The Maryland Food Bank (MFB) is a nonprofit hunger-relief organization dedicated to feeding people, strengthening communities, and ending hunger for more Marylanders by partnering with local organizations from the western mountains to the Eastern Shore. The food bank’s statewide network of food assistance brings enough resources together to provide more than 111,000 meals every day (over 40 million meals annually) to hungry children, seniors, veterans, and hard-working families, meeting the immediate needs of hungry Marylanders while simultaneously working to create pathways out of hunger. To learn more about the Maryland Food Bank, visit www.mdfoodbank.org.

The Maryland Food Bank embraces a philosophy that recognizes and values diversity. Our goal is to attract, develop, retain, and promote a talented diverse workforce in a culture where all employees will contribute to their fullest potential.

Overall purpose of the position: The Regional Program Director (RPD) is responsible for guiding the strategy of MFB’s programs in the Eastern region (Kent, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, Talbot, Dorchester, Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset Counties), in alignment with our statewide objectives. The RPD guides regional strategy through relationships with our partner agencies and other community organizations. Incumbent is responsible for achieving and reporting on regional outcomes and therefore will both lead and support the work in the Eastern region of Maryland.

Education and Experience: Four-year degree in a related area; Master’s degree in a relevant field preferred. At least five (5) years of experience in project management, program management, or strategic planning. Three (3) years experience managing people. An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.

Supervisory Responsibility: The RPD is responsible for managing one Coordinator. The Community Programs Team works to intentionally develop each team member to engage effectively across their respective responsibilities. The RPD will ensure their team has appropriate support and/or oversight for their tasks and values team development.

Essential duties and responsibilities

Program management and Strategy: The RPD will develop a deep understanding of the unique character and specific needs of the region they are tasked to represent. Identify gaps in service as well as overages. Recommend, track, and implement appropriate solutions that complement and help to inform our statewide approach, including building the capacity of our partner network to increase food access and focus on pathways out of hunger.

Use qualitative and quantitative data to determine the best approach toward strategic objectives. Track work by synthesizing data and community relationships into a written regional plan for day-to-day work, future opportunities, and necessary resources to achieve goals. Plan and facilitate community conversations, called Regional Gatherings, to inform and implement their regional objectives. The incumbent will be comfortable working on multiple objectives at one time, both near-term and longer-term.

The Community Programs Team collaborates often to co-plan and ensure equitable access to MFB programming across our service area, the successful incumbent will have significant experience in collaborative decision-making and embrace group problem-solving.

Day-to-day work: Lead efforts to manage, support, and strengthen partner relationships and capacity within a region. Day-to-day work pivots between task-orientated and transformational work. Task-orientated work including conducting site inspections, related compliance tasks, and responding to emails and phone calls. Transformational work such as evaluating new partner interests, coaching partners on their grant requests, engaging in community-led efforts, planning, and leading Regional Gatherings, guiding partners towards best practice food distribution models, and increasing partner capacity through grant-making and other methods.

Special Projects and Support: Assist with or lead special projects relating to the MFB strategic plan. The Community Programs Team considers respective specialties and previous experience when assigning projects, where possible. At times, RPD may participate in hiring, onboarding, and training our new team members, and/or provide coverage to other regions during team transitions or staffing gaps.

Regional Representative: Present and discuss regional plans, priorities, and outcomes, both internally and externally. Examples could include providing outcomes for an MFB grant request or report. Participate in local food insecurity discussions, speaking at partner events, and participating in media efforts, to promote the MFB mission and brand in support of our programs.

Work Environment: This role will work on a hybrid schedule, with on-site or fieldwork required at least 3 days per week. Please note that during your first 90 days of employment, you may be required to be in the office as part of training and onboarding.