Company description

Mission, Vision, and Values

The Nashville Food Project brings people together to grow, cook, and share nourishing food, with the goals of cultivating community and alleviating hunger in our city. At The Nashville Food Project, we embrace a vision of vibrant community food security in which everyone in Nashville has access to the food they want and need through a just and sustainable food system. This mission and vision are guided by core organizational values, including hospitality, stewardship, interdependence, learning, justice, and transformation.

Organizational Background

The Nashville Food Project (TNFP) was born from the idea that good food is a matter of basic dignity. Since its start in 2007, TNFP has served thousands of Nashvillians facing food insecurity. In 2011, TNFP was incorporated as an independent nonprofit, shifting the focus of its meals program toward a collaborative partnership model and launching an urban agriculture program. Today, TNFP continues to connect people to nourishing food and to each other through vibrant urban agriculture projects, made-from-scratch meals, and food shared with local partners working to disrupt cycles of poverty.

Job description

Position Summary

The Senior Director of Community Engagement (SDCE) leads TNFP's community engagement programs, which include community agriculture, volunteerism, and education. These programs turn TNFP's mission into shared practice: Through them, neighbors grow food together in gardens and orchards across the city, volunteers join in the daily work of nourishing Nashville, and learners of every age gain the skills and knowledge to advance TNFP's vision of vibrant community food security in which good food, belonging, and local leadership take root in every neighborhood. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), the SDCE sets strategy for the community engagement programs, supervises the Community Engagement team, and is accountable for its budgets, workplans, and impact. The SDCE builds relationships across communities and develops the systems, partnerships, and innovations that help these programs grow in both reach and depth.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Program Leadership

• Lead the development and implementation of a community engagement strategy across volunteerism, community agriculture, and education, in alignment with organizational priorities
• Oversee TNFP’s organization-wide volunteer engagement program and strategy
• Lead strategy for the growth of the Community Agriculture Network and Community Orchards,
• Develop strategies to secure long-term land access and water infrastructure for community growing sites
• In partnership with the COO, design and oversee the phased implementation of TNFP’s education program, including nutrition and gardening workshops, school partnerships, and public learning opportunities that build understanding of food security and food systems
• Collaborate with the COO to develop a communications strategy to raise awareness about and engagement with TNFP programs
• Build leadership pathways for garden and orchard stewards, volunteer leads, and community ambassadors, supporting them as they grow into leaders of their sites and programs
• Collaborate with the COO to identify and implement opportunities for continuous improvement and scaling of TNFP’s community engagement programs

Partnership Development

• Manage community engagement requests and delegate them to the relevant teams and departments within the organization, representing TNFP when appropriate
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with community stakeholders, public agencies, and landowners to increase the reach, land access, and impact of Community Engagement programming
• Cultivate and steward relationships with social, civic, and educational organizations to identify, develop, and expand opportunities to engage volunteer groups
• Collaborate with program teams to design recurring and one-off volunteer opportunities across all TNFP programs, including engagement events for corporate partners, in coordination with the Development team
• Ensure community engagement programs include diverse community members and partner organizations

Administrative

• Provide direct supervision to the Director of Agriculture Operations, Volunteer Engagement Manager, and additional community engagement team members as needed
• Develop and oversee implementation of team and individual workplans and program calendars to ensure departmental progress towards annual strategic priorities
• Develop systems, processes, and standard operating procedures for managing programs and tracking volunteerism, program partnerships, and programmatic impact
• Oversee implementation of impact tracking protocol for monthly, quarterly, and annual reports and report consolidated metrics to the COO on a quarterly basis
• Develop and oversee systems for receiving and responding to volunteer feedback
• Oversee budgets for all community engagement programs
• Ensure volunteer safety and risk-management practices across all programs, including orientation, waivers, youth volunteer protocols, and incident reporting
• Manage the development, renewal, and records of partnership agreements and MOUs for community agriculture and orchard sites, for execution by authorized signatories
• Support grant development and reporting for community engagement programs in coordination with the Development team

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 5 years of progressive experience in program strategy, budget development, and personnel management, including at least 2 years supervising managers
• Demonstrated ability to lead long-term planning while navigating short-term strategic opportunities and challenges
• Experience guiding program design and execution with measurable outcomes
• Experience managing grants, budgets, and partnership resource allocations
• Experience developing volunteer programs, including volunteer safety and risk management
• Working knowledge of community agriculture, land-based programs, or neighborhood-level organizing
• Skilled in cultivating partnerships with nonprofits, businesses, civic groups, and government
• Highly organized, with strong project management and problem-solving skills
• Confident working independently and collaboratively
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to build collaborative relationships across teams and navigate disagreement constructively
• Demonstrated ability to work respectfully and effectively with immigrant and refugee communities, communities of color, and neighbors experiencing food insecurity
• Proficiency and comfort using computers, with abilities in Microsoft Office and Google Suite
• Driver's license and safe driving record

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

TNFP offers a benefits package for full-time employees including:

• 75% employer-paid health insurance for employees, voluntary dental and vision insurance
• 25% employer-paid health insurance for dependents, voluntary dental and vision insurance
• Employer paid term-life and AD&D insurance, and long-term disability insurance
• 401(k) with employer match
• Cell phone stipend
• 15 paid holidays
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) program
• Parental leave
• Ongoing training and professional development opportunities

Compensation

this position is: salaried, varies DOE, $69,800.00 - $74,500.00

Application instructions

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Deadline

October 09, 2026