AddressAgency Relations Coordinator
Do you believe everyone should have access to healthy food, and that food can be a powerful tool for connecting people and building better health and a stronger community? Are you looking at making a difference with a well-respected non-profit organization? Are you self-driven and self-disciplined? The Food Bank of Waterloo Region is looking for a talented, hardworking, and dynamic Agency Relations Coordinator to join our team.
Who You Are:
We have an immediate opening for an Agency Relations Coordinator, who will provide support to our agencies and partner programs served by The Food Bank. You will have strong communication skills and are driven to build relationships to support our Community Food Assistance Network.
The Position:
Reporting to the VP, Philanthropy & Partnerships, and working collaboratively with the network team, the Agency Relations Coordinator provides support to agencies and partner programs served by The Food Bank of Waterloo Region through the development and implementation of a communication and training plan. This will help build relationships and better understand network needs to best support our partners. The role will also support resource development with agency partners and lead associated evaluation activities. The short-term responsibilities of this role may change from year-to-year, as priorities of The Food Bank change.
Responsibilities and Duties
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with partner agencies within the Community Food Assistance Network:
- Ensure concerns are addressed and needs are met.
- Conduct regular site visits.
- Ensure agency meetings occur on a semi-annual basis.
- Work with the Network Capacity Specialist to onboard new programs.
- Educate and provide guidance to agencies as required.
- Work with the Network Capacity Specialist to plan, implement and facilitate agency program training (Link2Feed, Inventory, etc.), including an annual forum, training videos and in person training sessions.
- Work with Food Assistance Outreach Coordinator to ensure timely and accurate input into Link2Feed.
- Support the program development of new initiatives to meet the food assistance needs of the community.
- Evaluation activities including data collection, analysis and report writing.
- Support other activities related to supporting the 100+ food assistance programs in Waterloo Region.
- Maintain confidentiality in accordance with organizational policies and processes.
- Support marketing and communication activities related to storytelling and advocacy.
Qualifications
Experience
- 2+ years’ experience with relationship building and communications.
- Experience researching issues pertaining to poverty, low income and food insecurity.
- Understanding of the Canadian experience as it relates to household food insecurity and poverty, and to the operational realities facing food banks and other partners.
- Knowledge of adult education principles.
- Strong understanding of change management principles and ability to coach community and partners and volunteers.
- Demonstrated capabilities in program evaluation and quantitative and/or qualitative research methods.
- Strong communication, collaboration, and relationship skills – written, verbal, interpersonal, presentation, advocacy – communicates clearly and with tact with a diverse group of internal and external stakeholders.
- Project management skills.
- Superior organizational and self-management including time management and the ability to prioritize, multi-task, and attend to detail.
- Must have solid problem-solving skills.
- Computer skills – primarily MS Office including MS word and Excel.
Education
- University or college education in social sciences, social service, community development, marketing and communications or a related field.
Required Skills and Attributes
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Driver’s license.
- Ability to work independently according to a work plan and manage multiple projects, deadlines, and priorities.
- Ability to work with people with varying skills and abilities in an unstructured environment.
- Hard-working and takes initiative.
- Decision making capabilities.
- Team player with a positive attitude.
- Comfortable providing presentations and training sessions to community groups and organizations.
- Ability to support change management processes.
- Conflict management and problem-solving skills.
- Strong knowledge and experience with evaluation activities.
- Thrives in a fast-paced environment.
- Confidence to represent the work of The Food Bank and Community Food Assistance Network to members of the community.
- Other duties as assigned.
Working Conditions
The Food Bank is open to the public Monday – Friday from 8:30am – 4:30pm. It is expected that all team members will be prepared to work flexible, and sometimes irregular, hours to ensure that the objectives of the organization and our commitments to volunteers, members, and the community are being met. To meet the growing and changing needs of the community, hours of work may include up to two evenings a week and/or two weekends a month.
The Food Bank of Waterloo Region provides employees with a flexible and progressive benefit package which accommodates for hours worked above and beyond and strives to address the personal time needs of each employee.
We are an equal opportunity employer. We believe that diverse teams perform better and that fostering an inclusive work environment is a key part of growing a successful team. We welcome people of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
The Food Bank of Waterloo Region is committed to accessibility and to protecting the human rights our job applicants during the recruitment process. Should at any point throughout the recruitment process an applicant require accommodation or communication in an alternative format because of a disability please contact Human Resources at 519-743-5576. We are committed to providing accommodation or alternate formats upon request within a reasonable time period in a mutually agreed upon format.
No phone calls please. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
Job Type: Full-time
