Food Resource Developer - Oregon Food Bank

Job Title:              Food Resource Developer  
Job Location:       Portland, Oregon
Reports To:          Strategic Sourcing Manager
Pay Range:          $65,398.00 - 73,807.00 annually 
 
Who We Are:
Oregon Food Bank (OFB) believes that no one should be hungry. Our mission is to eliminate hunger and its root causes.  We believe that food and health are basic human rights for all. We know that hunger is not just an individual experience; it is also a community-wide symptom of systemic barriers to employment, education, housing and health care such as systemic racism, sexism, and cissexism. That’s why we work systemically to achieve our mission to end hunger: we foster community connections to help people access nutritious food, and we build community power and strengthen networks of support and the safety net to eliminate the root causes of hunger for good.

We build community power to dismantle systems and policies that drive hunger and poverty.

Oregon Food Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we strongly encourage applications from candidates who can increase the diversity of our organization and strengthen our capacity to eliminate hunger. We believe strongly in the power of lived experience — and we actively seek individuals who have experienced hunger and its root causes to join our team. Our organization is stronger because of the leadership of people who have faced food insecurity in their own lives and/or hail from historically under-represented communities. Learn more about our commitment at oregonfoodbank.org/equity. 

Who You Are:
You care deeply about community, about people experiencing hunger and hold them in the center of all that you do. You are committed to applying equity as a process and an outcome of your work to disrupt systemic social patterns that promote hunger such as racism, sexism, and cissexism.  You have a strong affinity with OFB’s 10 Year Vision and are profoundly excited to achieve this vision for and with our community.

Position Summary:
The Food Resource Developer (FRD) participates in the solicitation and purchasing of food and other supplies from local and national vendors in support of Oregon Food Bank and the Oregon Food Bank Network.  You will cultivate vendor relationships, explore potential sources and work closely with internal and external partners to fill necessary procurement needs from idea through order delivery and follow up.  FRDs exemplify highly detailed work, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to adjust to changing needs and situations. 

The FRD participates in the formation and execution of strategies to solicit and secure food and other product donations from the food and agricultural industries. You will research and identify prospective local food donors in the Tri-county metro area, and support similar efforts for localized donations across the State of Oregon in support of the OFB Network.  Similarly, you will research opportunities for statewide donations and sourcing to excess to be shared with regional partnerships. You will cultivate and actively maintain donor relationships, working to establish OFB as a solution-oriented partner for members of the food and agricultural industries. You will be looking for opportunities for donations and relationship-building across all activities.  
This role involves a high level of real-time pivoting. Success is driven by our ability to react to external and internal factors while meeting the needs of our partners and people experiencing hunger.  We are not strictly driven by pounds of food.  We operate in a highly nuanced environment where each donation supports the greater food supply, health, and equity of our food distribution network. Food banking is dynamic, requiring a high degree of collaboration, adaptability, and teamwork across all teams.

Primary Responsibilities (Essential Functions):

• Participates within the FRD and other internal teams to formulate and execute food resourcing strategies across the state of Oregon.  Support and participate in our work across all aspects of the food system and food banking networks.
• Purchasing
  • Support purchasing and logistical planning of Food to Buy, Purchased Staples, grant purchasing, and supply support programs.
  • Solicit bids for pricing and communicate with vendors about new product offers.
  • Creates and tracks Purchase Orders until the product is received.
  • Work across many teams/departments/organizations to support food acquisition and development opportunities while responding to varied and ever-changing needs and priorities.
• Food Donation/Donors 
  • Supports coverage of the food donation phone line and email assisting the general public and donors directly. 
  • Secures and maintains food donations through consistent contact and outreach with donors and suppliers to manage optimum supply and demand efficiencies.
  • Coordinates work with Operations and other department staff to coordinate leveraged partnerships and other innovative collaborations.
  • Supports donation processing from initial donation review through logistics management, and problem resolution to departmental standards.
  • Prioritizes workload and pivots direction as needed to changes in donations/internal and external capacity/and other unforeseen circumstances and opportunities. This role involves a high level of real-time pivoting.  It is dynamic and consistently morphing adjustments to work in real-time.
• Manages the resource procurement process from start to finish with a strong emphasis on project management including:
  • Donation and donor stewardship processing requirements and standards. 
  • Purchasing program data management for tracking timeliness, accuracy and execution of work activities
  • Process and data documentation to standard operating procedures and best practices
  • External and internal communication and engagement practice to center positive work relationships with suppliers, colleagues, and customers and foster community connections to assist with increased food access.
• Other related duties as assigned; we know it's impossible to convey every single task or responsibility for each job description. Our hope is that as we work together to fulfill the job responsibilities above as essential job functions, should the primary duties evolve with significant job responsibility changes over time, Oregon Food Bank  will periodically evaluate the updates through the job evaluation and classification review processes.

 
Skills and Experience:

• Deep passion for eliminating hunger and its root causes. 
• This role requires strong project management skills to schedule and implement food distribution processes to OFB standards. 
• Experience in purchasing and vendor relationship management.
• Basic knowledge of food and agriculture systems in order to procure, store, transmit commodities for distribution within the OFB network.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Windows and Office environment ( Google, Word, Excel, Outlook, SharePoint) and standard office equipment. 
• Ability to perform detailed work related to record-keeping  of donations and strategic planning. 
• Strong aptitude for learning new technologies and applications.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team. 
• Proven ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent problem-solving and planning skills.
• Organizational level skills and experience for exempt employees include:
• Disposition and willingness to innovate, problem-solve, test, fail, and adjust.
• Experience in modeling intercultural competence and demonstrated commitment to equity, inclusion, and social justice.
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically, take initiative, and maintain confidentiality.
• Project coordination and organization skills; ability to manage multiple projects with attention to detail; meet deadlines, ability to handle interruptions, and produce timely, accurate work.
• Self–directed, meets benchmarks, and checks assumptions about results and end goals. Ability to work independently and as part of a team; provides role clarity, shows a willingness to support others to build momentum and share success, comfortable working in an office environment and offsite. 
• Ability to thrive in a creative, responsive, and fast-paced culture. 

 
Preferred Qualifications: 

• 3 years of demonstrated success in the food industry, sales, agriculture, logistics, procurement with a background in food science, agriculture, food production, and/or food distribution.
• Experience working with farmers and/or food industry partners who buy or sell fresh produce and/or manufacture and/or distribute retail or food service-sized food items. 
• Experience with  identifying opportunities to procure culturally specific foods that are appropriate and unique to specific cultural/ethnic menus to support our varied communities.  
• Organizational level preferred qualifications of exempt employees include:
  • Multilingual skills at a minimum professional level of proficiency or greater in English and any additional language/s, defined as being able to speak the languages with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical and professional topics.  
  • Multicultural skills of adaptation and integration are strongly preferred.  
    • Adaptation is defined as the capacity to communicate and interact with people of multiple cultures, backgrounds, and styles by incorporating and adapting to the world view and perspectives of others.
    • Integration is defined as being able to move in and out of one's worldview and help others understand different cultures, backgrounds, and styles to promote diversity and inclusion.
  • Commitment to continued professional development to strengthen capacity to work through an equity lens for equity and racial justice.
  • Strong capacity to consider multiple perspectives, pivot to respond to emerging needs and lead through organizational changes.
  • Personal living/lived experience of hunger and/or systemic inequity/oppression.  

The Fine Print:
Work environment:

• Work is performed in an office environment while sitting in meetings or at a computer screen for extended periods inside and outside of Oregon Food Bank and will use computers and phones extensively. 
• This role is currently remote through March and then likely hybrid (location within Oregon, SW Washington)
• May work outside of general working hours of 8:00 – 5:00 p.m., such as evenings and weekends, and occasional travel out of town may occur. 
• Work may require to lift, move and carry objects from 20 to 40 pounds, such as boxes containing office and other supplies. Crouching, bending, kneeling and reaching when filing. Accommodations may be available upon request.
• Oregon Food Bank currently is  requesting  submission of COVID-19 vaccination status for all employees. 

 
Background Check: This position DOES NOT require a background check.

Apply Here