Program Manager, California Food for California Kids

Position Summary
California Food for California Kids® is an initiative of the Center for Ecoliteracy, working statewide to build the capacity and commitment of public school districts to provide all students with fresh, locally-grown food and educate them about how their food choices can make a difference to their communities and the planet. The initiative provides an array of programs, resources, and inspiration for school food service professionals, educators, and school communities in service of these goals. 

The Program Manager for the California Food for California Kids initiative is a full-time, exempt position. This position reports to the Director of Programs and works alongside other members of the cross-functional team within the organization.

This position is a leadership role requiring a person with professional experience in program management, network outreach, strategic partnership cultivation, project management, and community building. Personal and/or professional interests in sustainable food systems, education, and their intersection with the public school system is a huge plus. The Program Manager will be required to operate at multiple levels of scale and across content areas, such as facilitating school-based trainings, designing and leading interactive meetings and presentations, and developing relationships and strategies for growth, impact, and engagement. The position is ideal for someone who is a motivated self-starter, organized, nimble, and enjoys strategic problem solving while maintaining grace and a professional demeanor. It requires superior verbal and written communication skills for multiple audiences; excellent presentation skills; attention to detail; and a deep commitment to relationship management across diverse communities and geographies.

COVID-19 Precautions: At the time of this posting our staff is working from home at least through March 31, 2021. Interviews for this position will be conducted remotely. This role requires proficiency in virtual tools for co-working, meeting, and facilitating trainings and events. Once it is safe to do so, we anticipate a return to our Berkeley office and this position will require travel up to 25% time.

Essential Job Functions

• Manage programs under the California Food for California Kids initiative and collaborate with senior leaders on strategic planning. 
• Engage with public school district leadership, implement program communications, and maintain relationship management tools with the program team. Recruit new districts and implement orientation processes.
• Cultivate strategic partnership opportunities to work with business, government, and other allied organizations connecting school districts with partners across the state and country.
• Maintain a deep understanding of school nutrition programs at the state and federal levels, providing content expertise for related programs.
• Serve as key content developer in collaboration with directors and program team on engaging and innovative resources, trainings, and networking events.
• Serve as the program lead on state and federal grant projects and/or project phases, working in collaboration with the grants management team.
• Contribute to program evaluation, reporting, and advocacy efforts through research, outreach, and data collection. Monitor relevant media coverage and share with directors.
• Seek opportunities to promote programs by presenting at conferences and events and executing on a communications plan that includes newsletters, case studies, and relevant web content.
• Identify opportunities to disseminate and promote Center for Ecoliteracy resources to the Network and external partners in relevant and impactful ways.
• Employ project management, budget management, and consultant management best practices to support the execution of projects and project phases.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Minimum two years’ experience working in or with school nutrition programs, including knowledge of school food regulations and school food service operations.
• Experience navigating public school district partnerships.
• Proven ability to design and lead professional development engagements for diverse adult audiences. School-based experiences are a plus.
• Ability to travel, mostly within California, up to 25% of time (once COVID-19 travel restrictions are lifted).
• Demonstrated excellence in written communications, including formal correspondence, policy briefs, newsletters, website copy, and social media.
• Computer skills including the Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite, Slack, and other cloud-based systems. The Center for Ecoliteracy uses Apple devices in the work environment.
• Ability to coordinate deadlines and manage competing priorities using project management best practices, executing assignments with attention to detail and adherence to specifications.
• Flexible as a team player; a proactive person who takes initiative and offers assistance to others when the need arises.

Preferred Skills

• At least one year of experience in a culinary or school food service operations role.
• Basic understanding of federal and state curriculum standards in K–12 education.
• Comfort with and ability to facilitate virtual meetings and coordinate remote group learning.
• Demonstrated ability to manage project phases, deadlines, and reporting, ability to delegate tasks.
• Research skills relevant to policy, public health, or environmental organizing and advocacy (i.e., literature review, qualitative and quantitative data analysis).
• Conversational proficiency in a second language such as Spanish or another widely-used language in California.

Equity Statement

The Center for Ecoliteracy supports a culture that prioritizes integrity, high professional standards, and working successfully with diverse colleagues, program beneficiaries, and community partners. This includes active participation in promoting healthy workplace culture through organizational diversity and program assessment for equity and inclusion. We strive to build a culture of cooperation and mutual support and value flexibility, resilience, optimism, curiosity, and a sense of shared purpose.

The Center for Ecoliteracy is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, age, veteran status, or disability.
 

How to Apply
Please be sure to include a cover letter with your resume.

The Center for Ecoliteracy is a non-profit organization with generous employee benefits. Salary will be based on experience.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.

About the Center
Founded in 1995, the Center for Ecoliteracy advances ecological education in K–12 schools and is recognized for fostering leadership and systems change, pioneering work with school food systems and garden education, and integrating ecological principles and sustainability into school curricula.
www.ecoliteracy.org
www.californiafoodforcaliforniakids.org