Organizational Manager

Full-time position based in Santa Cruz County

$70,000 - $80,000 salary range generous benefits

*Full job description also found at www.foodwhat.org/were-hiring

Our Mission: “Food, What?!” is a youth empowerment and food justice organization. At FoodWhat, youth engage in relationships with land, food and each other in ways that are grounded in love and rooted in justice. We provide meaningful space where youth define and cultivate their empowerment, liberation and well-being.

Position Description: The Organizational Manager is a new position that will be an integral and highly valued member of the FoodWhat team. This role is responsible for the design and implementation of foundational business operations including human resources, information technology, risk management and general administration. This position reports directly to one of our two Co-Executive Directors. In terms of responsibilities, the role is designed to be filled by an experienced administrator with a strong Human Resources and administration background. This position works closely with the Co-Executive Directors to develop best practices, policies and procedures, and promote a positive work environment. The successful candidate will bring their love of systems and processes to our growing organization. This staff person will be centrally positioned to promote employee well-being and optimize overall organizational health. This role calls for a blend of strategic insight and hands-on execution of various HR and administrative functions. In terms of mindset, we are in search of an Organizational Manager who cares deeply about the well-being, liberation, and empowerment of young people in struggle and is called to contribute to these efforts by strengthening the core business functions of our organization. We value critical, innovative, and effective approaches to the body of work this person will be stewarding. To fill this position, one must stand out in terms of their reliability, accountability, attention to detail, emotional intelligence, and follow through.

Working Here: FoodWhat is a vibrant and inspiring place to work. We value learning, joy, work-life balance, and fun. At the same time, we have a high bar of excellence. Working at FoodWhat is being part of a team that acts creatively every day to support youth in empowering, lasting and transformative ways. As staff you will be a part of real change and deep relationship building, connection to land and nature, and of course eat great food!

Who We Serve: FoodWhat serves struggling yet resilient youth who experience unequal access to critical resources. The youth in our programs are often at the margins due to poverty, trauma, educational barriers, economic injustice, foster care and/or criminal justice system involvement, housing and food insecurity, and compromised health. The majority of FoodWhat youth are Latine and come from farmworker families. On average, a third identify as LGBTQIA .

What We Do: Youth from Watsonville to Santa Cruz join the FoodWhat Crew through our Spring Internship, Summer Job Training and Fall Project Management programs. FoodWhat youth use organic farming, nourishing food and loving community as vehicles to grow on their own terms and in lasting ways. As a FoodWhat Crew, we grow, cook, eat and distribute fresh, healthy food while also addressing local food justice issues. As a result of this loving, non-judgemental space, youth express significant growth in the areas of diet change, job preparedness, personal empowerment, mental health, and social needs.

Job Responsibilities:

Human Resources (40%)

• Act as organization liaison if external HR Consultant contracted.
• Lead human resources management.
• Serve as a point of contact for employee questions related to HR policies and benefits.
• Develop and administer org-wide human resources policies, procedures, and practices.
• Promote positive employee culture through design, communication, and interpretation of human resources policies and programs.
• Coordinate employee benefit programs such as health insurance, retirement plan, COBRA, and FMLA.
• Respond to employee’s benefit questions, orient new employees, and process enrollment forms and change requests.
• Provide assistance with employee onboarding and offboarding tasks, including purchasing new equipment and setting up accounts.
• Prepare and maintain human resources and employee benefits data, reports, and files.
• Administer unemployment and disability claims.
• Negotiate contracts with benefit plan providers, vendors, auditors, and consultants.
• Coordinate recruiting and retention strategies, and succession planning processes for staff turnover.
• Maintain legal compliance in all areas and monitor new labor laws to update Employee Handbook.
• Lead annual review and update of job descriptions in partnership with Co-ED’s.
• Maintain records and information with confidentiality.
• Maintain personnel files and safeguard employee data.
• Action all employee changes, ensuring alignment with finance and maintaining proper documentation for employee files.
• Timecard management.

Administrative, Financial and General Support (30%)

• Serve as the point person for day-to-day office management and operations.
• Manage organizational calendar and scheduling.
• Manage and further develop logical and user-friendly server architecture and Google Drive systems.
• Develop and maintain documentation of organizational processes.
• Work closely with teams to ensure standardization and clarity in process documentation.
• Manage leases, currently for three sites.
• Manage annual insurance renewal and ongoing insurance needs.
• Review and approve reconciliations of bank account, credit, and investment statements monthly.
• Order materials for program or other organizational areas.
• Build and maintain relationships with internal staff and external partners, including banks, our insurance broker, vendors, lessors, consultants, etc.
• Support with staff reimbursements.
• As needed, support the upkeep of the organization’s client relationship management (CRM), Mailchimp platform, and other data.
• Monitor mail and office phone.
• Other administrative/clerical support, as necessary.

Information Technology (10%)

• Manage server protocol and backup, maintain anti-virus and cyber security software, and address staff technical needs.
• Establish and maintain IT policies and procedures.
• Ensure proper IT infrastructure to support staff both onsite and remotely.
• Coordinate staff training opportunities to increase staff IT capabilities and proficiencies as well as identifying security risks.
• Identify and support technology initiatives to achieve the organization’s strategic goals.

Non-Profit Governance (10%)

• Maintain governance and corporate documents (e.g., articles incorporation, bylaws, etc.).
• Assist with Board of Directors meetings, including calendaring, developing agendas, preparing and distributing meeting materials and minutes.

Program Support (10%)

• Support with youth intake system and processing.
• Play a role in seasonal youth evaluation processing and staff analysis of data.
• Guide creation of program specific systems when need arises.

Qualifications

• 3 years experience in HR or equivalent experience managing components of this position’s responsibilities such as benefits administration, IT, governance, organizational processes, etc.
• A minimum of 5 years experience in a mid to senior level position with a non-profit organization or corporation.
• Outstanding organizational skills, including a strong ability to analyze, problem solve, create, test, and innovate, and a learning mindset.
• High level of emotional intelligence which results in honest communication, strong relationship building, ability to manage stress constructively, ability to give and receive constructive feedback, and ability to handle challenges well.
• A proven history of starting and completing tasks and projects reliably, on-time, and with a high standard of quality. Attention to detail and follow up is deeply ingrained in our organizational culture. A record of working successfully in a deadline-driven work environment.
• Excellent project management skills and ability to carry out multiple projects concurrently and prioritize work effectively.
• Tech-savvy and resourceful.
• Proficiency in Google Suite and the ability to quickly learn new systems.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the person in this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills and physical demands required of personnel so classified. The precise duties and responsibilities of the job may change over time.

Position Details

This is a 40-hour per week, exempt, full-time position. This position comes with the following benefits: 5 weeks paid time off (which includes floating holidays), accrued sick time, and retirement benefits. This position comes with the following health-related benefits that are 100% paid for by FoodWhat: medical, dental, and vision. Salary for this position is commensurate with experience within the $70,000-$80,000 range.

Process

Please send the following items to Doron Comerchero, Co-Executive Director, at :

• A cover letter. Be sure to include at least one paragraph about your organizational management experience and describe (or share in some way) at least two examples of significant organizational or administrative systems you have created or managed in the past.
• A resume.
• Two professional references. Please select at least one reference from your previous employer.

Those who are selected after reviewing emailed application materials will receive an invitation to have a brief phone call with a Co-Executive Director. Those who are selected after our phone call will be invited to an interview with a panel of FoodWhat staff, board members, and advisors. Final selection will be made shortly after interviews are completed.

FoodWhat is a pro-equity program. Women, Nonbinary, LGBTQIA , BIack, Indigenous and People of Color are strongly encouraged to apply. All applicants are considered for employment without discrimination based on race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

Applicants only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $70,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person