Community Connection Lead

Food Bank Of The Rockies • Aurora, CO

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Community Connection Lead is an integral member of Food Bank of the Rockies Programs Department and serves as a hunger relief and reduction ambassador in a designated geographic region. This position is a liaison with Hunger Relief Partners to assure they leverage Food Bank of the Rockies programs to nourish neighbors respectfully and safely. Additionally, the Community Connection Lead assures appropriate Food Bank of the Rockies representation within the community to build awareness of hunger and foster a collaborative environment in which communities come together to alleviate and reduce hunger. To accomplish these objectives, this position serves as a liaison with community Hunger Relief Partners, stakeholders and others serving people experiencing hunger to establish collaborative connections, strengthen distribution capacity, and adopt neighbor-centered strategies to best serve community needs.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent required
• Must have a valid driver license
• Experience using collaborative tools for file storage and sharing, meeting scheduling, and virtual collaboration
• Prior experience working in a nonprofit environment is strongly preferred, including 1-3 years’ experience working with external partners
• Self-directed, accountable for results and proactive; independent problem solver

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree a plus
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) a plus

Responsibilities

• Develop long-term beneficial relationships built on trust to identify needs and create appropriate action plans to help Hunger Relief Partners and community stakeholders serve their communities
• Primary contact for Food Bank of the Rockies in supporting staff seeking to interact and collaborate with Hunger Relief Partners within their assigned region
• Address concerns, issues, and obstacles faced by Hunger Relief Partners
• Attend and engage in community meetings to ensure the Food Bank of the Rockies’ mission is communicated, while fostering and strengthening relationships and fostering collaboration between community groups
• Check in regularly with Hunger Relief Partners to foster a relationship and follow up on pending concerns or issues
• Ensure interactions are conducted with a neighbor-centered and culturally responsive lens
• Support the implementation of Hunger Relief Partner agreements (TEFAP, CSFP, Food For Kids Café)
• Screen new partnership applications and conduct pre-approval site visits
• Support partners’ annual food safety and civil rights training
• Lead periodic reviews for Hunger Relief Partners, monitoring and ensuring compliance (every 2 years at a minimum)
• Work with partners that are not meeting contract standards to identify the underlying issues and support their development of an action plan to remedy areas identified
• Contact partners about neighbor complaints to help resolve grievances
• Provide USDA-TEFAP training and ensure compliance
• Support compliance reviews for general Hunger Relief, TEFAP, Everyday Eats and Totes of Hope™ programs.
• Handle confidential information with discretion and care, ensuring the privacy and respect of employees, volunteers, partners, donors, or others
• Identify, evaluate, collect, and share best practices to build capacity for the community
• Help build the network identifying potential partner agencies and resources based upon identified gaps
• Raise awareness regarding the prevalence of hunger in communities, existing assets and gaps in hunger relief services and opportunities to address root causes related to hunger
• Attend and organize community events on behalf of the Food Bank of the Rockies
• Message Food Bank of the Rockies’ menu of services to support community needs
• Assist partners to improve their operations and implement best practices to comply with all regulations as well as to improve network collaboration and neighbor experience
• Link partners with internal and external subject matter experts and resources to better serve neighbors
• Ensure understanding of Food Bank of the Rockies’ menu of services to support Hunger Relief Partner needs.
• Strategically plan and recommend partner consolidation actions with the objective of ensuring equitable food distribution of pounds/meals and alleviating or minimizing overhead transportation and/or associated expenses
• Address challenges, issues, and concerns related to community partnerships, partner agencies, and clients.
• Supports neighbor-centered efforts through surveying, hosting focus groups and data collection, inputting pertinent information into shared contact tracking documents in collaboration with the Equity and Access team
• In collaboration with the Insights and Impact Department, analyze qualitative and quantitative data, reports, and opportunities to provide tailored partner solutions
• Maintain knowledge of geographic area data and collaborative partners: Research hunger statistics, community stakeholders, and partners
• Support partners to build capacity for the Everyday Eats and The Emergency Food Assistance Programs with managing assigned caseload
• Assist Food For Kids team to maintain and strengthen relationships with Totes of Hope™ partners in the assigned region
• Identify potential new Hunger Relief Partners based upon community gaps and asset mapping
• Collaborate with Mobile Pantry team to analyze community capacity to serve neighbors, working together to recommend new mobile pantries, identify strong community partners to support the mobile pantry program, and make recommendations for sunsetting existing mobile pantries

Benefits

• Flexible paid time off
• 10 paid holidays
• Sick leave
• Opportunities for paid volunteer time
• A 401(k)-retirement plan with a 4.5% employer match, plus additional matching based on tenure for a total potential match of up to 8.5%
• Competitive health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans
• Leave time is offered through the Colorado-funded FAMLI (Family and Medical Leave Insurance) Program.
• A monthly incentive for certified bilingual staff

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: High school or GED