Senior Manager, Public Affairs

SPOONFULS INC; Newton (MA); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 98,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, vision, and dental insurance

Generous PTO and holiday closures

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Spoonfuls Inc. in Newton Center, MA seeks a Senior Manager, Public Affairs to lead outreach, education, advocacy, and community engagement.

You will shape Spoonfuls’ Public Affairs strategy, work with the SLT, and represent Spoonfuls in diverse forums to expand impact on food waste and food insecurity. Ideal candidates bring 5+ years in public affairs, strong communication and project management skills, and a passion for environmental justice.

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ relevant experience at a Manager level or higher.
• A passion for, and familiarity with, food and/or environmental justice issues.
• Familiarity with legislative process and movement-building.
• Strong communication skills - verbal and written; previous public speaking and/or group facilitation experience required.
• Must be highly organized with strong project management experience.
• Good judgment; ability to problem-solve.
• Demonstrated experience in deadline-driven roles/environments.
• Comfortable giving and receiving feedback.
• Flexibility; able to re-prioritize as needed.
• Hybrid work environments - remote and in-person.
• People management experience.
• Reliable personal vehicle for reporting into our Greater Boston-based office.

Responsibilities

• Oversees community & stakeholder engagement and positions Spoonfuls as a trusted thought leader.
• Develops strategies to raise awareness of Spoonfuls’ work and involvement opportunities.
• Manages Public Affairs calendar with the Public Affairs Coordinator.
• Represents Spoonfuls at meetings, panels, schools, media, and other events.
• Leads conversations with retailers, brands, officials, and partners to advance programming.
• Pitches and presents to community groups and organizations about Spoonfuls’ work.
• Informs and advances advocacy priorities with the SLT and cross-vertical teams.
• Interfaces with policy stakeholders to elevate calls to action and build relationships.
• Manages outreach to officials, donors, and organizers, and supports action campaigns.
• Works with Communications to align online and offline engagement and advocacy strategies.
• Supervises junior staff and interns; tracks performance metrics.
• Participates in 1:1s, team, and company meetings; collaborates with Senior Leadership Team.

Skills

Communication skills

Public speaking

Relationship building

Public Affairs

Job description

Senior Manager, Public Affairs

Full Time Newton Center, MA, US

3 days ago Requisition ID: 1088

Salary Range: $80,000.00 To $98,000.00 Annually

Spoonfuls keeps good food from going to waste. Through food recovery and distribution, education, and advocacy, we work to address the health, environmental and economic impacts that wasted food has on people and the planet. To learn more about our work, visit spoonfuls.org.

This position manages Spoonfuls’ outreach, education, advocacy, and general community engagement work, including informing and executing Spoonfuls’ Public Affairs Strategy. It's a great opportunity for a strategic thinker who excels at relationship‑building and enjoys being a public “face” of the organization. Reporting to the Chief of Communications & Public Affairs, the Senior Manager will work closely with Spoonfuls’ Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to forge and deepen connections and drive community conversations about wasted food, food insecurity, the climate emergency, Spoonfuls' impact, and the benefits of food recovery. The Senior Manager will funnel individuals to a range of opportunities to support our work. Familiarity with the communities in which we operate is a plus.

Duties and Responsibilities :

Community & Stakeholder Engagement

Positions Spoonfuls to be a known and trusted thought leader in the fields of food loss and waste prevention and food recovery

Develops and refines strategies for building awareness of Spoonfuls’ work and opportunities to become involved in it

Identifies engagement opportunities and, with the Public Affairs Coordinator, manages our Public Affairs calendar, ensuring Spoonfuls is represented in community meetings, conversations, and events that have the potential to grow our reach and impact

Frequently represents Spoonfuls in the community including at meetings, on panels, before school and civic groups, media, etc.

Elevates community conversations, trends, opportunities, and concerns

Routinely leads conversations with food retailers, brands, elected officials and more and makes strategic introductions for other members of the team in order to advance programming and funding partnerships

Routinely pitches and provides presentations to community groups, organizations, businesses, and others interested in learning more about the issue of wasted food, Spoonfuls’ work, and ways to get involved

Education & Advocacy

Working with Spoonfuls’ SLT and colleagues across verticals, informs and advances Spoonfuls’ Advocacy Priorities

Routinely evaluates advocacy priorities and identifies advocacy opportunities

Interfaces with outside policy/advocacy stakeholders including community partners, elected officials, donors, organizers, and others who help set local, regional, and national food and environmental policy agendas; works to elevate important calls to action

Outreaches to elected officials and their staff to keep policymakers informed of Spoonfuls’ initiatives in their districts; builds and deepens relationships with elected officials

May organize or participate in public actions and awareness campaigns

Communications Support

Works closely with the Communications team to inform strategies and ensure our online and offline engagement and advocacy strategies are well-aligned

With Communications staff, informs Advocacy Updates and as-needed Advocacy Action Alerts

Identifies and shares opportunities to engage media around our community engagement and education/advocacy priorities

Supporting fact-checking around advocacy-centric communications

Administration

Supervises junior engagement staff and/or interns (currently one FT Coordinator)

With teammates, works to ensure that Spoonfuls’ Public Affairs strategies and Advocacy Priorities represent the organization’s core values

Sets, reports out on, and analyzes Public Affairs performance metrics metrics

Attends and participates actively in 1:1s and team and company meetings

Routinely interfaces with Senior Leadership Team, raises new ideas, asks questions, and offers perspective

Qualifications:

5+ years’ relevant experience at a Manager level or higher (if you haven’t worked at a Manager level before but you have applicable experience and/or transferable skills that would translate well to this role, we encourage you to apply)

A passion for, and familiarity with, food and/or environmental justice issues – candidates with lived experience are encouraged to apply

Familiarity with legislative process and movement-building

Strong communication skills - verbal and written; previous public speaking and/or group facilitation experience required

Must be highly organized with strong project management experience

Good judgment; ability to problem-solve

Demonstrated experience in deadline-driven roles/environments

Comfortable giving and receiving feedback

Flexibility; able to comfortably re-prioritize as needed

Comfortable with hybrid work environments - remote and in-person (position reports into our Greater Boston office two days per week)

People management experience (experience managing hybrid/remote teams preferred)

Reliable personal vehicle for reporting into our Greater Boston-based office (off public transportation) and to offsite meetings, across our service territory, as needed

Hours:

Full-Time, Exempt (typically Monday through Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm with flexible scheduling for occasional evening and weekend hours to accommodate events and speaking opportunities).

Spoonfuls provides health, vision, and dental insurance through our PEO partner, as well as generous PTO and holiday closures.

Physical Demands:

(Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job) :

Sitting for long periods

Standing, walking, stooping, and bending

Occasionally lifting up to 50 lbs.

Our work environment is hybrid (remote and in-person) for applicants in commuting distance to our headquarters in Greater Boston. The Senior Manager, Public Affairs role is heavily community-facing, so it is also expected this person will, as needed, participate in virtual and in-person meetings and events, which may take place in any of our geographic regions. Occasionally, and most often with ample notice, the Senior Manager may work evenings and weekends to accommodate community meetings and events that fall outside our standard business hours. In that case, flexible scheduling is provided. Expected travel to national conferences roughly 2-3 times per year.