Careers at Pollinator Partnership

Work you can believe in.

Background 

Birds, bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, bats, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. Pollinators also sustain our ecosystems and contribute to natural resources by helping plants reproduce. Unfortunately, many pollinating species are in decline. Without the actions of pollinators, agricultural economies, our food supply, and the surrounding landscapes would suffer. 

Our Solution for Sustainability 

Pollinator Partnership and its signature initiative, the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC), address pollinator health and decline through targeted resources and collaborative projects. Protecting pollinators is a complex issue without simple solutions. By addressing each area where pollinators interface with people, we can make a significant impact on pollinator, ecosystem, and human health through outreach, education, and action. 

Purpose 

Each year, P2 and NAPPC, along with a wide range of partners (including federal agencies, non-profits, for-profits, individuals, etc.), design and distribute an educational pollinator poster. About 20,000 posters are distributed throughout the United States each year. They are one of the most popular outreach items offered and are distributed for the cost of shipping and handling. 

Use 

Each year’s poster is unique in size and content, and they are used in many venues, from classrooms, fairs, conferences, and offices, to homes, and educational trainings. 

Poster Image – Vision 

This year’s “The Evolution of Pollination: An Ancient Partnership” poster should tell the story of pollination as an ancient and continually evolving ecological relationship. Artists might begin with early land and seed plants, illustrating reproduction by wind or other abiotic processes, before showing the emergence of insect interactions with non-flowering seed plants such as ancient gymnosperms. Beetles, thrips, and other insects were interacting with and transporting pollen long before flowering plants came to dominate Earth's landscapes. 

The emergence and diversification of flowering plants approximately 130 million years ago could form a major visual transition. Early flowers interacted with an already diverse insect fauna, and over evolutionary time flowering plants and their pollinators diversified into the tremendous range of relationships found today. Possible organisms and interactions include cycads and ancient insect pollinators; early flowering plants with beetles, flies, thrips, or wasps; the later diversification of bees, butterflies, and moths; and vertebrate pollinators such as hummingbirds, lizards, and bats. 

The timeline should not imply a simple progression in which one form of pollination replaced another. Instead, we hope the artwork conveys a branching evolutionary story, with ancient strategies persisting alongside newly evolved relationships. Dates and evolutionary milestones can provide context, but the poster should remain in an artistically compelling natural-history illustration rather than a densely labelled scientific timeline. 

These examples are intended as inspiration rather than required elements. P2 staff will work closely with the selected artist to identify appropriate organisms, time periods, and evolutionary relationships and to ensure scientific accuracy. You may also use the following blog from Pollinator Partnership as a guide for your concept.  

Artists are encouraged to look at our previous posters to gain an idea of styles and themes for our posters over the years. Let this proposed vision spark creativity, but do not feel limited to these ideas. The poster is a visual story meant to attract attention and inspire action around sustainability, equity, and collaboration within pollinator conservation. The most important part of creating any poster is to make it a beautiful work of art. A scientific/naturalistic style is preferred. The use of AI-generated graphic content is not accepted for this opportunity. P2 staff will work with the artist on scientific accuracy and detail.  

Submittal Details 

If interested in submitting a poster concept idea for consideration to render the 2027 “The Evolution of Pollination: An Ancient Partnership” poster, please upload the below information as one PDF to the following link jotform.com/nappc/2027-poster-call-for-artist: 

• Contact information (name, email, physical mailing address) 
• Background 
• Resume or CV [2 pages maximum] 
• Examples of past artwork- website/online portfolio, social media, etc. 
• 1-page Narrative about the poster concept 
• Method used (digital, traditional, etc.) 
• Explanation of sketch and inspiration 
• Sketch of the proposed poster as digital art submitted as a pdf or .jpg. (300 ppi at 8.5 x11) 

Timeline 

Please submit your poster concept and draft sketch through this form by Wednesday, December 9, 2026. The selected artist will be required to deliver the final illustration by Friday, March 5, 2027.  

Poster Size 

There is flexibility with the size of the poster, but past posters have ranged from 30 in x 12 in to 30 in x 32 in (including a space at the bottom right corner for a QR code). We suggest using a standard poster size so that the poster may easily be framed. 

Compensation 

Pollinator Partnership does not make any profit from the poster and distributes them for free (not including shipping and handling). P2 works to create the poster each year to help educate the public about the importance of pollinators. The chosen artist will receive $2,000 USD upon completion of the agreement and delivery of the product of contracted work for the 2027 poster. 

Legal 

Pollinator Partnership and the artist will co-own the rights to the final submitted digital artwork. 

Questions? Contact Shannon Farmer at nappc@pollinator.org.

Apply

Pollinator Partnership is an equal opportunity employer. P2 offers equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, gender, religion, age, nationality, social or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.