Specialist, Partnerships - DC

Capital Area Food Bank•Washington, DC

9h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Specialist, Partnerships serves as a primary relationship manager and trusted resource for partner agencies throughout the District of Columbia. The role builds and sustains productive relationships with a diverse network of nonprofit and community-based organizations, understanding partner priorities, responding to concerns, strengthening organizational capacity, improving partners’ experience with Capital Area Food Bank programs and systems, and ensuring program compliance. The Specialist develops knowledge of the District’s emergency food and food-access landscape and uses partner feedback, program data, and community needs to identify trends, assess opportunities, and make recommendations. The position balances relationship-building, compliance, recruitment, partner engagement, data management, training, and other competing priorities. In collaboration with colleagues across regions and departments, the Specialist plans and implements targeted recruitment, engagement, and capacity-building efforts. The role also creates structured opportunities for partners to share feedback and contribute to the food bank’s work in the District.

Requirements

Associate degree and 2 to 3 years of experience in customer service, community engagement, member services, or a related field.
Experience building effective working relationships with people and organizations representing diverse backgrounds, identities, cultures, lived experiences, and levels of organizational capacity.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to tailor information to different audiences.
Ability to manage multiple concurrent responsibilities, establish priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain follow-through in a changing environment.
Valid driver’s license and ability to travel throughout the District of Columbia.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of, or ability to quickly learn about, District of Columbia communities and the local food-access environment.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office software, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Familiarity with food access, economic insecurity, and structural barriers affecting communities.
Ability to uphold compliance standards and communicate corrective actions clearly, respectfully, and consistently.
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, including evaluating quantitative and qualitative information, identifying patterns and gaps, and making sound recommendations.
Detail orientation and ability to manage competing priorities in a diverse, fast-paced, team-oriented environment.
Experience facilitating meetings or presentations for groups with varying levels of knowledge and experience.
Experience working with customer relationship management systems and electronic databases.
Access to a reliable vehicle.

Responsibilities

Manage relationships with more than 80 partner agencies across all eight wards of the District of Columbia, maintaining regular communication and understanding partners’ priorities, strengths, and challenges.
Prioritize and manage partner engagement, compliance activities, site visits, recruitment, training, and follow-up commitments.
Serve as a regional expert and collaborator on partner recruitment, onboarding, engagement, and relationship-management strategies.
Respond to partner questions and concerns, navigate difficult conversations, and resolve issues while maintaining effective working relationships.
Schedule and conduct site monitoring and evaluation visits to ensure compliance with Capital Area Food Bank and Feeding America National Organization requirements.
Monitor partner compliance and support the development and implementation of corrective action plans.
Maintain accurate partner information, documentation, and activity records in databases and files.
Plan and facilitate partner trainings, workshops, and meetings responsive to partners’ experience, organizational capacity, and community context.
Create opportunities for partner agencies to engage with and influence the food bank’s work in the District.
Conduct targeted outreach to potential partners and evaluate organizational readiness, geographic need, community reach, and alignment with regional priorities.
Analyze partner activity, engagement, capacity, geographic coverage, and community needs to identify trends, gaps, risks, and opportunities.
Collaborate with other regional teams to establish and implement practices that strengthen the regional partner network.
Improve partner experience, including access to resources and interactions with food bank tools and systems.
Engage partners in data collection and other initiatives, and recommend system enhancements to increase partner engagement.
Balance planned projects with time-sensitive partner needs while maintaining follow-through on commitments.
Perform other related duties as assigned.