Specialist, Strategic Initiatives

About the Organization:

It is an exciting time at the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) as we continue to undertake our mission. We know that creating long term solutions to food security requires more than meals. It requires education, training, and collaboration. We are seeking people with strong ideas and a passion to come together to address the complex interrelated issues of food security, poverty, and equity. We are expanding in multiple ways: providing food for today and addressing the root causes of hunger by partnering with organizations that provide critical services like job training programs, health care and education. Food has the power to transform lives and move everyone forward. Find out how on our website at capitalareafoodbank.org. Let us discuss how food is at the center of everyone's healthy life! 

Description:

This position seeks an energized individual who would like to make a difference in people's lives through interventions that address the root causes of poverty. This position will involve working closely with the Strategic Initiatives Manager and the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives to help plan, implement and maintain new pilot initiatives which pair food with workforce/skill development and educational programs in order to boost upward economic mobility. The Strategic Initiatives Specialist will contribute to the execution and measurement of these programs with exceptional attention to detail and will have the opportunity to work across multiple departments at the food bank and engage directly with external stakeholders.    

Essential Functions:

Program Management & Execution 

• Coordinate directly with external stakeholders in the execution of joint pilot programs that support food insecure college and skill development students.  

• Enable the stewardship of restricted grants for CAFB’s upward mobility pilots through proper budgeting and expense allocation. 

• Coordinate directly with staff of partner organizations and pilot participants to ensure the smooth delivery of nutritional support and services, including digital grocery gift cards 

• Oversee purchasing of materials and supplies for pilot programs 

• Support the development and oversee the collection of pilot participant surveys across all programs in the upward mobility portfolio  

• Create and maintain electronic files and organization systems 

• Provide regular reports to Strategic Initiatives Manager on the performance of each program, including recruitment, service delivery, and survey response rates 

• Set up and schedule meetings with established and prospective pilot partners 

• Cultivate, develop and maintain positive relationships with a diverse range of colleagues including but not limited to: college, university, and workforce development staff, CAFB analytics team, and CAFB leadership. 

• Take initiative to ensure stakeholders are well informed and challenges and misunderstandings are addressed 

Data Analysis 

• Collect and analyze data from pilot participants to demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of CAFB’s programs. 

• Support the creation of visual tools to communicate results of the pilot programs to be shared with internal and external audiences. 

• Support the development of quarterly reports for executive leadership and other ad hoc reporting needs from CAFB colleagues. 

Other Special Projects 

• Support the execution of other special projects and programs incubated by the Strategic Initiatives team, such as the Home Delivery Pilot 

• Support the execution of the annual Regional College Hunger Conference, including event planning and logistics  

• Contribute to CAFB’s thought leadership projects, including the annual Hunger Report, through research on current trends related to food insecurity and poverty 

Miscellaneous 

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• 2 years’ experience working in an office environment and providing administrative support 

• Bachelor’s degree required 

• Previous experience working in food security preferred; familiarity with DC-area food security landscape a bonus 

• Excellent communication skills over email, in person and over the phone 

• Experience collecting and analyzing data     

• Strong skillset in problem-solving and ability to support strategic thinking efforts 

• Experience with survey tools a plus 

• Proficient in Microsoft Office (particularly Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)  

• Highly adaptable to changes and new opportunities 

• Self-starter and self-motivated to contribute to the mission and goals of the organization 

• Detail-oriented  

• Excellent time-management and organizational skills, ability to prioritize  

• Sensitivity working with diverse populations  

• A strong commitment to racial equity 

• A strong commitment to CAFB’s mission 

• Able to navigate the DC metro area by car and/or metro, travel in underserved communities  

Physical Demands/Working Conditions:

• Work is performed in an office environment and requires the ability to operate standard office equipment and keyboards.   

• Required to speak and listen effectively, both in person and over the phone.   

Application Process:

• Interested applicants must submit a cover letter and resume. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.  

Please Note: We do not accept walk-in applications or in-person status updates for any positions. All applicants must apply online. We kindly ask that applicants do not call/email/or show up in person to inquire about application status. To check the status of your application, please log in to your personal Paycom application account. Our HR team will contact you directly if you are selected for the next step in the hiring process.  

Compensation:

$67,350 - $75,770 / year 

We Offer:

At Capital Area Food Bank, we understand that great people make a great organization. We value our people and offer employees a broad range of benefits including competitive compensation and benefits, free onsite parking, complimentary shuttle to metro, professional development, growth, and volunteer opportunities, fun work in a diverse environment. 

Salary : $67,350 - $75,770