Director, Equitable Access Services (Remote)

Description

Work. Serve. Thrive.

Imagine a place where your talent can make a meaningful difference in peoples' lives. Working at Feeding America is a uniquely rewarding experience in which our employees work together as vital parts of a much larger mission. We are innovative, mission-focused, diverse, collaborative, values-driven and focused on results.

Feeding America is the nation's second largest charity and the leading domestic hunger-relief charity in the United States. Our mission is to feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger.

Learn more about Feeding America.

The Opportunity

The Director of Equitable Access Services leads the design and implementation of services that support food banks as they seek to grow their reach and effectiveness in serving neighbors who are food-insecure, particularly those communities facing the greatest barriers to food access. The Director manages a team focused on programs, policies and partnerships that will improve not only access to nutritious food for all people but also the experience of every person when interacting with the charitable feeding sector, regardless of race, ethnicity, geography, or any other characteristic. This role works across the organization, with the national network of food banks, and engages external partners to ensure Feeding America's work is informed by current evidence and best practices and responds to emerging and timely needs arising from food banks. This Director will travel frequently (20-40%) and will work remotely.

Salary Range: $104,000 to $130,000+ Based on Experience

Responsibilities:

• Direct the development and implementation of strategies and services to improve neighbor experience while building network capacity to increase access to charitable food. Partner closely with leaders from across Strategic Capacity Development's teams to ensure that strategies work synergistically with services in partner agency network services, fundraising, food sourcing, economic mobility and in other key capacity areas. Ensure a keen focus on equity in all that Equitable Access Services does.
• Develop, direct and implement tools and resources for diverse network members along a continuum of readiness that address both persistent and emerging assets/barriers to achieving equitable food access. Increase member capacity through member grants, toolkits, convenings, webinars, assessments, recommendations, and other interventions.
• Direct a team of skilled professionals that function as external consultants, budget managers, and equity leaders who partner with network members to help build and grow critical food bank capacity. Ensure the team provides subject matter expertise on the needs of populations and geographies prioritized by Feeding America's strategy.
• Ensure documentation and dissemination of the network's best knowledge on effective interventions to increase equitable access to charitable food. Collaborate with cross-team partners in Research and Evaluation, Equity, Member Engagement, Government Relations, and other colleagues to create a more streamlined service experience for network members. Partner closely with the Innovation department to ensure that innovations in equitable access and neighbor experience are incorporated into network capacity building services and lessons from emerging practices reach a network audience.
• Through a team of skilled professionals, assist member food banks with the collection of neighbor experience data and other analysis methods that show progress toward their strategic goals.
• Build and nurture a high performing team. Create an environment in which individuals from diverse backgrounds can bring their full selves to work and one in which each individual's needs, goals and development is a priority
• Serve as key thought partner and project manager of department-level initiatives that rely on the understanding of data; interlocking root causes; variables of neighbor experience; and the national food bank network to establish measurable outcomes. Advise on matrixed projects and strategic working groups.
• In partnership with Development and Member Grants as well as department leadership, direct and develop a strategy for member grants that reflects Feeding America's bold goals and the subject matter expertise of highly skilled team members.
• Support the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of national partner relationships in food bank capacity building and provide necessary support to ensure that partnership goals are achieved.

Required Experience and Qualifications:

• Commitment to naming and striving toward justice in systems, institutions, and for individual experiences.
• 8+ years ofexperience leading strategic projects in the human services, consulting, non-profit management, healthcare, or networked/federated environment.
• Understanding of food insecurity and its impact, poverty alleviation, related issues and/orprogrammatic and policy initiatives. People with lived experience of food insecurity are encouraged to apply.
• Strong coaching and team leadership skills.
• Highly capable and collaborative problem solver, able to work on complex problems requiring strong analytical and process skills.

Foundational Requirements:

• Mission Focused- Demonstrates a commitment to Feeding America's mission through work and action. Is committed to people keep people facing hunger at the center of our work and strives to translate this commitment into action on a daily basis. Willing to advocate for people facing hunger and serve as an ambassador for Feeding America inside and outside of work.
• Embraces Equity, Diversity and Inclusion- Demonstrates a personal commitment to valuing different background and life experiences through word and action. Takes personal actions to build an inclusive culture that ensures everyone can fully contribute based on their unique talents, skills and perspectives and feels welcomed and valued. Commits to driving equitable solutions to address root cause issues by incorporating an equity framework in their daily work. Committed to continuous personal EDI development.

Required Leadership Competencies:

• Establishes Visions and Crafts Strategy: Develops strategic initiatives and creates a supporting portfolio of projects aligned to department strategy and operating goals. Partners with leaders in other departments to identify strategies for breaking down long-term barriers to achieving critical organizational goals.
• Collaborate Internally and Externally: Leads cross-functional work groups and is regularly sought out to work collaboratively on problem-solving teams. Networks and fosters relationships with external partners to achieve long-term mutually beneficial outcomes. Promotes constructive conversations that challenge ideas and consider alternative points of view about issues and options. Models positive engagement in resolving conflict and elevates a focus on mission and what is best for the people we serve. Avoids finger-pointing and preserves others' reputations, even in challenging situations.
• Manages for Results / Delegates Effectively: Holds self and team accountable for achieving measurable goals and ensures people know what to do to optimize resources and deliver strong results. Constructs executable project plans and allocates time and resources necessary to implement priorities. Evaluates total impact of solutions to mitigate future problems and swiftly identifies and breaks down barriers to achieving results. Monitors and reports strategic progress to all levels in the organization. Provides supportive, direct feedback and addresses poor performance quickly, giving specific suggestions for improving performance. Trusts others to do their jobs and assigns clear accountability and decision making with appropriate authority.
• Continuously Improves: Pursues opportunities to identify new ideas, scan for best practices, share learnings, and drive continuous improvement. Analyzes current practices, policies, and procedures to find areas for improvement and apply best practices. Reinforces a data-driven, learning, and innovation-focused mindset across the organization through persistent inquiry for and sharing of external practices. Gives others latitude to test new ideas and learn from the experience.
• Inspires, Motivates, & Influences Others: Shows passion for our mission in a way that energizes and engages others to personally do more toward ending hunger. Finds creative ways to engage and excite staff, food bank members, donors, and other key stakeholders to act upon our mission to end hunger. Sincerely thanks people at all levels of the organization for their contributions and provides them with specific feedback about good work. Garners support and influences others by adapting approach and messages aligned to audiences' concerns.

Feeding America recognizes and values diversity. Our goal is to attract, develop, retain, and promote a talented diverse workforce where all employees feel a sense of belonging andcontribute to a culture that values differences, ideas, and experiences. We intentionally seek out diverse perspectives and skills on our teams, knowing that it makes us stronger as an organization and better equipped to serve our neighbors in need. We encourage individuals from historically under-represented communities and individuals with lived experience of hunger to apply.