With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and opportunities in more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia is the sixth largest city in the United States and one of the largest employers in Southeastern Pennsylvania. As an employer, the City of Philadelphia operates through the guiding principles of service, integrity, respect, accountability, collaboration, diversity and inclusion. Through these principles, we strive to effectively deliver services, to resolve the challenges facing our city, and to make Philadelphia a place where all of our residents have the opportunity to reach their potential.

AGENCY DESCRIPTION

The Office of Homeless Services provides leadership, coordination, planning and mobilization of resources to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring for the City of Philadelphia. Homeless Services works collaboratively with more than 60 mostly nonprofit, homeless housing and service providers combined with city, state and federal governmental entities to comprise Philadelphia’s homeless service system or Continuum of Care (CoC). This system provides emergency housing and services to people who are both experiencing homelessness and at imminent risk of homelessness. It includes homelessness prevention and diversion, emergency, transitional and rapid re-housing, permanent supportive housing, case management, supportive services, emergency response, service days (clean-up of encampments), food and commodity distribution to contracted emergency housing facilities and soup kitchens and operation of the Riverview, a personal care home.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Office of Homeless Services is seeking a strategic community leader to serve as Food Access Manager. The Food Access Manager will lead citywide efforts to combat hunger by creating systemic solutions to: 1) Increase access to food for vulnerable individuals; 2) Improve nutrition of food provided; and 3) Increase connections to supportive services for individuals seeking emergency food resources. The Food Access Manager is a full-time position and will report to the Director of External Affairs.

The Food Access Manager will help to advance the City’s food access, safety, and dignity agenda, primarily through the work of the Philadelphia Food Access Collaborative, which is focused on ensuring vulnerable individuals have access to the benefits and vital services they need to address their basic needs and stabilize their household. This work includes expanding access to food for very vulnerable individuals through soup kitchens and community meals; expanding access to services at community meals; and fostering a culture of safety and dignity at community meals.

The Philadelphia Food Access Collaborative (Collaborative) is defined by a collective impact approach. As part of that work, the Food Access Manager serves as the backbone staff person to the Collaborative, and leads efforts in 1) Developing a common agenda around food access; 2) Developing and refining a shared measurement system; 3) Piloting and supporting key reinforcing activities; 4) Testing and supporting new approaches to sharing information; and 5) Staffing and supporting the activities of the subcommittees that guide the work. For more information about the Philadelphia Food Access Collaborative, visit www.unitedforimpact.org/our-impact/basic-needs/philadelphia-food-access-collaborative

SALARY - Salary commensurate with experience

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The role of the Food Access Manager is to:

• Collective Impact Work: Manage the collective impact work of the Collaborative, including convening the Executive Committee; developing subcommittee agendas; overseeing research, data collection and analysis, and materials development to support the development of new strategies and approaches; working with co-chairs to prepare for Collaborative meetings; identifying new members and supporting their on-boarding; and guiding advocacy efforts to promote strategic new policies around food access and vital services including safety and dignity for meal guests and hardship waivers for identification.
• Program Management: Manage programs and pilots that support key food access goals. This includes overseeing the Meals and More grant program; Mayor’s Food Policy Fellows internship program; development of partnerships between meal sites and social service providers for onsite services; food rescue efforts; as well as developing new programs as new opportunities or challenges arise. The manager also will work with senior staff to explore opportunities to launch and operate new meal sites connected to day-time engagement centers for homeless and food-insecure individuals.
  
• Fundraising: Identify opportunities for funding; lead efforts to apply for funding for food access work on behalf of the Collaborative; and support efforts to apply for funding for food access projects by other organizations.
• Strategic Planning: Identify and develop strategic goals for the Collaborative as well as yearly and quarterly milestones; track progress towards goals; define CEO’s food access agenda and support the development of the annual progress report; provide strategic support to other CEO initiatives related to food access and other vital services, such as the BenePhilly Centers, Financial Empowerment Centers and others.
• Data and Evaluation: Work with the Collaborative’s Executive Committee to refine metrics of success and update the logic model; refine the dashboard of key indicators; track progress; gather and analyze data; and report to partners on these efforts.
• Other duties as assigned.

This position has two full-time direct reports, the Food Access Coordinator and the Meals and More VISTA who is responsible for coordinating the work of the Meals and More program. The Meals and More program provides grant funding and technical support to community kitchens to expand their meal service, improve the nutrition of those meals, and strengthen connections to social services. This includes providing training, fundraising support, and recruiting and supervising a part-time intern. The position also manages the five Food Policy Fellows, college and graduate level students who intern part-time at the office and with local soup kitchens.

COMPETENCIES, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Bachelor's degree required
• 5 years of employee supervision 
• A valid PA Driver’s license required
  

Applicants should include as one combined PDF document: cover letter, resume, 4 professional references, and a two-page writing sample. No phone calls please.

Please Note:
The Food Access Unit, led by the Food Access Manager, is currently in the Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity. Over the next few months, the unit will transition to the Office of Homeless Services. The Food Access Manager will support the transition to the new office.

Successful candidate must be a City of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670. For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx