How to apply for Managing Director

About A Growing Culture

A Growing Culture (AGC) is a global creative and strategic organization that works alongside the food sovereignty movement, blending politics, culture, communications, and movement infrastructure to challenge corporate consolidation and shift public narratives. What makes AGC unique is its deep commitment to frontline leadership and collective power, collaborating with peasant movements, Indigenous communities, and grassroots organizations worldwide. Working here means joining a bold, politically engaged team that translates complex struggles into cultural interventions and campaigns that move people and power.

About the role

The Managing Director will lead AGC’s day-to-day management, building the internal systems, culture, and infrastructure that allow the organization’s bold, collaborative work to thrive. This is a senior leadership role focused on financial management, organizational planning, and remote working practices, ensuring accountability and delivery across a global team. It’s impactful because you’ll be the backbone of a movement-facing organization, creating the conditions for frontline struggles to connect and amplify.

A typical day

A typical day might involve coordinating with a distributed team across time zones, refining a financial plan that aligns with campaign priorities, and troubleshooting a remote workflow to ensure smooth collaboration. You could also be in a strategy session with program leads, reviewing a partnership agreement, or drafting policies that support a healthy organizational culture. Expect a mix of high-level planning and hands-on problem-solving, always with an eye toward enabling AGC’s political and cultural interventions.

Who A Growing Culture is looking for

• Proven experience in senior operational leadership, ideally within a movement-oriented, nonprofit, or mission-driven organization, with a strong understanding of food sovereignty, agrarian justice, or related social movements.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain remote-friendly internal infrastructure—systems, processes, policies, and workflows—that support a distributed, global team.
• Strong financial management skills, including budgeting, forecasting, and organizational planning, with a track record of aligning resources to strategic goals.
• A collaborative, politically aware leader who can navigate complex power dynamics, center frontline leadership, and foster a culture of accountability and care within a creative, campaign-driven environment.

Tips for this application

• Highlight specific examples of building internal systems or infrastructure for a remote, global team—AGC values concrete experience in creating workflows, policies, and remote practices that enable movement work.
• Demonstrate your understanding of food sovereignty and related movements by referencing AGC’s campaigns, partners, or publications; show that you grasp the political and cultural context of their work.
• Emphasize your financial management experience, particularly in resourcing movement work or creative campaigns, and how you’ve aligned budgets with political goals rather than just administrative needs.
• Show your commitment to collective power and frontline leadership by describing times you’ve supported grassroots partners or decentralized teams, rather than just top-down management.
• Connect your personal values to AGC’s mission—this is a politically engaged organization, so a generic cover letter will stand out poorly; be explicit about why food sovereignty and cultural interventions matter to you.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your experience in building and maintaining organizational infrastructure for remote, movement-oriented teams, with specific examples of systems, policies, or workflows you’ve implemented.', 'Your approach to financial management and organizational planning that centers movement goals, including how you’ve resourced campaigns or creative work under pressure.', 'Your understanding of and alignment with AGC’s political commitments—food sovereignty, anti-corporate consolidation, and frontline leadership—and how you’ve worked alongside similar movements.', 'Your leadership style in a collaborative, global context: how you foster accountability, care, and collective decision-making while ensuring delivery and coordination.']

Research before applying

• Explore AGC’s website, especially their campaigns, publications, and the ‘About’ section, to understand their theory of change and key partners in the food sovereignty movement.
• Read up on food sovereignty and corporate consolidation issues—familiarize yourself with terms like ‘peasant movements,’ ‘agrarian justice,’ and ‘cultural interventions’ to speak the language fluently.
• Look into AGC’s recent projects or alliances, such as their work with La Vía Campesina or other grassroots networks, to reference specific examples in your application.
• Research remote work best practices for global, movement-oriented organizations, and think about how you’d tailor them to AGC’s unique culture and political commitments.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How would you approach building and maintaining AGC’s internal infrastructure to support a remote, global team while preserving flexibility for creative and campaign work?
• Describe a time you managed finances for a movement-oriented organization. How did you balance financial sustainability with political priorities?
• AGC works alongside peasant movements and Indigenous communities. How would you ensure that internal systems and processes center frontline leadership and don’t replicate harmful power dynamics?
• What experience do you have with remote working practices and tools, and how would you adapt them to a team that spans multiple time zones and cultural contexts?
• How do you handle accountability and delivery across a decentralized team while maintaining a culture of care and collective power?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using corporate or NGO jargon that feels disconnected from AGC’s politically engaged, movement-rooted language—avoid terms like ‘synergy’ or ‘stakeholder management’ without grounding them in social justice context.
• Focusing only on administrative or operational efficiency without demonstrating how you’d support bold, political work and frontline leadership; AGC wants someone who sees infrastructure as enabling movement power.
• Neglecting to show familiarity with food sovereignty or AGC’s specific approach—applying as a generic operations leader without engaging with their mission will signal a poor fit.