PROGRAM ASSOCIATE

PROGRAM ASSOCIATE

About Fresh Taste

Fresh Taste is a collaborative of foundations large and small, urban and rural, who have joined together in the belief that changing the food system leads to changes in the community and environment. Fresh Taste is committed to racial and economic equity and is focused on changing the way food is grown, processed, distributed, and consumed in the Chicago region to promote healthy land, healthy people, and healthy communities. The member foundations believe that collaboration—both in learning and doing—produces greater impact than individual action alone.

In addition to the support Fresh Taste provides to its funder members, Fresh Taste staff also manages several multi-million-dollar regranting projects, including Chicago Region Food System Fund (CRFSF), Midwest Regenerative Agriculture Fund, Austin Fresh, and North Lawndale Fresh. Together these projects are striving to build an equitable, adaptive, and resilient local food system designed to ensure that everyone can thrive.

The Position

Fresh Taste is looking for a Program Associate, a position responsible for both program-related and administrative work. In this role, the Program Associate (PA) supports work that advances regional systemic change through collaborative, innovative, impactful, and anti-racist approaches while increasing their own knowledge of the Chicago region food system and philanthropy. This position is part of a small staff that works closely with other organizations and consultants through its collaborative projects. The Program Associate is a full time position and reports to the Managing Director of Fresh Taste.

Primary Responsibilities and Roles

Fresh Taste Administrative Projects

• Works with Managing Director to implement all Fresh Taste projects
• Supports, maintains, and contributes to the development of strong, efficient administrative systems and practices (primarily via online platforms) to implement Fresh Taste work
• Responsible for online grant application system (Foundant), including handling grant agreements, reports, etc. and providing technical support for applicants
• Assists Managing Director with meeting prep/follow-up related to grantmaking projects managed by Fresh Taste
• Responsible for analysis and reporting related to annual tracking of member grantmaking
• Updates and coordinates mailing lists and other databases; handles Fresh Taste social media (limited and does not include CRFSF social media)
• Cross trained on some fiscal-related tasks

Fresh Taste Programmatic Projects and Member Engagement

• Responsible for planning and execution of activities that support Fresh Taste members’ interests/learning and that deepen Program Associate’s own knowledge in the field. These activities include:
  • researching food system news, events, topics, and organizations; identifying new developments, trends and ideas in the field; and preparing follow-up summaries.
  • organizing Fresh Taste member engagement events (e.g., learning journeys, topical meetings/webinars, book club).
• Engages with external food system practitioners to learn about projects in the field and represent Fresh Taste by attending meetings/events, participating in site visits, and building relationships
• Supports Fresh Taste project work to meet key deadlines, including grant applications and reports (e.g., compiling and analyzing data, creating charts, proofreading)
• Supports other project and evaluation work as developed

Qualifications

• Commitment to supporting a resilient, just, and equitable food system
• Experience working independently, yet in close partnership with a diverse team
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills; bi-lingual in Spanish is a bonus!
• Interested in learning about and expanding personal knowledge of the food system and philanthropy
• Ability to effectively balance priorities, deadlines, and collaborative projects
• Detail-oriented and organized with strong research/analytical skills; comfortable with open-ended processes and creative problem solving
• Ability and willingness to attend occasional work-related, local/regional events in evenings or on weekends
• Bachelor’s degree and/or relevant experience in local food system field or philanthropy
• Three to five years practical experience with administrative responsibilities on a team (either in person or remote)
• Strong skills in the full Microsoft Office Suite, especially spreadsheets; Google Suite; Zoom and other communications applications, including social media. Experience with (or a quick learner of) other programs such as Foundant (or similar grant management programs), Trello, database programs, survey and meeting planning tools, and Otter.
• Supportive team member who values diversity, equity and inclusion and takes pride in collaborating with internal/external partners that bring together a wide range of thoughts, perspectives, expression, and identities, including gender, race, socio-economic, ability, religion, sexual-orientation, and cultural backgrounds

Location/Work Environment

Based in Chicago, this is a hybrid role which requires some in-person engagement for events and stakeholder meetings (internal and external), primarily in Chicago, but occasionally in the surrounding counties. On standard work days, this position will be primarily remote (with reliable internet), but this position has occasional access to the Fresh Taste office in Edgewater, as well as access to FBRK Impact House in the loop. Office hours are generally from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (or 8:00-4:30) Monday through Friday, but with appropriate flexibility to allow for life/personal events and the occasional evening/weekends work events. Staff enjoy summer hours between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Fresh Taste strives to build a thriving and supportive organizational culture that is joyful, inclusive, equitable, and trusting. We like to use the oxford comma.

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary range $58,000 - $68,000, commensurate with experience
• Nineteen flexible PTO days (for vacation and personal/sick leave) plus eleven paid holidays and one day for volunteer work throughout the year. Fresh Taste closes between Christmas and New Year’s, which is paid but not counted towards vacation time. During the summer, the Friday workday ends at noon. Additional paid time is offered for parental leave, jury duty, bereavement, etc.
• Generous employer-paid health, dental and vision package, plus life insurance and disability plans, flexible spending account, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer match
• Pre-tax commuter expense benefit

To Apply

Please email your application to applications@freshtaste.org with the subject line “Program Associate Resume.” Include your resume and a cover letter. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis; for best consideration apply by February 18, 2025. Candidates invited to interview will be asked to submit a writing sample. Links to additional supporting work are encouraged, but not required. Questions may be sent to applications@freshtaste.org.

Equal Opportunity Employer—Fresh Taste is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability status.

Fresh Taste is a fiscally sponsored project of Forefront, Illinois' membership association for nonprofits, grantmakers, advisors, public agencies, and their allies. Forefront oversees and is responsible for all financial and legal activities of Fresh Taste.