Partner Relationship Coordinator

St. Louis Area Foodbank (SLAFB)

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Partner Relationship Coordinator

Immediate Supervisor: Partner Relationship Manager

Employees Supervised: N/A

FLSA: Exempt

General Description/Position Summary:

The Partner Relationship Coordinator is focused on advancing the St. Louis Area Foodbank's vision of a nutritionally secure Missouri and Illinois. The Partner Relationship Coordinator embodies the principles of capacity building and coaching while ensuring safe and adequate nutritional assistance is provided throughout a designated territory within our 26-county service region. The Partner Relationship Coordinator will work closely with partners to assess needs, create action plans, and provide access to solutions with a goal of ending hunger. The Coordinator will develop authentic connections with partners and community resources to understand their needs and work cross-departmentally to connect partners with appropriate programs and services to meet those needs and build capacity.

Objectives:

• Serve as the primary point of contact for partners in a designated geographic territory.
• Support Foodbank partners by maintaining excellent relationships, understanding their needs and the needs of the community, assisting with capacity building efforts and advocating for appropriate resources.
• Visit partner sites to ensure appropriate government, Feeding America, St. Louis Area Foodbank and other relevant operating guidelines, regulations and rules are being followed to ensure food safety and an equitable, dignified distribution processes.
• Maintain a robust understanding of the services and offerings of the St. Louis Area Foodbank to build capacity within the Foodbank's network by ensuring the expansion of capabilities, growth, and success of all foodbank partners. This includes programmatic offerings, government programs, service insights initiatives and cross-departmental resources such as advocacy and product sourcing.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Prepare and maintain partner paperwork, including but not limited to monitoring forms, food safety certifications, and supporting compliance documentation.
• Advise, support, and promote educational and training efforts with partners that will improve and update their operational practices, including but not limited to compliance, capability and growth, and overall operational success.
• Stay abreast of community resources, new referral opportunities and ways to implement more holistic support to partners to provide excellent services to neighbors managing the social service landscape.
• Identify, cultivate, steward, and expand relationships in the financial, housing, mental health, and other self-sufficiency spaces to ensure appropriate warm handoffs are provided by partners and to our Community Assistance Program.
• Facilitate partner peer advising and connections, disseminate resources that promote engagement, collaboration, and capacity building among partners.
• Build a network of relationships and become familiar with relevant data to develop an understanding of the politics, capacity, resources, challenges, and opportunities across our service territory.
• Identify and support system changes and sustainable solutions for increased quality of service to partners.
  • Represent the Foodbank in the community and at public speaking events. Is actively involved in dialog with influencers who can support our mission and help shape and strengthen our community.
  • Facilitates cross-departmental connections as needed.
  • Lead and/or support special initiatives and projects such as partner communication strategy development, monitoring, and evaluation of change across the network, and grant program management.
  • Assist in executing and updating annual department work plan, including budgets, calendars, goals, and tasks.
• Work cross functionally to support the gathering of data and stories to support and reinforce philanthropic and marketing efforts to ensure delivery models are resourced appropriately.
• Incorporates the use of volunteers, interns and AmeriCorps members into the relationship management process and directly at partners sites.
• Provide oversight and direction to volunteers, interns, and AmeriCorps members.
• Attend program-related training conferences and workshops as appropriate.
• Collaborate and support St. Louis Area Foodbank teams as it relates to network requests.
• Culture champion who models our core values.
• Travel within local service territory to attend outreach activities and meetings as needed. Occasional out of town overnight travel for meetings or conferences may be required.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors' degree from an accredited university required. Emphasis in Non-Profit Administration, Public Health or another related field preferred.
• 2-5 years of experience assisting with relationship building, outreach initiatives or program implementation for a non-profit organization strongly preferred. Previous experience supporting partners a plus.
• Bilingual a plus.
• Passion for the Foodbank mission and the ability to demonstrate SLAFB's Core Values: Stewardship, Teamwork, Agility and Respect
• Excellent oral and written communication, presentation and interpersonal skills including empathy and compassion for the partners and neighbors we serve.
• Proficient with MS office suite and web-based applications.
• Strong customer focus and commitment to providing an excellent partner and neighbor experience.
• Possesses strong emotional intelligence skills
• Ability to think strategically while acting tactically.
• Excellent organizational skills and keen attention to detail
• Self-starter with strong problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, handle interruptions, maintain focus on tasks and produce accurate work.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with diverse stakeholders. Includes respect and sensitivity to geographic and cultural diversity and ability to work with people of different nationalities, ethnic origins, and socioeconomic levels is essential.
• Able to work independently and as part of a team.
• Must have reliable transportation with proof of insurance and be willing to travel throughout jurisdiction with occasional overnight stays.
• Must be able to pass drug screening and criminal background check

Work Schedule:

• Monday - Friday onsite at the SLAFB facility and in the community as needed
• However, flexibility will be granted as appropriate in accordance with the SLAFB's Remote Work/Working From Home Policy
• Occasional weekend (Saturday/Sunday) or evening hours may be required
• Meeting attendance may require overnight travel

Physical Requirements:

The Partner Relationship Coordinator will spend significant time in the community, at partner sites, in our warehouse and at food distributions. Requirements include:

• Walking to and from the corporate office to the warehouse, both of which are on the Foodbank campus.
• Walking on hard concrete surfaces (in the warehouse or in the community).
• Ability to lift, bend, stoop, pick up and move objects up to 40-50 pounds.

The Impact You Will Make:

Building a stronger bi-state region by nourishing people, empowering communities, and transforming systems.

At the St. Louis Area Foodbank, we are working to create a nutritionally secure Missouri and Illinois. With the dedicated partnership of over 500 hunger-relief partners - including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and residential programs - we are responding to emergency hunger needs in communities across 26 counties in Missouri and Illinois by distributing food to more than 300,000 people every year.

Since opening in 1975, and with the tremendous support and generosity of this community, the St. Louis Area Foodbank has grown to become our region's largest food distribution charity. Not only are we dedicated to nourishing people, but we are also committed to collaborating with partners and communities to empower them and transform the hunger-relief system. Together, we are feeding people and working to address the root causes of hunger for lasting impact every day.

What We Can Offer You...

Beyond a great mission, dedicated team members and an incredible opportunity to truly make a difference in our community, you will be generously rewarded for your contributions including:

• Competitive pay commensurate with experience
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) plan
• 403b plan with amazing company match
• Comprehensive benefits (medical, dental, vision, and more)

We work hard, play hard and change lives - so apply to join our Foodbank Family

SLAFB Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Statement:

You are welcome at the St. Louis Area Foodbank (SLAFB) for who you are. At the SLAFB, we strive to empower our team to embrace and celebrate who they are by cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment. Doing so strengthens our organization, cultivates a culture where everyone feels valued and can bring their best selves to the SLAFB and enables us to nourish people, empower communities, and transform systems. At the SLAFB, we champion diversity, equity, and inclusivity to create a respectful and fulfilling workplace representing a broad range of lived experiences and viewpoints. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the neighbors and communities we serve in the bi-state region to enhance engagement and connectivity with all key stakeholders.

This job description does not list all the duties of the job. Performance of other duties may be requested. Evaluations will be in part based upon performance of the tasks listed in this job description. St. Louis Area Foodbank has the right to revise this job description at any time. The job description is not a contract for employment.