Company description

Foodshed Capital is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) founded in 2018. Our mission is to build more equitable, more regenerative food systems through affordable, flexible capital and customized business support. Foodshed Capital (“FoodCap”) is disrupting existing financial models that prevent under-resourced borrowers from accessing capital and is sharing the immense risk inherent to producing and distributing food in a changing climate. We prioritize racial equity and regenerative principles in all areas of our work, with the majority of our funding and business support services going to operations owned or led by Black, Indigenous, or people of color. We believe passionately that building knowledge and power among under-represented groups is vital to building sustainable, resilient food systems.

FoodCap provides two core services:

1. Flexible, low-cost financing for regenerative producers; and
2. Business support and partnership to support long-term business success.

We also participate in various innovative projects and financing partnerships to increase land security for farmers of color.

We are a primarily remote team with an office in Richmond, VA and a workspace in Charlottesville, VA. We manage a portfolio of 100+ borrowers, including regenerative vegetable, livestock, and flower farmers; local food purveyors and distributors; beekeepers; grain millers; and community organizations focused on regenerative food access. We have worked up and down the East Coast from Georgia to Vermont, with our footprint expanding all the time. Learn more and read the full job description at https://www.foodcap.org/careers.

Job description

Foodshed Capital is hiring a leadership-level bookkeeping and accounting expert to oversee all aspects of our business support programs and services over a three-year period. This will include both existing services as well as new programming made possible through recently secured grant funding. This individual will help ensure our organization possesses the expertise, perspective, and lived experience needed to best support and build trust among historically underserved farmers. The position is currently funded through September 2026. We hope to pursue funding for this position beyond that date.

Through grant funding, FoodCap will expand our business support services to reach a wider audience with more comprehensive and more individualized support, with a focus on small-scale, beginning, and established BIPOC regenerative farmers. Many of the farmers we work with run established operations, but when they work with us on business development, they are often doing so for the first time. We adapt the timeline of our services to the workflows of busy farmers and work hard to reduce overwhelm, translate financial terminology into terms anyone can understand, and empower farm owners to make strategic decisions for the future of their businesses.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Oversee the development and expansion of 1:1, customized, comprehensive business support services, public-facing workshops, lending readiness training, and public resource library
• Collaborate regularly with the lending team to assess business readiness for farmers entering our pipeline, determine specific needs, and develop individual business support plans
• Directly advise farm business owners with bookkeeping and accounting needs where needed, and collaborate regularly with the Lending Coordinator and/or external partners to execute individual business support plans
• Oversee all tracking and reporting related to business support programs and services in collaboration with the Lending Associate, including intake and exit surveys, participation, demographic data, resource downloads and page views, loan application progress where applicable, etc.
• Conduct outreach to underserved BIPOC farmers as well as peer organizations to increase awareness of and engagement with programming
• Collaborate with the Director of Strategy & Communications to market public-facing workshops and provide information for storytelling and organizational reporting.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Strong accounting experience and familiarity with the financial circumstances of small and/or new businesses; experience working with or previously owning a small farm a plus
• Direct and/or lived experience working with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field, such as business, accounting, finance, or similar
• Three to five years of professional experience in a leadership-level role preferred, or a demonstrated ability to assume a leadership role
• Strong administrative experience including reporting and tracking budgets
• Strong verbal and interpersonal communication skills and ability to adapt communication style to diverse audiences
• Logistically adept and capable of coordinating activities with a variety of stakeholders
• Ability to integrate into existing virtual workflows and maintain timely communication with a remote team
• Comfortable taking ownership of a core element of our operations and making thoughtful recommendations for new approaches as needed
• Excellent time management skills and the ability to develop deliverables autonomously
• Flexibility to accommodate variable work hours, including periodic domestic travel.

WHO SHOULD APPLY

Our ideal candidate will be comfortable leading work in a group or one-on-one setting with farmers and will enjoy working collaboratively with our small team in areas of frequent and considerable overlap. They will feel right at home navigating financial reports and spreadsheets, and have a “Let’s get to the bottom of this” mentality when analyzing reports and transactions. We’re seeking a mission-driven leader who is excited to get outside the box of the traditional accounting world, feels confident working inside and outside an organization to design solutions, and has been looking for a way to use their numbers brain to make a meaningful difference.

Foodshed Capital recognizes that women, people of color, and other marginalized groups are much less likely to apply for a job if they don’t meet 100% of the desired qualifications. We encourage all resourceful individuals who have the aptitude to excel in this position to apply—it’s possible that your skills and experience are exactly what we need.

REPORTING + LOCATION

This is a full-time exempt position, reporting to the Executive Director. The position is primarily remote, with the ability to meet in person IN Central Virginia on a quarterly basis and make periodic trips to farms in the region. Preference given to candidates located within a 2-hour drive of Richmond or Charlottesville VA, or in the New York / New England region. Other locations may be considered for qualified candidates. Candidates must possess a valid driver’s license, with access to a vehicle, for periodic travel. Reimbursement is provided for all work-related travel costs.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, varies DOE, $90,000.00 - $103,500.00

Location

job can be done remotely

Application instructions

Deadline

December 31, 2023