Food Systems Director

Open Cupboard; Oakdale (MN); On-site; USD 95,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical & dental insurance

401(k) with match

PTO & holidays

EAP & disability insurance

Minnesota Paid Leave

Job summary

Open Cupboard in the Twin Cities seeks a Director of Food Systems to lead food rescue, sourcing, and inventory operations across a regional hub-and-spoke network. You will grow donor partnerships, optimize fleet use, and ensure efficient flow of rescued and donated food to programs.

We value 8+ years in food rescue or related supply chain roles, strong leadership, data-driven decision making, and the ability to coordinate cross-functional teams to reduce waste and expand access to healthy foods.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressively responsible experience in food rescue, food recovery, food banking, or a related field.
• Strong working knowledge of food waste and food recovery systems, including donor relationship management, perishable food logistics, and cold-chain handling.
• Demonstrated experience managing programs and supervising staff, including hiring and performance management.
• Ability to build relationships with donors and partner agencies and funders.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategy to increase total pounds of food entering Open Cupboard through rescue, sourcing, and donor development.
• Deepen relationships with retailers, grocers, distributors, and other donors to unlock additional pounds.
• Identify and onboard new food rescue and sourcing partners including retailers and institutions.
• Grow and manage agricultural partnerships with farmers markets and growers.
• Oversee inventory operations, fleet, and tracking systems to reduce waste and ensure timely delivery.

Skills

Food rescue experience

Donor relationships

Staff supervision

Data-driven decisions

Driver's license

Job description

Open Cupboard is one of the largest food rescue and food access organizations in the Twin Cities, operating our innovative Today's Harvest free fresh market model across two locations and distributing more than seven million pounds of food a year.

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director of Food Systems will lead our food rescue, food sourcing, and inventory/operations work, including our regional hub-and-spoke distribution network. This person will oversee the growth of donor and food-source relationships, the performance of our food rescue fleet and inventory operations, and the internal flow of food to reduce waste. This role will lead execution of strategic goals of expanding food rescue collections, deepening donor partnerships, and scaling our hub-and-spoke network.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead strategy and execution to increase the total volume of food coming into Open Cupboard through food rescue, food sourcing, and donor development.
• Deepen relationships with existing retail, grocery, distributor, and wholesale donor partners to unlock additional available-but-uncollected pounds.
• Identify, cultivate, and onboard new food rescue and sourcing partners, including retailers, distributors, food service operators, and institutional sources.
• Grow and manage agricultural food rescue partnerships, including relationships with farmers markets, individual growers, and value-added processing/compensation partnerships.
• Steward all donor relationships through named relationship management, regular impact reporting, and consistent check-ins to retain and grow volume over time.

Mini-Hub / Hub-and-Spoke Program

• Own and grow and scale Open Cupboard's regional hub-and-spoke distribution network
• Build and maintain the communications, onboarding, and logistics infrastructure that allows partner agencies to request, receive, and (over time) contribute food efficiently and reliably.
• Identify and onboard new spoke/mini-hub agencies
• Oversee order management and food distribution to spoke/mini-hub partners, ensuring donated food reaches partner agencies before it spoils.
• Guide the network's evolution toward a bidirectional, mutually reinforcing exchange model in which high-capacity partners both receive and contribute food.

Inventory, Operations & Internal Food Flow

• Oversee inventory operations across Open Cupboard sites, including intake, sorting, storage, and cold-chain management of rescued and donated food.
• Oversee the food rescue fleet, including route planning, driver coordination, and a structured preventive maintenance program to ensure vehicle availability and routing efficiency.
• Oversee systems for tracking incoming food to support accurate reporting.
• Support decision-making on facility repairs and upgrades to ensure smooth operational flow

Staff & Program Management

• Hire, train, supervise, and develop food rescue drivers, inventory staff, and other food hub/operations staff.
• Build team capacity to support growing collection volume, an expanding donor base, and a scaling hub-and-spoke network.
• Set clear goals, provide regular feedback and coaching, and foster a culture of accountability, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with the Executive Director and other program directors to align food systems work with organization-wide strategy and capacity.
• Alongside the Executive Director, create and monitor program budget and create optimization plans for equipment and staffing expenses.
• Serve as the operational lead for grant-funded food rescue and hub-and-spoke initiatives, ensuring work plans, timelines, and budgets stay on track.
• Track and report on pounds rescued, pounds distributed through the hub-and-spoke network, and other program metrics using Open Cupboard's data systems.
• Monitor progress against objectives and make mid-course adjustments to collections, staffing, or partnerships as needed to hit targets.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• 8+ years of progressively responsible experience in food rescue, food recovery, food banking, or a related food systems/supply chain field.
• Strong working knowledge of food waste and food recovery systems, including donor relationship management, perishable food logistics, and cold-chain handling.
• Demonstrated experience managing programs and supervising staff, including hiring, coaching, and performance management.
• Strong relationship-building and communication skills, with the ability to represent the organization to donors, partner agencies, and funders.
• Comfort working with data to track performance, identify trends, and report outcomes to leadership and funders.
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel regularly between Open Cupboard sites and partner locations across the East Metro.

Preferred

• Experience managing state or federal grant-funded programs, including work plans, budgets, and reporting requirements.
• Familiarity with fleet management and preventive maintenance programs.
• Experience working with or serving Environmental Justice communities.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• Growth in total pounds of food rescued year over year through retail, agricultural, wholesale, and food bank channels.
• A growing, well-run network of mini-hub/spoke partner agencies
• Smooth, fast internal food flow that minimizes spoilage and gets perishable food to Open Cupboard's own programs quickly.
• A capable, well-supported food sourcing, rescue, and operations team.
• Strong, well-stewarded donor relationships that retain and grow volume over time.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

This is a full-time, exempt position with an annual salary of $95,000–$105,000, based on experience, plus a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Medical and dental insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan, available after six months of employment, with a company match of up to 3% of salary.
• Paid time off and 8 paid holidays per year, plus two floating holidays.
• Long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Minnesota Paid Leave, providing pay and job protection for qualifying family or medical needs.