Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD) is a not-for-profit organization working in the Appalachian region of Virginia and Tennessee, with some programs extending into Appalachian Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Formed in 1995, ASD’s mission is to grow a stronger Appalachia through agriculture.

Agriculture education is a foundational piece of ASD’s work, which involves every department and every program and has the ability to transform businesses and lives. The Director of Agriculture Education (Director) is responsible for creating and executing strategy that ensures ASD is providing agriculture education to a broad range of farmers and food businesses in Southwest VA and Northeast TN. This strategy should factor in partners who also deliver agricultural education to ensure we are minimizing duplication and maximizing impacts on participants.The Director is responsible for the operational success of ASD’s agriculture education programs ensuring seamless team management and development, program delivery, quality control, and evaluation.The Director oversees the coordination and administration of all aspects of agriculture education including planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling program activities. This position works closely with the ASD Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to optimize management of current programs and help grow the scope and size of agriculture education programs.

The Ag Ed Department includes programming such as the Producer Pathway, Learning Landscapes, Grow Your Own, and Field School and has numerous intersections with the Appalachia Regional Food Business Center (ARFBC).

• Work with the CEO and the ag ed team to develop a vision and strategy for the Ag Ed Department.
• Identify intersections with the ARFBC and create a plan for working closely with the ASD ARFBC team.
• Manage all ASD Ag Ed programs with the goal of increasing farmer and entrepreneur profitability and viability, building more regenerative agriculture educational opportunities, and fostering a more sustainable and equitable regional food and farming system.
• Work with ASD’s CEO and other ASD staff to develop innovative strategies to leverage ASD’s prior work in developing market-based solutions that can grow over the short and long term into core ASD programs.
• Recruit, onboard, and manage all Ag Ed Staff, AmeriCorp/VISTA members, interns, volunteers, and contractors.
• Build and update detailed and effective annual project management plans for ag ed programming (i.e., developing protocol and timelines for virtual and in person foundational agriculture education to ensure that beginner gardeners are made aware of regional best practices, planting dates, opportunities).
• Provide ongoing analysis of relevant research, policies, movements, campaigns, and cultural and economic trends related to ASD’s mission and programs.
• Develop, collect, and manage relevant metrics that measure the progress of the Ag Ed department, enable the objective evaluation of staff, connect to ASD strategy, and support grant deliverables.
• Evaluate programming to assess strengths, weaknesses. Pivot and develop programming as necessary to better accommodate the target audience, ASD’s long-term goals.
• Strengthen and gain community support for ag ed programming by communicating, partnering, cross-promoting, and soliciting input from other internal and external clients, programs, partners, and stakeholders.
• Work with the Marketing and Development Team to create and execute ag ed related events.
• Develop a funding plan and work with the CEO, COO, and Grant Writer to develop and submit grant proposals to support the continuation and expansion of ASD’s ag ed work.
• Work with the COO and Grant Accountant to develop and manage annual program budgets, including managing grant budgets that are federal, state, and local in nature.
• Communicate with and write program reports for funders as outlined in funding agreements.
• Develop diversified, continuous funding streams for ag education programs (i.e., grant proposals, fundraising campaigns, social enterprises).
• Support ASD’s mission and promote DEI principles in all facets of work

Desired Skills:

• Knowledge of agriculture (at least 3 years of experience, preferably in a training role)
• Understanding of markets, market development, and business plans
• Ability to think strategically and develop strategic plans
• Time Management
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Project management
• Strong Leadership Skills
• Curriculum design and delivery and awareness of educational technology – preferred
• Minimum of 3 years work experience in education, training, and/or marketing
• Data collection and management
• Analysis
• Strategic Plan Development
• Report Preparation
• Grant writing and management
• Experience in working within a project team

Travel Required. Amount of travel will vary. Much of it will be within the region along with minimal travel outside of the region.

Job Type: Full-time

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Ability to Commute:

• Bristol, VA 24202 (Preferred)

Ability to Relocate:

• Bristol, VA 24202: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Bristol, VA 24202

We need more Appalachian Harvest Drivers!

ASD’s Appalachian Harvest Food Hub in Duffield, VA provides support, training, aggregation and distribution support to markets for regional farmers.  Since 2000, farmers have sold more than $36 million dollars of fruits and vegetables to wholesale retailers. 

All drivers must have:

• 2 years over the road experience
• Hold a Class A CDL
• Ability to pass required drug screen
• A good driving record

Contact Chelsea Lee for more details:
Phone: (276) 431-3385
Email: clee@asdevelop.org

ASD is seeking branding and marketing consulting services to help develop a brand marketing plan and label for silvopasture-raised meat. Review the RFP to learn more and apply. Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD) is inviting proposals for branding and marketing consulting services as detailed below. ASD will make a final selection based on the proposal which best meets the specifications, our needs, price and other factors. We are not limited, unless otherwise noted, to making our selection based only on the lowest-priced proposal. Please review these criteria carefully and include information in your proposal as appropriate. ASD reserves the right to ask for revised proposals from any or all companies submitting proposals if major
revisions in the basic specifications become mandatory.

Services Description

ASD is seeking branding and marketing consulting services to help develop a brand marketing plan and label for silvopasture raised meat. This includes a landscape assessment of existing silvopasture branding and marketing efforts, listening sessions or focus group interviews to solicit input from industry stakeholders, a brand marketing plan, and a branded label.

Background

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and multiple partners throughout the United States, including ASD, are launching a 5-year project to catalyze significant private investments into the agroforestry¹ industry while increasing farmers’ incomes and delivering environmental benefits. This Expanding Agroforestry Production (EAP) & Markets for Producer Profitability and Climate Stabilization project is funded through the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative. This project aims to create 30,000 acres of new agroforestry plantings over five years, including practices such as silvopasture².

Project partners intend to accomplish this goal by:

• Offering regionalized technical assistance and outreach to farmers, including underserved producers
• Providing $36 million in direct incentive payments to farmers for tree planting
• Creating a national network of demonstration farms for education and outreach activities
• Working with companies and retailers to expand markets for climate-smart agroforestry commodities (i.e. nuts, fruits, timber, and livestock products from silvopasture settings).

ASD operates one of the oldest food hubs in the country – Appalachian Harvest (AH). Founded in 2000, AH sells fresh produce, beef, and value added goods to wholesale grocery store markets along the East coast, with over $3MM in annual sales. As a part of the EAP project, ASD’s Agroforestry Program will also provide technical support to farmers for agroforestry adoption, including silvopasture, to build the supply chain. Leveraging this expertise, ASD is the EAP partner leading the development of a silvopasture raised meat brand. AH will trial this new brand in test markets, and make it available for other farmers to use as well.

¹ Agroforestry is the intentional mixing of trees and shrubs into crop and/or animal production systems to create environmental, economic and social benefits. There are five agroforestry practices, including silvopasture.

² Silvopasture is the intentional integration of trees and grazing livestock, which are intensively managed together on the same land. The trees can provide shade and fodder for livestock, as well as forest products for farm income.

Business Consulting Needs

Deliverable: Silvopasture Branding & Marketing Plan

Phase 1 – Landscape Analysis + Needs Assessment: Silvopasture Branding & Marketing Planning Needs with Stakeholder Engagement Process: The Consultant will initiate the project by conducting a landscape assessment of existing silvopasture branding & marketing efforts. Next, the Consultant will initiate a stakeholder engagement process to identify and scope out the industry needs for silvopasture branding and marketing efforts. The Consultant will hold a series of listening sessions, or focus group interviews, to solicit input from industry stakeholders across the value chain – from farmers to buyers across multiple market channel types (e.g. direct and intermediated). If the Consultant has another similar process that has been successful in the past to collect the same type of information, ASD is open to those ideas as well.

• Deliverable: A minimum 5-page report that can be shared publicly with the findings from the stakeholder engagement process and landscape assessment of existing silvopasture branding and marketing efforts. This report will also include the outline of required elements for the silvopasture branding and marketing plan (e.g. identified potential market regions to target, supply chain, livestock products, or producer types to focus on, etc.). This report can serve as the basis for the Brand Marketing Plan.
• Due Date: December 30, 2025

Phase 2 – Silvopasture Brand and Marketing Plan Development: Based on the findings from the Needs Assessment, the Consultant will develop a Brand Marketing Plan focused on silvopasture in the United States. The components of this plan could include: brand strategy, competitive positioning, brand naming, brand identity development, product development and pricing, distribution outline, sales and retention plans, marketing channels and campaigns, etc. An outcome of this plan should also include a silvopasture label.

• Deliverable: Brand Marketing Plan and Silvopasture Label
• Due Date: June 30, 2026

The maximum budget for this project is $48,454. As a funding requirement, ASD will be hiring through an open and free competitive negotiation process. It is ASD’s intention to fully consider and evaluate each proposal submitted. Invoices can be submitted as each agreed upon phase is complete. The final invoice must be submitted on or before July 31, 2025.

Evaluation Criteria and Relative Importance

Value System 1 to 4: 1 = Most important

(No more than three criteria shall be rated 1; two or more criteria must be rated 2 or 3)

1. Price of services offered and materials needed: 1
2. Expertise and relevant experience in chosen field: 1
3. On-time completion dates: 2
4. References from previous clients: 2
5. Resumes of service providers: 3

Please review these criteria carefully and include information in your proposal, as appropriate. All proposals should also include:
● the phone number and email address of the primary contact person
● itemized price quote for costs associated with all consulting activities
● samples of prior work

Opportunity for this bid will be shared with a minimum of three brand and marketing consultants. ASD will accept bids from July 30, 2024 until August 31, 2024. Proposals must be submitted electronically via email to Katie Commender. A bidder will be selected and announcements made to all bidders by no later than September 5, 2024. All consulting activities must be completed by the completion dates specified. If more time is needed, alternative completion dates can be offered for negotiation. A mutual non-disclosure agreement will be required.

Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to hearing from you. If you should have further questions, the contact person for this RFP is:
Katie Commender
Director of Agroforestry
Appalachian Sustainable Development
Email: kcommender@asdevelop.org
Full time – 35 hours per week, option available for four-day work week.

Position Description
This is an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) position. To learn more about AmeriCorps VISTAs, please visit www.americorps.gov. To apply for this position, visit https://americorps.gov/join. Please look for Service Opportunity ID# 123187.

The goal of this position:
To expand the equitable impact of the Appalachian centered Regional Food Business Center through farmer outreach, education, and organizational capacity building. This expansion of the Regional Food Business Center in the region supports the anti-poverty goal of Community Economic Development, by helping individuals with barriers to entry in agriculture including historically marginalized and low-income individuals enter the agriculture sector and have more equitable opportunities for food sovereignty.

Program (Project) Summary
Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD) is a non-profit that’s been supporting local agriculture since 1995. From the beginning, ASD has been assisting agriculture producers of all skill levels by offering various educational opportunities, resources, and technical assistance. The Regional Food Business Center project is focused on bridging opportunities to farmer’s across the Appalachian region rooted in foundational principles of equitable agriculture. Through business-based capacity building, educational opportunities, and focusing on innovative models for the address of climate change and environmental change, the Regional Food Business Center is the next phase of ASD’s work in supporting the economic development of the region through agriculture. 

Please note, the Regional Food Business Center is not an actual physical location, but rather a network of food distribution centers in Appalachia who work to support local agriculture. The VISTA in this role will assist in the work to connect mid-scale and specialty farmers to market opportunities. This will require research to identify farmers, research to identify market opportunities, and marketing to connect the two together. This is a marketing-heavy role that will require graphic arts experience in first creating documents to recruit farmers, and then to help farmers promote their goods to buyers. This role will also support the work of ASD’s Appalachian Harvest Food Hub, which is already doing this same scope of work but with larger-scale farmers and producers.

The ideal candidate will be able to both do research to identify farmers and market opportunities, and also create marketing materials to support the work. The role will report to the Marketing Manager, and will also do marketing work to support the organization as a whole as it relates to the RFBC efforts. This work supports the anti-poverty goal of Community Economic Development, by helping individuals with barriers to entry in agriculture including historically marginalized and low-income individuals enter the agriculture sector have more equitable opportunities for food sovereignty.

Objective 1 of the Assignment  
Increase program awareness through the creation and distribution of outreach material

• Member Activity: Cultivate an online presence for the Regional Food Business Center by preparing content that is approachable to farmers and can be used for social media, the ASD website, and other online avenues.
• Member Activity: Expand community knowledge of the Regional Food Business Center through the regional network by
  • Coordinating with partners in the network to foster
  • Coordinating meetings between partners to facilitate expansion of the program.

Objective 2 of the Assignment 
Volunteer recruitment and management of community events.

• Member Activity: Use ASD worksites to showcase the systems-level work of the regional food business center by
  • Recruiting subject-expert volunteers to lead workshops and educational opportunities
  • Recruiting and managing volunteers to participate in and  support social enterprise and community service initiatives related to agricultural services and system development

Objective 3 of the Assignment 
Farmer recruitment and education.

• Member Activity: Expand the existing recruitment application to both reach and attract participants from targeted populations.
• Member Activity: Research and develop a customized entrepreneur training event for workforce development participants, once each cohort.

Supervision
This position reports to the Regional Food Business Center Project Manager, but may also be expected to work closely with other ASD employees, and with limited daily supervision. 

Location
Abingdon/Bristol, Virginia, with occasional travel to Duffield, Virginia

Hours
Full time – 35 hours per week, option available for four-day work week.