Community-Centered Innovation Lead

Position Title: Community-Centered Innovation Lead

Classification: Non-Exempt

Reports To: Director of Community Building and Food Systems

Location: Denver

Compensation: $24.20/hourly

Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision, a 401(k) retirement plan with a 4.5% company match plus potential additional matching based on tenure, PTO, paid sick leave, paid holidays, and a flexible schedule

As one of the largest Food Banks in the United States, Food Bank of the Rockies is passionate about ensuring every community member has the resources they need to thrive. Supporting our Colorado and Wyoming communities begins with passionate, mission-driven individuals.

The Community-Centered Innovation Lead will play a pivotal role in gathering insights from neighbors who use food pantries and those who do not yet use them across a variety of cultural, social, and personal contexts. This role will also involve collecting valuable feedback from Hunger Relief Partners, community organizations, and relevant state and local partners. By analyzing this feedback, the Community-Centered Innovation Lead will identify trends and opportunities to enhance service delivery, while creating and recommending best practices, educational materials, and capacity-building tools. This role will also collaborate with internal teams to ensure these best practices are effectively integrated and adopted across our network associated with all three Food Bank of the Rockies Distribution Centers.

Food Bank’s team is dedicated to creating an efficient food distribution network to eliminate hunger. Staff is committed to embodying the organizational values and mission in all activities.

If you are looking for a mission-focused organization where innovation and teamwork are encouraged and new ideas are valued, then this is an ideal position for you.

Mission: We ignite the power of community to nourish people facing hunger

Values: Service; Integrity; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Collaboration; Innovation

Primary Responsibilities:

• Oversee the neighbor-centered initiatives, including the Culturally Responsive Food Initiative, and Building Belonging Program to advance efforts across Food Bank of the Rockies' service area
• Leads monthly team meetings with program staff across our distribution centers
• Coordinates with Data and Insights Department to conduct in-person community and partner feedback collection including survey distribution, interviews and focus groups
• Establishes and coordinates a Neighbor Advisory Group across Food Bank of the Rockies' service area to guide best practices and identify opportunities for collaborative solutions to root causes
• Collaborates with the Data and Insights Department to research, compile, review, and manage trend data and evaluations of new and ongoing strategies related to disproportionately served populations and determine disparity gaps
• Evaluates and recommend adjustments to plans, food lists, educational material or procedures based upon analysis of community feedback and collaborate with the Community Connections and Partner Support teams for implementation and dissemination
• Coordinates and develop educational material for partners such as virtual lunch and learns, newsletters and printed and digital training material
• Coordinates the Building Belonging Program across all distribution centers in collaboration with regional staff members
• Facilitates program administrative tasks such as project planning and funding to partners
• Develops and distribute regional and culturally specific outreach material which may include the use of translation or live interpretation services
• Performs consultations with partners to assess their equity and cultural responsiveness and develop customized recommendations in collaboration with the Community Connections team
• Conducts training sessions with Hunger Relief Partners on the demographics within their communities including food preferences and barriers for access and attend and engage with community meetings in coordination with the Community Connections team
• Identifies and facilitate opportunities to increase partner capacity through storage, transportation or to reduce other operational barriers such as language access
• Works cross-functionally with other departments, Marketing and Communications and Sourcing, to share and refine findings for external audiences (e.g., reports, press releases, newsletters, etc.)
• Creates metrics reports, presentations, diagrams, and other documentation to illustrate outreach challenges and solutions
• Identifies trends and opportunities related to addressing the root causes of hunger to inform how root causes can be integrated into Food Bank of the Rockies work with partners
• Coordinates with Finance, Development, and Hunger Relief Partners to ensure grants are being allocated correctly and spent on time
• Collaborates with Western Slope and Wyoming Programs teams to share best practices and opportunities for program improvement to best serve neighbors and partners in all regions
• Supports stewardship of restricted funds
• Handle confidential information with discretion and care, ensuring the privacy and respect of employees, volunteers, partners, donors, or others

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Required Qualifications:

Preferred Qualifications:

• Minimum 2 years experience of research, evaluation and/or data management is preferred
• Minimum 2 years supervisory experience with community development or community organizing preferred
• Facilitation and public speaking experience preferred
• Qualitative, Community-based research experience preferred
• Previous experience working in non-profits program evaluation and planning preferred

Expected Hours of Work:

This is a non-exempt, full-time position working approximately 40 hours per week. Work schedules are typically Monday – Friday with occasional Saturday and evening hours. A flexible work schedule is available with the option to work remotely from Colorado or Wyoming. In-person work is required a minimum of 3 days per week, or more often based on organizational need.

Compensation:

$24.20/hourly

Benefits:

At Food Bank of the Rockies, we provide a fulfilling workplace along with a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Generous Paid Time Off: Flexible paid time off, including 10 paid holidays, sick leave, parental leave, and opportunities for paid volunteer time.
• Robust Retirement Plan: A 401(k) retirement plan with a 4.5% employer match, plus additional matching based on tenure for a total potential match of up to 8.5%, to support your long-term financial security.
• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Competitive health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans to support your meet your and your family’s needs.
• Bilingual Incentive: A monthly incentive for certified bilingual staff, recognizing and rewarding your valuable language skills.

To Apply:

Apply online through www.foodbankrockies.org/careers. Applications will be accepted until April 25, 2025.

Thinking about applying?

True passion and excitement for making an impact are just as important as work experience.

We encourage you to apply even if you feel you don't check every box in this posting.

Food Bank of the Rockies is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE), M/F/D/V/SO. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities in order to participate in the application or interview process. If you require any accommodation, please contact us at hr@foodbankrockies.org or 303.371.9250.