About Us:

Community Roots is a community development and wellbeing social enterprise bringing people together through food — growing, sharing and preparing. By transforming underused spaces into thriving, shared places, we create opportunities for people to connect, learn and thrive in their local area. Our flagship programme, Soil Mates — Ireland’s first structured garden-share initiative — connects garden owners with budding growers to grow food and community.

Our Mission 
We grow food and community, transforming underused spaces into thriving, shared places, nurturing inclusion, wellbeing, and resilience.

Our Vision
We envision a future where everyone in Ireland can grow and share food — creating flourishing friendships and partnerships within connected communities that bridge generations, cultures, and backgrounds.

Role Overview:

We are seeking a curious, people-oriented and adaptable Programme Coordinator to support community mobilisation and engagement as part of our pilot garden-sharing programme in and around The Liberties, Dublin 8 and to contribute and support activities across other neighbourhoods where Community Roots is active.

This is a hands-on, relationship-based role. You will spend time in communities, working directly with residents, garden or space hosts, participants and local organisations to support participation in Community Roots programmes. The role blends community engagement, practical delivery, food growing, and learning alongside monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) that will inform future programme development and sustainability.

Community Roots is an early-stage, rapidly growing social enterprise. While we have established a programme and methodology, this pilot will require flexibility, experimentation and responsiveness to local context. The ideal candidate will be comfortable in an evolving role that involves collaborating on the creation of new initiatives, taking the seeds of an idea and making it a reality.

What you’ll be doing:

Community Engagement & Facilitation

• Lead outreach and relationship-building in and around The Liberties, Dublin 8 and other assigned communities.
• Support and facilitate group sessions, workshops and community meet-ups.
• Help create a welcoming, inclusive presence for Community Roots in The Liberties and other areas.
• Encourage participation in ‘Soil Mates’ and future Community Roots initiatives.
• Build a strong, inclusive presence in each community and ensure diverse participation.

Programme Delivery Support

• Support the coordination of activities across programme sites and hubs.
• Help with the practical, hands-on aspects of delivery - from setting things up to problem-solving on the ground.
• Work with facilitators, volunteers and partners to keep activities running smoothly.
• Contribute ideas on how Community Roots can better understand and communicate the social and environmental impact of its work.
• Support the coordination of small-scale pilot or partner initiatives relating to growing, preparing and sharing food, helping to test approaches and inform future integration into Community Roots’ programmes.

Learning, Reflection & Improvement

• Help devise and conduct surveys to assess community needs and capture impact.
• Gather stories, insights and outcomes from participants to feed into reporting and communications.
• Contribute ideas on how we can better understand and communicate the social and environmental impact of our work.
• Support the preparation of learning summaries, case studies or inputs that may inform funding applications and future programme development.

Communication & Coordination

• Support online community spaces (e.g. WhatsApp groups) with encouragement, updates and practical tips.
• Maintain good documentation and communication records.
• Liaise with Community Roots’ team to align activities with overall project goals.
• Support Community Roots’ communications by sharing updates, photos and stories from activities on the ground, in line with guidelines.
• Contribute insights, stories and evidence from delivery to support organisational learning, communications and future funding conversations.
• Provide general administrative support as required to ensure the smooth delivery and coordination of programmes.

Who This Role Is For:

• You are people-oriented and genuinely enjoy spending time in communities, listening, building trust and encouraging participation.
• You are practical and hands-on, happy to roll up your sleeves, help set things up, and deal with the day-to-day realities of community-based work.
• You are comfortable with ambiguity, and can stay grounded and proactive when things are still being figured out.
• You are organised and reliable, able to juggle multiple relationships, activities and follow-ups without losing sight of detail.
• You are curious and reflective, interested in learning what works (and what doesn’t) and improving approaches over time.
• You are self-motivated, able to work independently while staying connected to a small, collaborative team.
• You care about community wellbeing, sustainability and inclusion, and bring empathy and respect to your work.
• You are a creative thinker who can bring innovation and playfulness to engagement approaches.
• You are self-motivated and organised with the ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Experience & Skills

Essential:

• Knowledge of food growing (horticulture, urban growing, permaculture etc).
• Strong interpersonal skills with experience working with diverse groups of people.
• Experience supporting or facilitating small groups and encouraging participation.
• Experience in grassroots organising or community-based projects.
• Demonstrated passion for community development and environmental sustainability.
• Comfortable gathering information, reflecting on outcomes and contributing to reporting or learning processes, and writing outcome-based reports.
• Comfortable leveraging digital tools for communication, organisation and project management. 

Desirable:

• Experience in co-design, participatory evaluation or community arts approaches.
• Knowledge of safeguarding and inclusive practice in community settings.
• Familiarity with Dublin City communities and local networks.

Location:

This role is based out of the Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC), Dublin 8. However, much of the work will take place in the community, particularly across The Liberties, Dublin 8 and other neighbourhoods where Community Roots is active. The role places a strong emphasis on being present in communities and delivering hands-on, relationship-based engagement. Some remote working may be possible where practical.

Terms:

• Contract: 12-month contract (subject to 3-month probation period. Potential to extend, subject to funding)
• Hours: 20 hours p/week (flexible with some evening/weekend work)
• Location: On site in community, hybrid
• Pay: €18,000 (50% of FTE of €36,000)
• Start Date: April 2026