Organization: Founded in 1993, with roots dating back to 1975 as Austin Community Gardens, Sustainable Food Center (SFC) is involved in every step of our local, Central Texas, food system. Our mission is to transform the food system to nourish our health, land and livelihood.

Why work at SFC?

At SFC, we are passionate about our work and share a commitment to expanding access to locally grown food raised with integrity and care, for all members of our community. Join us if you are driven to build and create lasting change that supports people and the planet.

We’re on a journey

SFC is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity on our staff and in our community.  We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels comfortable bringing their full, authentic selves to work. To that end, we have organized multiple all-staff trainings, created internal working groups that celebrate our diverse community, and integrated equity principles into every aspect of our work.

We uphold the following Core Values.

Connectedness: We are community-focused and believe that relationships are powerful tools for building community.

Equity: We support the right of all people to grow, access, sell, and consume healthy and culturally-appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and regenerative methods.

Sustainability: We know humans have a profound responsibility to treat our planet with care and respect, and we are committed to ensuring that diverse species may thrive on Earth for generations to come.

This is a full-time position at 40 hours per week.

The Food Access Director is part of the leadership team and is responsible for contributing to the strategic development and direction of food access and educational programming as it relates to the strategic vision. In this role, the Director provides oversight and leadership related to strategic planning and operationalizing annual goals to meet the organization’s strategic vision. The Director is responsible for forecasting the direction of future trends in the field and working alongside the Director of Programs to grow our work. This includes contributing to funding development and demonstrating impact by working in coordination with our policy, research, and development teams. This position directly supervises a management team for the food access and education departments. Key activities include developing and monitoring operations and budget plans, grant development and management, program oversight and leadership, and partner engagement.

Job Duties:

• Provide direction and guidance to build strategic vision for food access programs, including strategic development and success of statewide expansion.
• Develop annual operations and budget plans to meet organization’s strategic vision.

• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships to grow our impact across the state.

• Provide support to team members, including direct supervision of Food Access, Education, and Community Engagement managers.
• Facilitate and guide program managers in effective leadership of program activities based on SFC’s mission and priorities as defined in the strategic plan.
• Create and monitor program budgets, including managing grant funds and earned revenue.
• Lead quarterly and annual reporting for programs, ensuring timely collection of data, and reviewing progress and setting course correction as needed.
• Prospect new funding opportunities and facilitate grant reporting and proposals.

About you:

You are a transformative and thoughtful leader with high expectations for results and equally high expectations for compassion, equity, and inclusion. You bring energy and ingenuity to your work, knowing when to plan and execute on a vision, and when to roll up your sleeves and jump in. You are energized by meeting new people and building relationships that motivate people to join in a shared vision of building a sustainable food system across Texas. You have a high degree of initiative, flexibility, and creativity and it shows in your accomplishments in program and fund development. And you want to join an organization that is envisions a just and regenerative food system for all!

You will also bring expertise and demonstrated capacity in:

• Minimum 5-7 years of experience in food systems, public health, or community access programs.

• Minimum three to five years’ experience managing and developing program staff.
• Demonstrated experience managing grants, budgets, and grant funding development.
• Proven success overseeing a business/program, including the ability to expand and grow a program.
• Adept at building collaborative, external relationships and demonstrating diplomacy with diverse constituencies, including food producers, intermediaries, institutions, and elected officials.

• Excellent communication skills including written and oral.
• Strong skills in MS Office, Google Suite, and other web-based and project management tools.

• Demonstrated ability to provide effective and timely leadership decisions.

• A positive attitude, sense of humor, and emotional intelligence.
• Committed to SFC’s mission with a strong equity and social justice lens.
• Bilingual English/Spanish a plus but not required.

Sustainable Food Center offers an excellent work environment, competitive salaries, full coverage health insurance, 403b matching after first year of employment, generous time off and a flexible schedule. The starting salary range for this position is $51,000 - $70,000. Starting salary will be influenced by applicants’ qualifications and budget considerations. The position is available starting the first week of March 2022.

Note: Currently, SFC staff are working from home due to the pandemic. This position requires working at the farmer’s markets as well as at the SFC office for market preparation activities.