About Hearty Roots

Hearty Roots is a growing nature-based youth development and mental health nonprofit helping young people build connection, confidence, and belonging through outdoor experiences, mentorship, and meaningful relationships.

Through school partnerships, outdoor adventures, therapeutic programming, and youth mentorship, we create opportunities for young people to reconnect with themselves, each other, and the natural world.

Hearty Roots is entering a significant new phase of growth. As we expand our programs, partnerships, community presence, and impact across Midcoast Maine, we're investing in the people and systems that will help us grow well.

That's where you come in.

About the Role

This is a brand-new position at Hearty Roots and an opportunity to build our marketing and communications function from the ground up.

The Marketing & Communications Manager will help shape how Hearty Roots tells its story, engages our community, supports fundraising, and grows its visibility.

This is a hands-on, creative, and community-facing role. We are looking for someone who can write a compelling story, create a beautiful graphic, manage social media, produce an impact report, work a community table, help bring a fundraising event to life, and develop merchandise that people actually want to wear.

You don't need to be an expert in every one of these areas. We are looking for someone with strong core skills in writing, storytelling, visual communication, and marketing who is excited to wear many hats, build new systems, and learn along the way.

You'll work closely with the Executive Director, Operations Director, and program leaders to make sure the stories, experiences, and impact of Hearty Roots are seen and understood by the people who matter most — young people and families, schools, community partners, donors, funders, and the broader Maine community.

What You'll Do

Tell the Hearty Roots Story

• Develop compelling stories about our young people, programs, staff, partners, and impact.
• Create content for social media, newsletters, website, print materials, fundraising communications, and other channels.
• Gather stories, photographs, testimonials, and program highlights throughout the year.
• Help maintain a consistent, authentic Hearty Roots voice and visual identity.
• Coordinate photography and videography and build a strong library of visual and storytelling assets.

Create & Manage Our Marketing

• Develop and manage a marketing and communications calendar.
• Create professional graphics and materials for digital and print, including social media, flyers, brochures, presentations, event materials, fundraising collateral, and reports.
• Manage social media and email communications.
• Maintain and update the Hearty Roots website.
• Support program marketing and enrollment.
• Track engagement and use what you learn to strengthen our communications.

Get Out Into the Community

This isn't a desk-only position.

• Represent Hearty Roots at community events, fairs, festivals, school events, and other outreach opportunities.
• Coordinate and staff tabling and community engagement activities.
• Build relationships with community organizations, schools, families, and partners.
• Help promote Hearty Roots throughout Lincoln County and across Maine.
• Support the planning, promotion, and execution of fundraising events and organizational gatherings.
• Create event materials, displays, signage, and promotional content.

Support Fundraising & Communicate Impact

• Help turn the work happening in the field into stories that inspire people to give.
• Create donor appeals, stewardship communications, impact stories, campaign materials, and presentations.
• Produce annual reports, impact reports, donor reports, and other materials that demonstrate our impact.
• Support foundation and grant communications through strong writing, storytelling, graphics, and organizational information.
• Help donors and funders clearly understand the difference their support makes.

Grow the Hearty Roots Brand

• Develop and manage Hearty Roots merchandise as a mission-aligned revenue and community-building opportunity.
• Coordinate merchandise design, ordering, inventory, promotion, and sales.
• Help create a recognizable and cohesive Hearty Roots presence at events and in the community.
• Identify opportunities for partnerships, media coverage, podcasts, speaking engagements, and other ways to expand our visibility.

Build the Systems We Need to Grow

Because this is a new position, you'll have a meaningful role in building the infrastructure behind our communications.

You'll help create systems for managing:

• Content and communications calendars
• Photos, stories, and testimonials
• Brand assets and design templates
• Email and social media
• Website content
• Media outreach
• Community events
• Impact stories and reports
• Fundraising communications
• Merchandise

We're looking for someone who enjoys creating order, solving problems, and figuring out better ways to do things.

What Success Looks Like

In your first year, we hope to see:

• A stronger, more recognizable Hearty Roots brand and voice.
• Consistent, professional communications across our website, social media, email, print, and events.
• A growing library of strong photographs, stories, testimonials, and other content.
• More families, schools, community members, donors, and funders understand who Hearty Roots is and why our work matters.
• A stronger and more consistent presence at community events and throughout Midcoast Maine.
• More compelling fundraising and donor communications.
• A polished annual or impact report that clearly demonstrates our impact.
• A functioning merchandise program that builds both connection and revenue.
• Simple, sustainable communications systems that can grow with the organization.

Most importantly, success will mean that more people see the work happening at Hearty Roots, understand why it matters, and feel connected enough to become part of it.

You Might Be a Great Fit If...

You are equally comfortable sitting down to write a compelling story, opening Canva to create a graphic, and heading out to a community festival to represent Hearty Roots.

You like variety. You notice the details. You can work independently, but you enjoy being part of a small, growing team. You're not afraid to build systems where they don't yet exist.

You understand that great nonprofit communications aren't just about getting attention. They're about building relationships, demonstrating impact, and inspiring people to participate and invest.

What We're Looking ForRequired

• 3+ years of professional experience in marketing, communications, public relations, nonprofit communications, development, or a related field.
• Excellent writing and storytelling skills.
• Strong graphic design skills and proficiency with Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, or comparable tools.
• Experience creating professional digital and print materials.
• Experience managing social media, email marketing, websites, and digital communications.
• Experience creating fundraising, donor, or development communications.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
• Comfortable representing an organization publicly and building authentic community relationships.
• Ability to take initiative, work independently, and balance strategy with hands-on execution.
• Strong attention to detail and follow-through.

We'd Love to See

• Experience creating impact reports, annual reports, grant materials, fundraising campaigns, or donor communications.
• Photography and/or videography experience.
• Experience with donor CRM systems and email marketing platforms.
• Experience with event planning, community outreach, or merchandise programs.
• Experience working in a nonprofit, youth development, education, outdoor, mental health, or community-based organization.

We don't expect one person to be an expert in everything. We're looking for someone with strong foundational skills, good instincts, curiosity, creativity, and the ability to figure things out.

Why This Role?

This isn't a position where you'll be stepping into a fully established marketing department with a playbook already written. You'll help write the playbook.

As Hearty Roots scales, we need to strengthen how we communicate who we are, what we do, and why it matters. This position will help shape our voice, visual identity, community presence, storytelling, fundraising communications, and marketing systems for the years ahead.

You'll have the opportunity to see your work make a tangible difference — from a story that helps a family discover Hearty Roots, to a graphic that fills a program, to an impact report that inspires a donor, to a community event that introduces us to our next partner.

This is an opportunity for someone who wants to create, connect, build, and grow alongside an organization doing meaningful work with young people.