomes; attend and present on program outcomes at quarterly Board meetings

Program Strategy and Design (25%)

• Lead the ongoing design, implementation, and refinement of ESYNYC’s programmatic strategy, ensuring alignment with organizational vision and goals; serve as a key programmatic leader in ESYNYC’s upcoming strategic planning process
• Support the Program Directors and Program Team to translate high level strategy into actionable goals and projects
• Oversee the ongoing collection, reporting, analysis, and evaluation of program data, in collaboration with the Director of Education & Quality and Evaluation Consultant(s), to ensure ESYNYC is using evaluation to effectively and continuously improve programs and communicate program effectiveness to appropriate stakeholders
• Assess and ensure that ESYNYC’s values and DEIB are reflected in all aspects of program work

Partnership Management and Thought Leadership (15%)

• Cultivate and sustain relationships with key external partners and funders, in partnership with Program Directors and the Vice President of Development and External Aff airs, including but not limited to public school partner leaders, the Department of Education, the School Construction Authority (SCA), NYC City Council, Education Coalitions, peer organizations and higher education institutions
• Engage with leaders in the sector and in food education to share insights and best practices, staying abreast of new priorities and initiatives and contributing to the broader field
• Represent ESYNYC and share the organization’s work with external audiences