Chief Operating & Impact Officer

United Food Bank • Mesa, AZ

7d • $135,000 - $165,000 • Onsite

About The Position

United Food Bank is seeking a Chief Operating & Impact Officer (COIO) to operationalize its dual strategy of providing immediate food assistance through “Food for Today” and helping neighbors achieve longer-term economic stability through “Food for Tomorrow.” The COIO leads the sourcing, storage, repacking and distribution of tens of millions of pounds of food across more than 19,000 square miles of Arizona, serving urban, rural and tribal communities. The role leads most floor-facing staff and is responsible for operational performance as well as frontline culture and trust.

The COIO is a member of the Senior Leadership Team, reports to the Chief Administrative Officer, and serves as staff lead to the Board’s Operations & Impact Committee. The role will stabilize operations during a leadership transition, guide changes to the agency distribution model, and serve as operations owner for a new campus scheduled to open in 2028. The COIO ensures compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws and Feeding America requirements.

The position oversees food sourcing and distribution, transportation and warehouse operations, agency partner support, direct services and program pilots, performance measurement, and operational budgets. It also leads disaster-response operations, supports equitable food distribution and partner capacity-building, and coordinates with the affiliated food rescue organization Waste Not, Inc.

This is a full-time, onsite executive position based in Mesa, Arizona. The salary range is $135,000–$165,000, depending on experience. Benefits include medical, dental and vision coverage with employer contributions; traditional and HSA medical plans with employer HSA funding and matching opportunities; employer-paid life and AD&D insurance; access to a 401(k) plan with employer matching contributions; and voluntary disability and supplemental insurance options.

Requirements

• Genuine connection to United Food Bank’s mission and values.
• At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience, including at least 5 years at the Director or C-level overseeing operations or supply chain, complex teams, budgets and logistics.
• Demonstrated results improving retention, engagement or safety in a frontline or hourly workforce.
• Experience leading an operation through significant change, such as a new facility, distribution model or leadership transition.
• Proven success managing warehousing, fleet logistics and inventory control.
• At least 2 years of warehouse supervisory and safety program experience.
• Experience with ERP systems and route optimization software.
• Experience operating across a wide geographic territory.
• Experience working with a board or board committee and a diverse network of external partners.
• Ability to understand food insecurity as a symptom of broader economic instability.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, nonprofit management, operations or supply chain management, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Excellent communication skills with people of diverse backgrounds and circumstances, along with maturity, judgment and tact.
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills.
• ServSafe certification required within 6 months of hire.
• Offer is contingent on a background check and soft credit check.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Arizona’s rural and tribal communities.
• Experience with social service programs or benefits enrollment.
• Food safety regulation and compliance experience.
• Experience with EOS or a comparable operating system.
• MBA or master’s degree.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior operations leader on the Senior Leadership Team and contribute to organizational leadership and mission success.
• Report to the Chief Administrative Officer and serve as staff lead to the Board’s Operations & Impact Committee.
• Present quarterly impact results and the Operational Response Plan to the Board committee.
• Translate the Stability First strategy into a continuous, multi-year operational roadmap and anticipate industry trends and obstacles.
• Stabilize operations during the transition from an interim leader, earn employees’ trust and lead upcoming changes while maintaining ongoing work.
• Be accountable for retention and engagement results across Operations teams and make measurable progress toward organizational goals.
• Lead campus huddles on a rotating schedule, follow up on issues raised, and attend every red check-in before the day ends.
• Build a candid and psychologically safe team culture where employees raise problems early and are treated consistently across the floor and office.
• Design communication and recognition approaches for employees across early-morning, weekday, weekend and on-the-road shifts, including drivers with locked-down devices and limited email use.
• Conduct timely performance reviews, set annual work plans, coach managers, apply the 90-day probationary standard and develop a succession bench.
• Oversee food acquisition and distribution operations for grocery rescue, prepared food rescue, USDA commodities, produce and purchased products.
• Drive continuous improvement toward annual food growth and distribution goals.
• Lead the transition from individual deliveries to approximately 250 agency partners toward consolidated morning distributions, in collaboration with transportation and logistics, the Agency Network team and Finance.
• Oversee fleet, routing, DOT and FMCSA compliance, warehouse operations, inventory accuracy and cold-chain operations through the Director of Transportation & Logistics.
• Ensure food safety compliance with USDA, AIB and Feeding America standards.
• Lead logistics across urban Maricopa County and rural and tribal communities in Navajo, Apache, Gila and Pinal counties.
• Work with the Chief Financial Officer and inventory leadership on inventory control, food flow and ordering to support a nutrient-dense product mix.
• Serve as primary operational lead during community crises, coordinating with partner food banks, the state association and emergency providers.
• Promote a zero-incident safety culture across warehouse and transportation operations and maintain OSHA and DOT compliance.
• Serve as operations owner for the new campus, shaping dock configuration, flow, refrigeration and staffing with project managers, the architect and contractor, and planning the operational move.
• Oversee support for approximately 250 agency partners and guide the network from food drops toward capacity building.
• Allocate food equitably across the partner network, identify service gaps and deploy solutions.
• Oversee partner monitoring for food safety and respectful treatment of neighbors.
• Coordinate shared routes, receiving and poundage tracking with Waste Not, Inc.; serve as United Food Bank’s point person and guide Waste Not’s Executive Director, with accountability for performance.
• Oversee direct services, including Neighbor’s Pantry and SNAP application assistance, and develop additional services that support long-term stability.
• Oversee pilots and develop onsite and referral partnerships in areas such as housing, workforce development, mental health and legal aid.
• Model and run EOS with teams, including rocks, L10 meetings, scorecards and accountability charts in Bloom Growth, and remain accountable for delegated rocks.
• Develop the Operations scorecard to include inventory accuracy, route efficiency, agency network measures, food-in by source and SNAP approval rate.
• Use the validated distribution forecasting model for planning.
• Hold P&L responsibility for all Operations departments, support revenue-generating programs and optimize operating and capital spending.
• Partner with the Chief Philanthropy & Communications Officer on funding for operations, program expansion, partner capacity and capital needs such as fleet.
• Lead Operations’ response to the Feeding America Network Standards Review and required network reporting.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Chief Administrative Officer.

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision coverage with employer contributions.
• Traditional and HSA medical plans with employer HSA funding and matching opportunities.
• Employer-paid life and AD&D insurance.
• Access to a 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching contributions.
• Voluntary disability and supplemental insurance options.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive