Director of Institutional Impact 593 views0 applications

Essential Functions

The Center for Good Food Purchasing seeks a highly motivated and adept leader with deep experience in harnessing the individual and collective purchasing power of major institutions to drive increased food system equity and improved conditions along the food supply chain. 

Specifically, the Impact Team serves as the primary liaison with our institutional participants, working with them to develop short and long term implementation strategies to improve their Program performance within 1-5 years, and to identify opportunities for collective action regionally and/or nationally. The Director of Institutional Impact works in close coordination with the Center’s Director of Engagement to build and support a productive change-making ecosystem where coalitions and participants are well aligned and coordinated.

Responsibilities 

Training & Technical Assistance

Host quarterly onboarding and training sessions for enrolled institutions and vendors. 

Manage creation, implementation, and maintenance of training and technical assistance tools that assist institutions and their supply chain partners with action planning, incorporating Good Food Purchasing specifications into bids and solicitations, and overall procurement shift strategies to achieve Good Food Provider status within the Good Food Purchasing Program. 

Connect issue area and value chain experts with enrolled institutions to provide targeted individual technical assistance.

Work with the Center’s Director of Engagement to support alignment efforts between institutional and community partners and priorities.

Work with Assessment & Analytics team and enrolled institutions to project potential improvements in Program score  to help inform action planning.

Peer Learning

Manage Good Food Purchasing Operators Affinity Group focused on maximizing communication and collaboration for food service operations from enrolled institutions to learn from and connect with each other.

Host quarterly calls and round tables with Affinity group and issue area experts to build knowledge and capacity and identify and advance individual and collective procurement strategies to improve their Program scores.

Synthesize and communicate best practices from enrolled institutions so that procurement leaders can share their expertise with others and extend impact. 

Facilitate place-based and sector-based peer-learning cohorts. 

Value Chain Innovation

Develop and implement strategies to build relationships between good food suppliers and enrolled institutions.

Facilitate bi-annual virtual meetings for vendors serving enrolled institutions to share best practices, implementation strategies, and the innovative roles vendors can play  to help institutions achieve Good Food Provider status.

Collaborate closely with partner organizations engaged in complementary initiatives to leverage knowledge, resources, and strategic opportunities. 

Identify, facilitate and/or create opportunities to support public institutions in accessing additional resources to purchase Good Food (e.g. public policy strategies, Good Food purchasing incentives). 

Management

Build out Institutional Impact team, including staffing structure, recruitment, hiring, training, and mentoring of staff to ensure professional development and effectiveness.

Manage project timelines, resource loading, and grant reporting across the Institutional Impact team.

Contribute content to our communications team for sharing information about institutional impact and the Center’s work with the public. 

Contribute to the overall strategic direction of the organization.

Required Qualifications

• Experience working within the food system on menu planning and procurement in schools and/or institutional food service 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to explain complex concepts in a straightforward manner
• Proven track record working with a variety of partners on complex projects, including public sector officials (elected and administrative), community-based (grassroots) organizations, large non-profit organizations, and the private sector/industry
• Experience supervising a high performing team
• Detail-oriented with strong appreciation for the ways in which high quality data and analysis can be a powerful tool for social change
• Demonstrated commitment to and/or experience working in areas that contribute to social, environmental, racial and economic equity
• Collaborative team player who has an appreciation for diverse perspectives
• Ability to work independently and effectively in a fast-paced environment
• Experience managing multiple tasks and meeting deadlines
• Ability to work with a remote team, including regular access to phone, internet, and video conferencing
• Willingness and ability to travel
• Bachelor’s degree required

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in public policy, food and agriculture systems or a related field

Location

The Center for Good Food Purchasing is based in the Bay Area of California. This position is located in the Bay Area of California. Arrangements to work from another location within the US may be considered for highly qualified candidates. This position requires occasional travel.

Salary & Benefits

The Director of Institutional Impact is a full-time, exempt position with a salary range of $75,000-$85,000, depending on experience. The Center, a fiscally-sponsored project of Community Partners, also offers competitive benefits (i.e. medical/dental/vision, disability/life insurance, vacation, and a 403(b) plan with employer match after two years). 

Community Partners® is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. We strongly encourage​ and seek applications from people of color, including bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as women, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. In addition, the organization will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.

How to Apply

Applications should be submitted by December 9, 2019 to info@goodfoodpurchasing.org with “Director of Institutional Impact” and your name in the subject line. Please include a single PDF attachment of the following: (1) a cover letter that discusses relevant experience and describes applicant’s leadership abilities or a link to applicant’s fully updated LinkedIn profile, (2) 2-3 professional references; (3) a resume; and (4) a writing sample that is relevant to the position and limited to 5 pages in length. (Links to writing samples posted online are allowed).

You will receive a response within 2 weeks of submission of your application. No calls or emails please.