Senior Manager of Community Engagement

About Mobile Loaves & Fishes

Mobile Loaves & Fishes (MLF) is a social outreach ministry that has been empowering communities into a lifestyle of service with the homeless since 1998. Founded in Austin, Texas, the organization serves its homeless neighbors through three core programs: Truck Ministry, Community First! Village, and Community Works. Often referred to as the most talked about neighborhood in Austin, Community First! Village is a 51-acre master planned development that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness. We are now embarking on a new phase of community expansion, adding more than 1400 new neighbors over the next 5-10 years.

About the Role

The Senior Manager of Community Engagement (SMCE) is an integral part of the Community Empowerment department, responsible for leading and managing the elements of our team that steward the public's engagement and connection with our ministry through a variety of different functions and opportunities.

In this role, the SMCE will inspire and lead a dynamic team dedicated to creating impactful experiences for volunteers, community members, and partners. By developing and implementing strategic initiatives, the SMCE will play a crucial role in expanding our outreach, improving our operational efficiency, and enhancing community engagement with Mobile Loaves & Fishes' (MLF) mission.

This is a full-time, exempt position reporting to the Director of Community Empowerment (DCE). Due to the nature and requirements of the position, hours are flexible to fit need, but typically include 8am-5pm Monday-Friday. Some nights and weekends may be required. The SMCE will office at Community First! Village located at 9301 Hog Eye Road, Austin, TX 78724.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Partner with the Director of Community Empowerment (DCE) and Assistant Director of Community Empowerment (ADCE) to provide strategic leadership and people development to the Community Empowerment team
• Manage a growing Engagement team, including the recruitment, training, and professional development of staff.
• In collaboration with the DCE, provide strategic leadership and budget projections for all functionalities under the Engagement umbrella, including the volunteer and events teams
• Lead the Engagement team under a philosophy of operational excellence and efficiency, with a heightened focus on process development, project management, and strategic planning to strengthen the team's ability to support a rapidly scaling organization
• Build a foundation of radical hospitality within the Engagement team, leading with a lens toward customer success and satisfaction as it relates to serving and supporting our volunteers, guests and internal programs
• Utilize Salesforce and other data storytelling tools to develop a robust framework for tracking and regularly reporting on data as it relates to volunteers and community engagement, with a focus on connecting the quantitative information to the impact on MLF's vision and goals
• Lead the Engagement team in collaboration with the Relationships & Giving (R&G) team to ensure excellent stewardship of relationships with donors and deepen public engagement with MLF
• Strategically partner with the Communications team to continuously improve the myriad of communication channels that we use to connect with our volunteers and guests
• Lead out on collaboration with Communications and R&G teams to continuously improve our volunteer portal and back-end infrastructure in Salesforce
• Work closely with volunteer-hosting teams and programs to enhance volunteer experiences
• Other Duties & Responsibilities as needed

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities & Principles

• MLF is a faith-based organization whose ideals and philosophy come directly from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As an organization, we strive to reflect this precept in our communications, both internally and externally.
• Commitment to serving those who have experienced homelessness and personal alignment with MLF's vision, mission, core values, and goals.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience with 8 years of experience leading diverse and layered teams
• Demonstrated success in complex program management involving heavy cross-team collaboration
• Must be proficient in the use of Microsoft 365
• Asana and Salesforce or other CRM experience strongly desired
• Project management experience preferred
• Strong customer service skills
• Basic knowledge of event and volunteer management
• Experience developing and maintaining relationships across departments and with external stakeholders
• Strategic planning experience required
• Inquisitive attitude, passion for process improvement, and ability to creatively problem solve when faced with limited resources or challenges
• Highly organized and detail-oriented with strong communication and time management skills
• Excellent analytical skills and the ability to offer creative solutions
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Must have a valid driver's license

Work Environment & Physical Demands

• Ability to sit or stand for a prolonged period
• Ability to work at a computer for a prolonged period
• Ability to move about all phases of Community First! Village properties
• Ability to drive a golf cart

Benefits

• Day one 100% Employer paid, Health, Dental, Vision, Life, STD & LTD Insurance
• Generous Paid Time Off & Holiday Pay
• Matching 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Corporate Discount Program
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Parental Leave
• Wellness Partnership Benefits

MLF PURPOSE / VISION

We empower communities into a lifestyle of service with the homeless.

MLF MISSION

We provide food and clothing, cultivate community, and promote dignity to our homeless brothers and sisters in need.

GOALS

• Transform the way people view the stereotype of those who find themselves homeless
• Reconnect the homeless to self, family and community
• Help the chronically homeless rediscover and utilize their God-given talents to do purposeful work
• Connect human to human, heart to heart through the fellowship of food and hospitality
• Inspire people into a lifestyle of abundance by giving their best first

BELIEF STATEMENTS

The vision is supported by belief statements centered on our belief that homelessness is the result of a profound, catastrophic loss of family:

• God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life
• By virtue of being created by God in His image, we are all called to live in community and relationship with Him through each other
• The family is the original cell of social life
• You shall love your neighbor as yourself
• All members of the human family are equal in dignity
• The Lord God took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and care for it. Gen 2:15

CORE VALUES

MLF is committed to fostering a culture that prioritizes relational connection. We believe there is opportunity in every aspect of our work to be relational in a highly transactional world. In this culture, transactions are means to relational ends, not the other way around.​

​​This begins with the countercultural love poured out by Jesus Christ and grows as imperfect individuals strive to show this love to each other human-to-human, heart-to-heart.​

​​Each individual's openness to the journey of their own personal growth is essential in building our relational culture, and we believe this culture flourishes as we each continuously strive to more fully embody these four core values:

• Faith: We define Faith as the foundational belief that our world and all our work belong to God. This allows us to engage our work with joy and lightheartedness, knowing that we are not ultimately in control.
• Humility: We define Humility as rightly viewing oneself as a single piece of a grander story. This humility leads to a view of oneself that is neither too high nor too low.
• Generous Spirit: We define a Generous Spirit as a readiness to give more grace, mercy, and hospitality than is necessary or expected. This posture allows us to see others for who they are, not what they do.
• Integrity: We define Integrity as a wholehearted commitment to doing right by God, ourselves, and others. This wholeheartedness shows itself in consistently choosing honesty, responsibility and ownership in all actions and decisions.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

MLF is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Personnel are chosen based on ability without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, genetics, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation in accordance with federal and state law.