Director, Community Engagement - Native / Tribal Communities (Chicago / Hybrid)

About the Role

This position is based out of Feeding America’s Chicago office. At Feeding America, we believe in offering a flexible work environment. Employees can be in the office an average of 2 days a week (when not travelling for work) and work from home on other days. Employees also have access to a 30-day “work anywhere” program during the course of each calendar year that can be combined with PTO and/or holidays.

The Director, Community Engagement – Native & Tribal Communities, will develop and implement Feeding America's Native & Tribal community engagement strategy to help increase our collaborations and partnerships with organizations working with communities of color who face higher rates of food insecurity than the national average. This role will provide national strategic management in areas of outreach to and engagement of communities of color, with a focus on Native & Tribal communities, to build long-lasting, positive relationships and strengthen local food systems.

Responsibilities

• Develops and executes a community engagement strategy to establish and deepen partnerships with national and regional organizations and associations focused on serving and strengthening Native and Tribal communities in order to advance the mission and policy goals of Feeding America.
• Manages a portfolio of national and regional partners and identifies potential new partnerships and coalitions to increase collaboration and advance policies and programs that help address food insecurity disparities, with a focus on Native & Tribal communities.
• Opportunities to collaborate may include advocacy, fundraising, and/or media, for example.
• Collaborates with broader Community Partnerships team to execute a grant-making strategy aimed at strengthening local food systems and partnerships.
• Collaborates across functions with government relations, marketing & communications, advocacy, and development to ensure that communities are considered by, and connected to, internal planning and initiatives led by other departments.
• Works closely with other departments to glean learnings from the field and establishes consensus around promising practices to strengthen communities and address disparities in Native/Tribal communities to facilitate connections with national partners and local network members.
• Crafts, facilitates, and engages internal and external partners in webinars and other digital convenings around timely topics related to the Native/Tribal Community as part of a broader Community Partnerships learning agenda.
• Represents Feeding America at conferences, forums, convenings, coalition meetings, similar events and in media.
• Manages Community Engagement team projects, including technical assistance, resource creation, briefings, proposals, and capturing partner priorities and learnings.

Requirements

• Professional and/or lived experience within Native/Tribal communities.
• 8+ years’ experience working with community-based organizations, state and local government officials, state agency staff, and/or businesses and engaging low-income communities.
• Ability to leverage existing relationships and/or cultivate new relationships to build productive, trusting partnerships with a variety of organizations, demonstrating cultural competence and expertise.
• Experience in leadership roles working within complex operating environments – ideally a network and/or matrixed structure.
• Excellent verbal and interpersonal skills to facilitate effective communication with community members and community groups.
• Strong written communication, problem-solving, priority-setting, project management and computer skills.
• Ability to work independently, thrive under pressure and perform multiple tasks.
• Experience, including formal education, ideally in Native/Indigenous studies, Community Outreach, or other social impact related discipline is required or equivalent experience working in tribal communities with an understanding of Native American food systems, culture, and tribal governance.
• Excellent training and facilitation skills with proven track record of successful design and delivery of formal and informal training, working groups such as communities of practice and speaking and presenting with key stakeholders in other forums such as conferences.

Leadership Competencies

• Fosters an Enterprise Mindset
• Fosters an Open and Supportive Environment
• Leads with Accountability
• Collaborates Internally and Externally
• Focuses on People and Teams
• Manages Organization and Business Complexity
• Communicates with Impact and Influence

Pay

Feeding America maintains transparent salary ranges and clearly defined practices for compensation. The salary range for this role is $127,932 - $132,932 based on experience.

Diversity & Inclusion

Feeding America’s goal is to attract, develop, retain, and promote a talented diverse workforce where all employees feel a sense of belonging and contribute to a culture that values differences, ideas, and experiences. We intentionally seek out diverse perspectives and skills on our teams, knowing that it makes us stronger as an organization and better equipped to serve our neighbors in need.