Program Staff New Gardens, 40%
Stiftung Hilfswerk der Evangelischen Kirchen Schweiz (HEKS)
Zürich
Key information
- Publication date:23 September 2025
- Workload:40%
- Contract type:Unlimited employment
- Place of work:Zürich
Job summary
HEKS employs over 1500 staff across 35 countries. Join us to make a difference!
Tasks
- Responsible for garden management and planning for participants.
- Evaluate programs and support documentation and reporting.
- Foster community through workshops and public events.
Skills
- Degree in agronomy, biology, or related fields preferred.
- Experience in biological gardening and environmental sustainability.
- Strong organizational and communication skills required.
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HEKS employs over 1500 permanent staff members. At 24 locations in Switzerland and worldwide in 35 countries, HEKS operates with 290 programs and projects amounting to around 144 million Swiss francs. In 2024, HEKS reached around 16 million people with its work.
HEKS pursues the vision of a just world in which the dignity of all people is respected, peace prevails, and natural livelihoods are preserved. The goal is a transformation on social, economic, and political levels. HEKS contributes to improving the living conditions of people in Switzerland and worldwide, advocates for their rights, and raises awareness and mobilizes for this purpose.
Lived diversity - Inclusion is important to us:
We welcome applications regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, or sexual orientation.
HEKS pursues the vision of a just world in which the dignity of all people is respected, peace prevails, and natural livelihoods are preserved. The goal is a transformation on social, economic, and political levels. HEKS contributes to improving the living conditions of people in Switzerland and worldwide, advocates for their rights, and raises awareness and mobilizes for this purpose.
Lived diversity - Inclusion is important to us:
We welcome applications regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, or sexual orientation.
Program Staff New Gardens, 40%
Refugees often live socially isolated, in cramped conditions, and without work. This burdens their mental and physical health and makes integration more difficult. The project "New Gardens" addresses this: It creates encounters between refugees and locals through communal gardening, imparts knowledge in organic gardening, and enables equitable access to gardens. Besides social participation and education, the project also contributes to health promotion – through outdoor activity, working with plants, and strengthening self-efficacy. This creates vibrant communities that sustainably promote well-being, intercultural understanding, and connection with nature.
For our program New Gardens Zurich, we are looking for a committed individual as of January 1, 2026, or by agreement:
These are your main tasks:
- Site responsibility & gardening: Site responsibility for up to two gardens (Auzelg and Grünhölzli); planning infrastructure, sowing and planting plans, as well as conducting weekly garden meetings at locations in close cooperation with program management
- Conceptual work & evaluation: Monitoring, reporting & project documentation; evaluation; impact measurement; collaboration on funding applications; and administration
- Networks & public relations: Regular team and professional exchange within HEKS; maintaining contacts with family garden and neighborhood associations as well as partner institutions; public relations
- Integration & community: Recruitment; coordination; introduction and support of participants and volunteers; planning and conducting garden festivals; action days and public events
- Education, knowledge transfer & health promotion: Guiding participants and volunteers in organic gardening (soil care, composting, cultivation planning, tree and shrub pruning, plant protection, biodiversity promotion); low-threshold teaching of basics on health, sustainability, and integration; collaboration in developing educational content
Ideally, you bring the following:
- Completed studies/training in agronomy, biology, environmental sciences, or related natural sciences
- Alternatively: EFZ in a green profession or training/experience in socio-cultural animation/social pedagogy with a solid connection to environmental or gardening projects
- Enjoyment in practically conveying professional knowledge at the interface of nature and humans
- Experience in organic gardening as well as interest in biodiversity, sustainability, and ecological cycles
- Experience and openness in intercultural work desired
- Experience in evaluation and project documentation processes
- Organizational talent, initiative, teamwork skills
- IT skills (Office 365, social media, databases), very good German, additional languages advantageous (e.g., English, French, or a migration language)
- Weather resilience and willingness for seasonally flexible work assignments; a fixed workday on Monday or Thursday is required
You can expect from us:
- A cross-sectional role between natural sciences, sustainability, health, and social issues: You work with plants, soils, and biodiversity – and with people who gain new perspectives through the gardens
- The opportunity to convey scientific expertise and health-promoting aspects in a practical and accessible way
- A versatile field of work in a renowned NGO with committed colleagues and professional exchange
- Meaningful activity with direct societal impact
Would you like to join the HEKS team?
Then we look forward to receiving your application by October 19, 2025, via our application tool . Please understand that email or postal applications cannot be processed.
Then we look forward to receiving your application by October 19, 2025, via our application tool . Please understand that email or postal applications cannot be processed.
For further information, Claudia Stauss, Program Manager New Gardens, is available by phone on Monday, Thursday, and Friday mornings at 044 360 88 00 .
More information about HEKS can be found at www.heks.ch.