Alberta Local Food, Farms & Farmers

Young Agrarians is hiring a full-time Land Matcher for Alberta!

Hiring: Land Matcher
Program: Land Matching Program (a program of Young Agrarians)
Location: Candidates must be located within the province and be able to travel. Please indicate where you live on your application.
Deadline for Applications: February 1, 2026

Are you a natural networker who loves building projects and relationships and getting things done? We’re looking for a Land Matcher with strong people skills, a passion for local food systems, and the project management savvy and admin skills to keep things organized. The ideal candidate is process-oriented, an excellent communicator, comfortable working on a computer as well as engaging directly with people, and has a solid understanding of farming.

The Land Matching Program provides personalized land matching support services to farmers looking for land to start or expand their farm, and landholders interested in finding someone to farm their land.

Land Matchers work in depth with land seekers and landholders, helping landholders assess their land opportunities, supporting farmers to become ready to access land, making matches to find the right land/farmer fit, facilitating lease agreements, and providing follow-up support as needed.

This role will build out the first year of program delivery in the province. The Land Matcher will help to establish regional relationships, adapt existing program models, and deliver core land matching support services in a new context.

To read more about the Land Matching Program please visit: youngagrarians.org/programs/alberta-land-matching-program/

ABOUT YOUNG AGRARIANS

Young Agrarians (YA) is an educational resource network for new and young ecological farmers in Canada. YA recognizes the Indigenous lands and territories that we work on and grows relationships towards Truth & Reconciliation. YA is committed to providing programs and services that are inclusive and available to farmers and friends of diverse backgrounds. Since 2012, the YA network is volunteer-driven with farmers across the country organizing on-farm events and building community to create spaces for knowledge sharing and growth.

YA began as a seed of an idea in B.C. and has since has grown into a dynamic educational network and set of programs and projects that target the educational needs of new and young farmers. YA’s Grow-a-Farmer Strategy works to deliver the following programs:

1. National: policy and advocacy;
2. National: e-learning and public engagement through resource aggregation and opportunity sharing online;
3. National: coordinate educational and networking events on and off farm year-round;
4. Western Canada: on-farm apprenticeship training program in regenerative agriculture;
5. BC and Alberta: land access programming and supports; and
6. Western Canada: business mentorship network.

YA works to grow the sector by supporting new entrants through farmer-to-farmer learning. The theory of change is to engage new and young farmers and the farm-curious online, bring them together to network and learn together on and off farms, support access to training opportunities and resources, and when ready to start farms, provide educational supports for on-farm training, land access, business readiness, and peer mentorship. The long-term goal is to grow connections to each other and the land in order to grow a resilient and climate-adapted food system for a healthy future.

WORKPLACE CULTURE: We strive to create a workplace that reflects the diverse communities we work with and serve. Our culture is grounded in authenticity, collaboration and emotional intelligence, encouraging each person to bring their whole self to work in ways that strengthen our collective efforts and support farmers and communities.

Compensation & Hours

• This is a full-time, year-round position
• Start date: March 2026
• 35 hours per week at $30 / hour
• This position has a semi-flexible schedule, with some evenings and weekends and overnight travel required

Roles & Responsibilities

• Support the first year of Land Matching Program delivery in Alberta, contributing to foundational program development.

  • With the support of the Alberta Manager, adapt existing Land Matching Program tools, systems, and approaches to the Alberta context.

  • Contribute to the establishment and refinement of program processes during the program’s expansion phase, including documentation, learning, and continuous improvement.

  • With the support of the Alberta Manager to build regional relationships with farmers, landholders, and partners that support long-term program success.

  • Conduct stakeholder engagement with rural real estate professionals and conservation organizations to identify gaps in knowledge about land access for new farmers, provide education, and outline future collaborations

• Grow the inventory of land and farmers in the region through digital and grassroots outreach:

  • Publish and promote land opportunities and resources on the YA Blog

  • Support people to add their land and land seeker listings on the YA U-Map

  • Connect with diverse individuals and organizations in the region to grow program reach

  • Respond to program inquiries from landholders and farmers

• Assist farmers looking for land:

  • Support land seekers to identify their vision and needs

  • Increase readiness to access land and start a farm business

  • Connect to additional resources and supports

• Assist people with farmland:

  • Visit landholders and assess properties for agriculture

  • Support landholders to develop their vision and terms for land sharing

• Facilitate land matches:

  • Facilitate introductions between farmland holders and farmers looking for land

  • Where there’s a match, facilitate negotiations and the development of a land sharing agreement with the support of a lawyer

  • Maintain participant records and information on program process

• Support program evaluation and funder reporting:

  • Follow up with program participants with evaluation and to collect testimonials

  • Maintain program metrics

  • Support with storytelling

• Build the regional network:

  • Coordinate networking and educational activities

  • Digital outreach and education

  • Represent YA at events, meetings, and/or other opportunities to grow the YA network and raise awareness of the Land Matching Program

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• Must reside in Alberta and be available to travel for work-related purposes using their own vehicle.
• A home office with a computer, solid internet connection, and a cellular phone with good reception/service.
• Experience and / or education in farming and food systems.
• A high level of self-motivation as part of a remote team.
• Experience representing a non-profit organization and cultivating partnerships to realize the mission.
• Familiarity with the food and farming community in Alberta.
• Strong relationship-building and communication skills to engage people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
• A proactive approach to outreach and networking - you love picking up the phone to start a conversation.
• A love for process-oriented workflow management and documentation, with attention to details and deadlines.
• A passion for working with people, facilitating structured conversations, neutrally supporting negotiations, and managing communication challenges as they arise.
• Ability to communicate both in writing and verbally to create an environment of empathy, curiosity and engaged listening.
• Capacity to learn about regulatory frameworks and support program participants with this information.
• Strong leadership and decision-making capacity.
• Working proficiency and ability to adapt to and learn how to use online platforms: Google Workspace, Calendar, Gmail, WordPress, Mailchimp, Zoom, Social Media, Salesforce, and Monday.com.
• Ability to work during regular business hours, with flexibility for evening and weekend work.

Assets

• A degree in food systems or agriculture, or experience providing technical assistance to farmers in production and / or business planning.
• An understanding of real estate, and / or legal agreements, and / or regulatory bodies and frameworks such as municipal and provincial governments and bylaws, and the Alberta Land Title Act
• Negotiation, conflict resolution, and / or mediation skills.

To apply

Please submit applications by email to Taina Uitto at om@youngagrarians.org with the following:

• Subject line: Firstname Lastname – AB Land Matcher
• Please attach a PDF cover letter and resume as one document with the following file name: Firstname Lastname – AB Land Matcher.pdf.
• In your PDF cover letter/resume, please indicate where you are located.

Please answer the following questions in your cover letter:

• What is motivating you to apply?
• What is your communication style?
• How will your skills and experience support you to act as a neutral third party facilitator with farmers and landholders developing land sharing relationships?

Optional: submit a video (up to 1 minute) to support your application and help us get to know you better. Feel free to have fun and be creative! Videos should be submitted in one of the following ways: 1. As an attachment to the same email containing your PDF, or 2. As a link in your PDF to a video hosting platform where we can view the video. Your video can be filmed as an Instagram Reel or Tiktok and the link submitted.

Please mention you saw this at GoodWork.ca.

Due to the volume of applications we receive, we will not be available for phone calls or lengthy email inquiries. If you have 1-2 questions, please ask by email. Thank you for your time and interest!

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUNG AGRARIANS

Website: youngagrarians.org
Facebook: facebook.com/YoungAgrarians
Instagram: @youngagrarians

 

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This project is funded by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation. The Alberta Real Estate Foundation benefits the real estate industry in all its forms. The projects they fund and connections they make strengthen our province, our people, and our industry. Created in 1991 under the Real Estate Act, the Alberta Real Estate Foundation is a nonprofit grantmaking organization that supports and strengthens Alberta's real estate industry and benefits Albertans. The Foundation invests in projects with revenue generated from real estate transactions, both sales and rentals across the province. They fund projects across a diverse range of initiatives designed to bolster the work of the industry, government, and our land and built environments.