Community Engagement Specialist

The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri; Columbia Township (MO); On-site; USD 42,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri is seeking a Community Engagement Specialist to expand and support a network of partner agencies and schools within its service area. You will collaborate with the Community Engagement team to improve access to food and enhance the charitable food experience through education, capacity building and program development.

Responsibilities include maintaining records for contracts, conducting partner trainings, and ensuring compliance across sites while

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Commensurate experience in social work, community outreach or government will be considered.
• Minimum of 3 years of customer service experience.
• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Ability to learn internal data systems such as CERES and Oasis Insights.

Responsibilities

• Develop strong working relationships with partner agencies and schools, serving as primary contact.
• Connect partners to The Food Bank resources and best practices for growth.
• Monitor partner performance for compliance and conduct inspections as needed.
• Maintain up-to-date agency documents for contract compliance.
• Identify and resolve issues related to food access, safety, and community needs.
• Operate within CERES, Oasis Insights, Meal Connect and similar systems.
• Train new partners, schools and volunteers at Mobile Market locations.
• Collaborate with the Community Engagement team on new initiatives and improvements.
• Coordinate activities to support team goals and efficient service delivery.
• Assist with planning partner convenings, webinars and regional meetings.
• Present hunger-relief industry content to partner agencies as opportunities arise.
• Support SNAP applications and food distribution efforts as needed.
• Train and support agencies in data collection software.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Relationship building

Data management

Microsoft Office

Training

Teamwork

Driver's license

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

CERES

Oasis Insights

Meal Connect

Job description

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Community Engagement Specialist will focus on maintaining, building and developing a strong partner network of food assistance programs within The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri’s service area. This role will work with the Community Engagement team to alleviate hunger through both direct and immediate interventions and long-term strategies that improve access and the charitable food experience for those seeking resources. Community Engagement Specialists administer overall program activities, with an emphasis on agency relations, partner education and engagement and capacity building. Duties include building and leveraging relationships to provide support to organizations and schools in an assigned region; helping those partners develop food security solutions that meet the needs of neighbors and their communities; conducting food safety and compliance monitoring at partner sites; and maintaining accurate records and standards based on applicable contracts with Feeding America and the USDA; and more. The ideal candidate will have strong customer service, communication and relationship building skills and have experience working with diverse populations.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Develop strong working relationships with a defined set of partner agencies and schools and serve as their primary point of contact for The Food Bank.
• Connect partners to The Food Bank resources and best practices to help support the operational needs, sustainability and growth of their food distribution program.
• Monitor partner agency performance for compliance with organizational needs and requirements, including follow-up food distribution site inspections for corrective action.
• Maintain up-to-date agency documents to ensure agency compliance with applicable contracts and standards.
• Identify and resolve issues (e.g., charitable food access, food safety, community needs, etc.) for community members and partner agencies.
• Learn and operate within The Food Bank’s internal data systems, including CERES, Oasis Insights, Meal Connect and more.
• Train new partners, schools and volunteers at Mobile Market locations as necessary based on capacity and strategic goals.
• Work within the scope of professional agreements, such as those with Feeding America, Feeding Missouri, USDA, MODSS and all food distribution programs operated by The Food Bank.
• Work with the Community Engagement team to create new initiatives, as well as evaluate and refine existing programs to better serve community members facing food insecurity.
• Coordinate activities internally to support overall goals of the Community Engagement Team.
• Collaborate with The Food Bank team to facilitate efficient and effective delivery of services.
• Assist the Community Engagement team in planning annual partner convening opportunities, such as quarterly webinars, annual regional meetings and the annual agency conference.
• Present hunger-relief industry content to partner agencies through opportunities as listed above.
• Support food distribution and SNAP application efforts via phone support or in-person at partner agencies, Mobile Markets, schools or other key locations as needed.
• Plan, pilot and implement database assistance.
• Train and support agencies in data collection software

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Salary Range: $42,000 - $45,000

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Commensurate experience in the field of social work, community outreach or government will be considered.
• Minimum of 3 years of customer service experience TRAINING AND SKILLS
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build rapport with diverse organizations and audiences
• Strong data, oral and written communication skills
• Excellent knowledge and capability to operate within Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel and Outlook
• Ability to learn and operate within The Food Bank’s internal data systems including CERES (inventory management) and Oasis Insights (assistance tracking)
• Ability to function at a high level of productivity while maintaining attention to detail.
• Strong organizational skills
• Experienced approach to managing multiple assignments and workflow with a proven ability to relate to staff, management and interested parties for the benefit of The Food Bank
• Ability to operate within a team framework and within the organizational mission
• Ability to adapt quickly to change and an innovative approach to support partner agencies in doing the same.
• ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification must be secured at the cost of The Food Bank within the first three months of employment.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and obtain a Class E license at own cost within the first 60 days of employment
• Ability to lift 20 pounds