Food Justice Innovation Manager
Job Title: Food Justice Innovation Manager
Reports to: Project Director
Status: Full-time, exempt
About HOPE Collaborative, a project of Tides Center:
HOPE Collaborative’s mission is to advance racial, economic, and health equity in Oakland’s food system and built environment. We envision a vibrant Oakland where historically marginalized communities shape their neighborhoods’ future, have equitable opportunities for healthy food and safe community spaces, and build community wealth.
Position description:
HOPE Collaborative’s Healthy Corner Store Project combines community leadership with business know-how to convert liquor stores in the Oakland flatlands into sources of fresh, healthy, and affordable food. The goal is a permanent city-wide program or policy so every resident of Oakland can to walk to a healthy corner store.
The Food Justice Innovation Manager will be responsible for program development and project management of the Healthy Corner Store Project with a focus on providing training and support to store owners, developing innovative entrepreneurial strategies to sustain healthy store transformations, addressing distribution barriers to healthy food, and formalizing ongoing support for equitable healthy retail through policy and strategic partnership with institutions and organizations.
Essential duties and responsibilities:
- Manage and support Healthy Corner Store improvements. Coordinate and provide business and technical support to store owners in the Healthy Corner Store Project including planning and leader quarterly trainings, connecting to existing business support organizations, and providing technical assistance directly or through low-cost technical assistance providers.
- Supervise and support Food Justice Community Organizer in engaging community residents and partner organizations. Ensure that community leadership and decision making is at the center of work projects and direction. Identify leadership and job skill development needs and opportunities for community members.
- Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with citywide organizations and institutions to provide an ongoing ecosystem of support for healthy retail, including City of Oakland Economic Development, OSNI, business support and financing organizations, community development organizations, etc.
- Work with the City and County to institutionalize aspects of the healthy corner store project including developing a Healthy Retail Certification program and toolkit for community engagement
- Develop a model to address supply chain barriers to corner stores purchasing healthier food options such as developing partnerships with distributors and building a system for group purchasing or discounts across stores.
- Facilitate community-driven, innovative, time-bound, entrepreneurial pilot projects to address challenges and barriers in the corner store environment that support store owners to financially sustain healthy changes. Projects will aim to increase affordable healthy food access and build equitable community ownership of the food system.
- Lead program development and project management of the Healthy Corner Store Project. Lead program planning in collaboration with community, staff, steering committee and partners.
- Develop and manage contracts, partnership agreements, MOUs, and project budget.
- Connect HOPE’s food work to City, Regional, and National allied initiatives – including, Oakland Food Policy Council, Bay Area Regional Healthy Retail Collaborative, Good Food For All, HEAL Alliance and support inclusion community voice and leadership in these conversations
- Oversee ongoing program evaluation to demonstrate impact, including monitoring data collection, analysis, reporting, documentation, storytelling and case study development, with community participation at the center of the process.
- Support with organizational planning, fundraising and grant proposal development and other responsibilities as needed
Required knowledge, skills, and experience:
- At least 3-5 years of experience in any combination of program development, project management, small business support or social enterprise development, community economic development, public policy, leadership development, and/or program evaluation
- At least 2 years of experience working with low-income communities of color in Oakland or similar community
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of people and communities.
- Strong commitment to racial equity and social justice
- Ability to manage complex projects with multiple stakeholders
- Experience supervising staff, interns, contractors, and volunteers.
- Well organized and self-motivated
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, online document sharing platforms, and social media
Preferred knowledge, skills, and qualities:
- Design thinking and/or experience with rapid iteration and evaluation of pilot projects to develop innovative and viable solutions to social issues.
- Knowledge of economic development, small business and entrepreneurship support, food systems especially healthy food retail models, food policy, and community and/or urban planning.
- Knowledge of food justice, civic and youth engagement, community leadership development, and community organizing models.
- At least 2 years of experience working with a collaborative or coalition
- Strong facilitation skills
- Strong negotiation and contract management skills
Work environment:
While this is an office position, applicants should be aware travel to other locations in and around Oakland will be frequent. There will also be out of area travel not to exceed 10%.
Physical Demands:
- Walk, move, traverse, use hand/fingers to handle or feel.
- Stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl, as well as talk/hear and observe unsafe conditions.
- Ability to carry up to 50lbs
Compensation: $50,000 – $60,000, DOE. Tides Center offers a full benefits package.
To apply: Send cover letter, resume, short writing sample (2pg max), and three professional references to jobs@hopecollaborative.net with “Food Justice Innovation Manager” in the subject line. Open until filled; first round deadline is June 4th, 2017. Early applications strongly encouraged.
