Community Outreach Manager, United States

World Central Kitchen•Houston, TX

2d•Onsite

About The Position

World Central Kitchen (WCK) is seeking an emotionally intelligent, tenacious, and innovative Community Outreach Manager to lead frontline operations, rapidly build and manage dynamic field teams, and ensure food aid swiftly reaches disaster-affected communities. The ideal candidate is a resourceful, compassionate leader, facilitator, and collaborative team player who thrives in fast-paced, unpredictable environments. This role involves rapid community assessment, team building and management, culturally competent outreach, problem-solving in crisis, and bi/multilingual communication.

Requirements

Ability to spend up to 70% of the time in the field.
Must live within one (1) hour of an international airport or be willing to relocate.
Willingness and ability to travel frequently to remote and potentially hazardous locations within four hours notice.
Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent preferred, or 5+ years of experience in management roles, preferably in fast paced, ever changing environments; including military, emergency response, culinary, humanitarian or event management settings.
Experience leading, training and coaching large teams in challenging and rapidly changing environments.
Ability to synthesize a large volume of information into actionable steps under pressure.
Ability to work independently with minimal infrastructure and resources.
Willingness to work in challenging environments with austere living conditions.
Ability to work well with others and take directions to protect yourself and the team.
Demonstrated negotiation and diplomacy skills in complex and potentially volatile situations.
Exhibit a calm and composed demeanor during crisis situations, with the capacity to make sound decisions under pressure.
Be physically fit and have the stamina to work long hours doing physically demanding tasks in varying and potentially extreme climates.
Strong mental resilience and emotional intelligence to cope with the stressors associated with working in conflict environments.
Display cultural awareness and sensitivity, recognizing and respecting diverse backgrounds that allow us to positively work with local communities.
Fluency in English is required.
Must have a valid Driver's License.
Must have a valid Passport.
Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the United States.
WCK participates in E-Verify.

Nice To Haves

Proficiency in additional languages relevant to common disaster or conflict zones is highly desirable (Spanish, French, Portuguese).

Responsibilities

Rapidly scout community needs in a disaster area to design the scope of the response, and ensure that food reaches beneficiaries as quickly and effectively as possible.
Foster a collaborative environment with local populations; establish and nurture relationships with community members throughout the activation.
Gather feedback from beneficiaries to understand evolving needs and changes on the ground.
Utilize findings to recommend the scope of WCK support, including potential scale up or wind down strategies.
Build and maintain relationships with community members to understand overall food needs, feedback on WCK performance, and other concurrent mass-feeding activities.
Work with the finance team and Response Director to share cost projections for community outreach operations, focusing on meal production and logistical needs.
Collaborate with the procurement and logistics team to source materials and supplies efficiently and ensure timely delivery to affected areas.
Build strong relationships with local communities first.
Ensure the teams conduct outreach and engagement activities that contribute to WCK’s reputation as an effective, compassionate, and reliable relief organization.
Represent WCK in the field, acting as an ambassador to beneficiaries, partners, and the media, as required.
Recruit, train, and motivate diverse community outreach teams on activation, ensuring a high-performance culture aligned with WCK’s mission and values.
Provide leadership, mentorship, training and support to team members, promoting a culture of urgency, accountability, adaptability and continuous learning within the team.
Address personnel issues on activations in real time, and provide regular performance feedback on Corps members.
Support the recruitment of Corps members, and manage personnel effectively on the ground to foster growth and ensure a diverse pipeline of activation leadership.
Identify professional development needs and gaps in team capabilities to arrange for appropriate training, and provide this feedback to relevant stakeholders for implementation.
Respond within four (4) hours notice to a disaster area to act as Community Outreach Manager, managing relief operations on the ground, or in rare cases, remotely.
Lead and manage field teams specializing in community outreach and engagement.
Ensure strategic and streamlined implementation of relief activities on the ground, operationalizing WCK’s North Star values.
Design and implement response strategies in the field that are adaptable and robust enough to function in high-stress, dynamic environments affected by natural disasters or conflicts.
Recruit, onboard, train and manage community outreach teams, including local hires and Corps members in the field.
Consult on the scope of the response, and manage or implement community outreach operations.
Provide regular updates on community outreach operations to the Response Director to ensure ongoing, transparent information sharing across the organization.
Collaborate with all WCK departments on the ground, or remotely to support the needs of the activation.
Ensure smooth transitions and complete handovers with other Activation Managers, and between Response Corps team members when rotating field teams through phases of the activation.
Complete the After-Action Report process immediately following activation wind-down, collating and drawing learnings for process improvement.