Operations Manager

Opportunity:

The Emanuel Food Pantry is seeking a full-time, organized leader who is passionate about ending hunger in our community, and who loves working with people and volunteers, to serve as our Operations Manager (OM). The successful candidate will be bi-lingual in English and Spanish, comfortable multi-tasking the many volunteer coordination and food operations details associated with the position. The OM will have experience working in the anti-hunger space, nurturing, motivating and training volunteers, and the organizational skills to direct the work of roughly 120 volunteers over a dozen work teams per week.

The ideal candidate will be aware of the issue of food insecurity in Durham County, and preferably have worked in some capacity with the Food Bank of Eastern and Central North Carolina and the Interfaith Food Shuttle.This person will possess the operational skills to direct the work needed to receive and properly store tons of bulk foods (both donated and purchased), and pack that food for distribution to over 750 families each week. The OM must enjoy networking, build strong relationships with the food providers, and other organizations that provide many of the volunteers.

The OM should be proficient at using technology to track and report required metrics, and should have excellent math skills. The OM will report to the Executive Director and work together to improve the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency.

About the Emanuel Food Pantry:

The mission of the Emanuel Food Pantry is to provide fresh, nutritious food to families facing food insecurity, with a particular focus on underserved communities. By providing healthy food, we are addressing the multiple detrimental effects of food insecurity, enhancing personal dignity, and improving health outcomes. We are currently the largest provider of food to families at-risk for hunger in the county.

In 2010, the congregation of Iglesia Emanuel began preparing dinners every Wednesday evening for about 60 people from the community, followed by a very small food pantry. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the end of the shared dinners, but the church decided to move the food distribution outdoors to the parking lot. In response to growing food insecurity, the Food Pantry quickly found itself serving over 600 families every week. In order to ensure the sustainability of the Food Pantry, a board of volunteers formed a 501(c)(3), separate from the church, to operate the food pantry.

Due in part to our location and history, 62% of the clients we serve are Hispanic, 28% are African-American, and the rest are white or other refugee families.

Food banks, individuals, and other organizations donate a significant amount of food, but the Food Pantry purchases additional food every week from private wholesale suppliers. Local community organizations, the county government, and individuals contribute the funding to enable these wholesale purchases.

Responsibilities:

Volunteer Coordination

Build and train individuals and teams of volunteers to take responsibility for various functions and shifts of the Pantry

Nurture volunteer relationships and grow volunteer networks with partner organizations, neighborhoods, other community groups, and with many individuals

Using the POINT Volunteer Management platform, track volunteers to ensure adequate personnel for the various shifts, maintain volunteer records, and ensure the library of volunteer program documents is up-to-date

Food Acquisition

Carry out duties of food acquisition

Review inventory of dry good foods (e.g. beans, rice, pasta and canned goods) to determine needs for upcoming weeks, and order additional dry goods

Assess the quantity and quality of donated perishable foods (e.g., fruits and vegetables), and quickly order additional perishable foods from the most suitable sources to arrive in time to be packed for the Wednesday afternoon distribution

Direct volunteers to pick up food donated by grocery stores

Maintain inventory of supplies such as boxes and bags

Coordinate cardboard recycling and compost services

Maintain communication and provide reports to the food banks, private food distributors and grocery stores that donate and sell food to the Pantry

Coordinate food drives with businesses and community organizations

Food Preparation and Distribution

Decide the amount and type of dry, perishable and other food to be included in each bag for distribution to families

Direct volunteer teams to assemble boxes of fresh food for distribution to families.

Coordinate home deliveries

Oversee all areas involved in food distribution on Wednesday afternoons, including volunteers who direct traffic, give out numbers to cars, hand out food to walkers, and work at the three distribution stations

Ensure space is left clean & organized at the end of each day

4 Weeks of paid vacation (week of July 4th, the week between Christmas and New Year’s, plus 2 additional weeks that are self-determined)

Bilingual in English and Spanish. Near native fluency in both languages is mandatory