The ideal Community Programs Coordinator for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank understands and is passionate about the organization’s mission to provide nutritious food and grocery product to those in need in our 16-county service area. This individual will be a vital component of the Food Bank team in working with our various partners in the program areas of Partner Agencies, Mobile Food Pantry Program, and Elderly Program. The ability to work in a fast-paced and progressive environment will be the key to success in this role, as the Northeast Iowa Food Bank continually strives to work towards closing the Meal Gap in northeast Iowa.
The ideal Community Programs Coordinator is a self-starter, will demonstrate great attention to detail, and possess excellent customer service skills. This individual must be able to work independently and with staff to achieve objectives. This individual will also be capable of expanding relationships with our partners, while maintaining our compliance standards.
A passion for social justice and compassion for others are keys to being a staff member at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. At the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, we strive to work as a unified team to close the Meal Gap in northeast Iowa. As a team member, the Community Programs Coordinator will work closely with staff members to maximize the distribution of food to those in need.
The responsibilities of the Community Programs Coordinator include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Model and provide excellent customer service to all internal and external customers
- Work collaboratively with program partners, including but not limited to the Mobile Food Pantry Program, Elderly Program and Partner Agencies, to cultivate partnership and building capacity.
- Conduct monitoring visits for each program to ensure compliance with Feeding America standards, food safety standards, DHS requirement for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), along with NEIFB membership and program agreements. This will include traveling to partner sites.
- Managing the distribution of product through the warehouse management system, including order processing, invoicing, and researching and correcting any related issues.
- Provide education and training to partners when necessary for compliance and/or capacity building during site visits or other customer interactions.
- Serve as the primary contact for mobile food pantry coordinators; provide support and training as needed, as well as attending multiple distributions each month to lead volunteer coordination and food distribution.
- Assist with Service Insights and MealConnect software programs; provide minor technical support to member agencies and program coordinators and provide participant referrals to the Program Development Manager and Community Food Connections Coordinator.
- Extract data from various sources in a timely manner to meet the requirements of grants, Feeding America and other stakeholders.
- Evaluate opportunity for partner collaboration to further the NEIFB mission. Identify potential gaps in service and develop capacity building strategies that might be filled by NEIFB and/or our partners.
- Communicate clearly and effectively with all partner agencies, program coordinators, Food Bank departments and staff.
- Greet, train and supervise volunteers as well as share the mission of the NEIFB; provide general guidance of projects; assure proper training of volunteers to include specific jobs and safety concerns. Communicate frequently with volunteers to ensure they are satisfied and appropriately placed.
- In instances of a federal, state or locally declared emergency, NEIFB is typically considered an essential service and emergency responder; all of its employees may be called in to perform regular or emergent duties.
- Perform other duties as assigned.