Position Title: Food Shift Communications Associate/Manager

Date Posted: 02-22-24

Status: Non-exempt, Regular, Salaried 

Pay Rate: $20,500 to $24,000 annually, commensurate with experience

Hours: 20 hours/week (half-time)*

Benefits: Regular Earth Island Institute Employee**, prorated vacation/sick hours accrual

Location:  Alameda, CA, with remote work opportunities

Reports to: Food Shift Executive Director

*This position can be combined with the following positions to craft a full-time role that amplifies your skills and interests: 

• Food Shift Social Enterprise Operations Associate/Manager
• Food Shift Development Associate/Manager

**We are fiscally sponsored by Earth Island Institute (EII), and therefore, EII is the employer for all Food Shift staff. 

About Food Shift

Food Shift is a non-profit social enterprise based in Alameda, CA, serving the broader Bay Area. We develop and implement collaborative and flexible models to reduce food waste and nourish our neighbors to build capacity in our community. Our food recovery and distribution program, Operation Together, supplies food to frontline food assistance organizations, ensuring access to delicious, nourishing food. We achieve impact and influence by sharing out globally, the insights gained by our first-hand hyperlocal experience, through our consulting, advocacy, and community outreach programs.

We strongly encourage applications from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) candidates and folks with lived experience of the issues our constituents navigate, including but not limited to food insecurity, houselessness, incarceration, and poverty. [The Food Shift Kitchen program where apprentices who are overcoming employment discrimination assist with Food Shift operations, recovering surplus and cosmetically imperfect produce that would otherwise be wasted, is currently on hiatus due to our relocation project.] We are fiscally sponsored by Earth Island Institute (EII), and therefore, EII is the employer for all Food Shift staff. 

Who we are

We are a small staff, but a big team, including interns, volunteers, executives-in-residence, advisors, and apprentices together at our table. Food Shifters connect to food through a range of experiences as chefs, servers, food writers, artists, farmers, home cooks, and eaters. Our flat organizational structure knits together our experiences and skills to strengthen the organization, and our cross-trained staff continually adjust to support one another. While our team members come from many backgrounds, we unite around our shared JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) values, which inform everything we do.

That’s why we seek a “cultural knit,” rather than a “cultural fit,” in our hiring process. While “fit” suggests a predefined candidate who fits into the organizational jigsaw puzzle, we emphasize a cultural knit, inviting new team members to weave their unique experiences and skills into our fabric. A cultural knit allows us to build capacity in the team itself and each other, creating the resilience to build a better food system in our community, and tackle the root causes of food insecurity and climate change. We believe solutions must be for the people, by the people, and with the people.

Who we are looking for

The Communications Associate/Manager (title dependent on experience) is responsible for championing our internal and external communications materials. You will report to the Executive Director and work closely with staff, partners, and volunteers to perform key communications activities that support the organization. We consider communications an integral part of our operation and expect all internal and external communications to reflect the JEDI values of Food Shift. We take a holistic view when evaluating candidates, by identifying who can apply their professional skills to different aspects of our operation and weave their operational experience back into communications. We believe deep, firsthand experience with our operation will seed stronger storytelling.

Food Shift seeks to see what our society overlooks. How we see overlooked food, overlooked talent, and overlooked opportunities needs to be communicated holistically as part of our community capacity building, amplifying voices of the people we serve and serve with. To paint a fuller and asset-framing picture, we need to relay more than the traditional metrics of “pounds rescued” and “mouths fed” to stories that come from our first-hand experiences, so that we may share the knowledge gained as community wisdom. These insights from our deep relationships are folded into other forms shared beyond our immediate community, nationally, through our community outreach and education efforts, such as digital resources for maximizing food use and minimizing wasted food, as well as speaking engagements, training sessions, and consulting services. Through our communication, we want people to feel seen.

We are seeking qualified candidates who identify with the descriptions below, with experiences and skills that will nourish an innovative start-up organization and contribute to our growing impact. We use 3 pillars to review the candidates: 1) qualification to perform the job; 2) alignment of candidates’ career aspirations with Food Shift’s values and programs; and 3) diversity. Characteristics we look for include:

• Committed: Identifies with Food Shift’s mission and vision, and goals
• Inclusive: Demonstrates understanding of applying a justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion lens to relationship building, communication, and decision-making
• Detailed and Organized: Applies attention to detail and organizes the work in a way that builds capacity in our team; strong follow-through and timely task completion
• Self-Starter: Takes initiative to make improvements to systems and processes wherever possible; completes work with minimal supervision and meets deadlines; navigates ambiguity
• Adaptable: Thinks critically and adapts in a flexible environment; anticipates needs of others and the organization; prioritizes tasks based on our values and circumstances
• Collaborative: Excels at working as a team, relationships, and giving and receiving honest feedback via nonviolent communication; minimizes time between being stuck on their own and reaching out for clarification or assistance from others
• Words to Action: Practices clear oral and written communication; translates our mission and impact to donors and the community
• Technologically Skilled: Is proficient in Google Workspace, Microsoft Suite, basic social media platforms; Salesforce and Canva design skills a plus
  
• Accredited: Holds a valid CA driver’s license (our auto insurance carrier requires we follow their guidelines, including but not limited to 0 Major Moving Violations in the past 4 years); current food handler certificate (or able to take the certification upon joining Food Shift)  

Other relevant experiences/skills include:

• Social media content curation, photography, videography
• Developing partnerships with nonprofits and corporate entities
• Connections with local or national media
• Spanish language proficiency is a plus 

Areas of Responsibilities

• The distribution of tasks assigned depends on the strengths of the candidate, and may also
  vary due to availability of appropriate work
• Social Media and related tasks (~50%)
  • Conduct research and interviews as needed to develop content
  • Develop or curate appropriate content for social media, newsletters, and other platforms for messaging
  • Support media coverage of programming, through developing op-eds and soliciting stories from media outlets
  • Mentor social media interns, and assist the ED with managing interns
• Other communication needs (~30%)
  • Draft and submit grant proposals and reports
  • Develop communication materials for partners, donors, volunteers and other community supporters
• Food Recovery & Redistribution
  • Provide on-site Operation Together support once per week, or as needed
• Special Projects
  • Assist with special projects and tasks
  • Support with event planning, outreach, logistics, and follow-up
  • Represent Food Shift at events where appropriate
  • Serve as backup support for immediate organizational needs (as necessary)

Requirements

• COVID requirements: All Food Shift team members with on-site obligations must comply with our COVID protocols, including but not limited to full vaccination status before any on-site work, as we serve a vulnerable population
• Physical requirements: Ability to perform desk work (e.g., use a computer, keyboard, and calculator); ability to perform physical work (e.g., stand, bend, stoop, carry (~50 lbs), sit, walk, twist and turn (reasonable accommodations will be made for staff with disability)

We recognize that excellence and potential are expressed differently for different people. If our vision and mission excite you, we hope you will share with us your experiences and skill set that you feel would qualify you to make a contribution as the Communications Associate/Manager.

Food Shift is a project of Earth Island Institute (EII) and this position is an employee of EII. Earth Island Institute provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

To apply

Your application should include:

• A resume, with up to 3 professional references (Optional: link to an updated LinkedIn profile)
• A cover letter that includes a short description of why you and Food Shift are a cultural knit and how you meet the qualifications for the role

Email materials to careers@foodshift.net with the subject line “Communications Associate/Manager.” The review process will begin March 1, 2024 and will continue until the position is filled.