Overview:

As one of the largest Food Banks in the United States, Food Bank of the Rockies is passionate about ensuring every community member has the resources they need to thrive. Supporting our Colorado and Wyoming communities begins with passionate, mission-driven individuals.

The Chief Programs Officer at Food Bank of the Rockies leads strategic direction and vision for diverse program areas, overseeing a team of over 35 professionals in government programs, Food for Kids, Food for Health, Outreach, Culinary Kitchen, Culturally Responsive initiatives, and Partner Support. This pivotal role drives strategy development, implements initiatives, and establishes metrics to enhance operational excellence and achieve organizational goals. Collaborating closely with the CEO, COO, and Leadership Team, the Chief Programs Officer ensures exceptional service delivery, fosters team engagement, and optimizes efficiency to meet the evolving needs of our community.

We value diversity and inclusivity and are thus always looking to diversify our staff with an eye toward race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and age, among other areas. Candidates who bring such diversity are encouraged to apply.

Mission: We ignite the power of community to nourish people facing hunger

Values: Service; Integrity; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Collaboration; Innovation

• Drive strategic goal setting and management for all Programs areas
• Serve as an exemplary leader and member of the leadership team, providing leadership in decision-making, vision building, team development, and strategic direction
• Serve as an external spokesperson and an industry expert to audiences including donors, legislators, and others.
• Provide leadership and oversight of Food Bank of the Rockies' Programs areas
• Oversee compliance efforts in keeping with Feeding America, USDA, and CDHS guidelines and reporting, exemplifying timely reporting and best practices in all areas.
• Oversee Programs efforts to reflect the voice of partners and neighbors, keeping the needs of those ultimately receiving the food at the forefront
• Build and maintain organizational customer service with agency partners by assessing needs and providing reliable and exemplary customer service
• Ensure the equitable distribution of food throughout Food Bank of the Rockies’ service area, using data from private and public sources to validate and improve business practices
• Lead revenue and expense budget development and management, exercising strong working knowledge and sound judgment of organizational levers impacting expenses, revenue, and ROIs of various activities and programs.
• Develop goals, performance metrics, and performance management processes for overall program activities. Incorporate the organization's mission and annual goals in developing metrics to drive desired results. Mentor staff in the creation and implementation of metrics to achieve process improvements.
• Work with senior management and human resources in organizational staff development, fostering excellent decision-making, problem-solving, teamwork, individual initiative, and personal responsibility for generating business results.
• Develop and sustain a Programs team culture that enables growth in community impact and develops talent. This structure should provide multiple levels of backup in each position to support smooth processes and include staff development.
• Coordinate Programs activity at the Western Slope and Wyoming distribution centers to ensure similar food availability and programs implementation regardless of geography and rural or urban settings.
• Leverage the full range of IT system capabilities to automate routine tasks driving staff productivity and information accuracy. Increase information systems literacy, usage, and work productivity across the Programs team to reduce cycle time and improve efficiency and accuracy.
• Strategic collaboration with all other teams related to program development, execution and evaluation, especially Food Sourcing, Operations, Development, Marketing, Finance, and Research & Evaluation.
• In collaboration with the Research team, develop systems to collect and report on key data to showcase programmatic success and assess opportunities for improvement.
• Oversee the development and application of approaches for advancing community impact, including convening partners to listen, learn, and continually strive to better serve neighbors, leverage resources, and use data for informing decisions and executing strategies.
• Contribute to grant concept development, grant applications, funding tracking and reporting.
• Proactively cultivates and maintains positive relationships with external stakeholders including donors, government agencies, anti-hunger and hunger-relief organizations, and other key community stakeholders/groups – exemplifying deep expertise to build credibility and highly emotionally-intelligent relationship skills to advance partnerships and organizational strategic goals. Builds this competency in the Programs management team as well.

• Commitment to fulfilling Food Bank of the Rockies’ mission and positively representing the brand both internally and externally
• Builds and leads high-performing teams, recognizing and cultivating talent
• Embodies an authentic, accessible, and engaging leadership style
• Engages creative thinking with an optimistic mindset Embodies a growth mindset with a commitment to continual learning
• - personally, departmentally, and organizationally
• Drives great results through planning, analysis, and execution
• Identifies and drives strategic organizational change to improve results
• Engages in compelling and effective verbal (group and individual) and written communication Courageous Communicator
• - communicates openly with accountability for self and others, handling difficult conversations with tact
• In recognition of the leadership team as one’s “first team” presents a unified front on leadership decisions outside of meetings
• Carries organizational messages with confidence and passion, fostering audience engagement
• Maintains composure under pressure, exemplifying resilience and adaptability
• High level of interpersonal skills, empathy, and the ability to navigate complex social dynamics
• Consistently partners at all levels of the organization to catalyze balanced and effective results
• Exemplifies demonstrated alignment with organizational values
• Serves as an expert in one’s field, bringing a high level of skill, experience, and a comprehensive understanding of industry trends and potential future directions
• Exemplifies broad organizational expertise and can represent Food Bank of the Rockies to external audiences via speaking engagements, tours, etc.
• Handle confidential information with discretion and care, ensuring the privacy and respect of employees, volunteers, partners, donors, or others

• Proven visionary and coaching leadership with the ability to cultivate talent through management, coaching, and mentorship, consistently eliciting trust and serving with integrity
• Demonstrates compassion and sensitivity to vulnerable populations
• Strong customer service orientation
• Demonstrated ability to invite, inspire and implement community partnerships that benefit the organization over time
• Self‐directed, driven, and accountable for results and high achievement, individually and across the organization
• Demonstrated ability to create and deliver on established timelines
• Ability to communicate persuasively and articulately both verbally and in writing
• Commitment to inspiring and retaining a talented team through creating a positive working environment with clear expectations and standards
• Demonstrate strong teambuilding and interpersonal skills in dealing with complex employee & team issues
• Independent problem solver: capacity to solve a wide range of complex problems and lead from concept through implementation

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Using office equipment such as a computer, mouse, keyboard, printer
• Shared office environment; outdoor work environment occasionally
• Frequent travel within the service area including to Western Slope and Wyoming distribution centers

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in relevant focus, such as: social work/social services, human development & family studies, sociology/ethnic studies, education, food systems, public health, business or other related fields, master’s degree preferred, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Five or more years of leadership experience with a team of more than 10 people
• Ten or more years of experience working with and alongside historically disenfranchised/marginalized groups, preferably in a non-profit setting
• Deep knowledge of social service activity, especially government programs and requirements
• Working knowledge of Ceres or other similar ERP systems is preferred
• Ability to handle and prioritize work in a multi-tasking environment, meeting deadlines with minimal supervision
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and online technologies
• Experience using collaborative tools for file storage and sharing, meeting scheduling, and virtual collaboration preferred
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) a plus

Expected Hours of Work:

This is an exempt, full-time position. Work schedules may vary each week and consist of weekdays, evening, and occasional Saturdays. Travel within the geographic region will be required (approximately 5%) and is primarily local during the business day with occasional overnight travel.

Benefits:

• Paid time off, 10 paid holidays, sick time, paid parental leave, paid volunteer time
• A 401K retirement plan with up to 8.5% employer-paid match
• Competitive employee health, dental, vision, and life insurance
• A monthly incentive for certified bilingual staff

To Apply:

Apply online through www.foodbankrockies.org/careers with a resume and cover letter specific to this role. Applications will be accepted until June 28th.