This position has been filled.
The Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI-USA) was founded in 1990 to challenge the deep inequities in our food system, where rural communities – their land, animals and people – are exploited to benefit corporate power structures. We combine on-the-ground services and policy advocacy to ensure small and mid-size farmers have fair access to the tools they need to make the right choices for their farms and families, their communities, and the environment.
Founded in 2007, the mission of our Come to the Table program is to end hunger by developing connections to create a just food system where food is a human right and those who work in the system have ownership and are treated with dignity. We believe that faith communities have a key role to play in this work.
Come to the Table’s primary strategy is connection. CTTT connects RAFI-USA’s other programs with non-farming communities, especially communities of faith. CTTT also holds events, conferences, and other gatherings to build connections between individuals, organizations, issues, and communities.
RAFI-USA seeks a values-driven, organized manager to lead the day-to-day activities of the Come to the Table program and help shape the program’s future strategic direction. Working directly with the Executive Director, the CTTT Director’s primary emphasis will be on strategy development and implementation, program oversight and evaluation, fundraising, and partner development.
Job Responsibilities:
Program Management and Leadership
- Works with the Executive Director and CTTT team to determine annual program priorities and goals.
- Manages the overall program including direct work with faith communities, grants program, events, and connections to policy work.
- Develops and maintains an up-to-date program work plan that meets the CTTT program vision.
- Ensures adherence to assigned grant deliverables, timeline and requirements. Tracks grant deliverables for program area, documents learnings, makes recommendations for shifts in strategies as needed.
- Responsible for reporting of CTTT program activities and impacts. Prepares and submits informative board reports and grant reports. Ensures outcomes tracking is up-to-date.
- Supervises CTTT staff. Organizes CTTT team planning retreats and leads weekly CTTT staff meetings.
- Responsible for annual program and project evaluations.
Budget & Financial
- Works with the Executive Director to develop the annual program budget and project budgets as needed.
- Responsible for monitoring and managing finances for the CTTT program, ensuring adherence to budget at all times. Works to ensure accurate allocation of expenditures.
- Identifies budget shortfalls or needs quickly and adjusts accordingly.
- Responsible for timely submission of invoices or reimbursement requests for all project work in coordination with finance staff to ensure accurate recording of information in financial records.
- Responsible for regularly reviewing financial records to ensure expenses and income for the program have been accurately recorded.
- Responsible for timely and accurate preparation and submission of financial reports.
- Ultimately responsible for ensuring CTTT staff adhere to organizational financial policies and procedures.
Relationship Management & External Relations
- Develops and maintains relationships with faith leaders and partners, gaining expertise, and identifying best practices and areas for collaborations that will enhance our work.
- Responsible for management of cross-program collaborations, including the new Farm and Faith Partnerships Project.
- Serves as a point of contact for funders assigned. Responds to media inquiries.
- Presents on behalf of RAFI-USA at conferences, convenings and panels as requested and appropriate.
- Ultimately responsible for ensuring all information on the website regarding the program is up to date.
Programmatic Work
- Provides high-level support of communications, evaluation, event planning, and publication efforts.
- Collaborates with the Policy Team and Challenging Corporate Power team to engage faith leaders in policy solutions to issues relevant to RAFI-USA, farmers, and faith leaders.
- Responsible for designing and overseeing the implementation of CSA projects connecting faith communities with farmers of color.
- Responsible for annual structure and implementation of mini-grants programming.
- Works with CTTT staff to plan CTTT events, including its biennial conference with 500 expected attendees.
General
- Attends staff meetings, retreats, and events, as requested.
- Serves as a member of RAFI-USA’s Leadership Team.
- Participates in the RAFI-USA Direct Service team and Policy team. Engages in and provides assistance to related RAFI-USA projects and teams as needed.
- Supports communications efforts by engaging collaboratively to help develop and distribute program content, publications, and other materials. Collaborates with the Communications Team to create press releases, web content, flyers, and other outreach materials as needed.
- Actively engages in CTTT program fundraising activities and works with development staff and leadership to identify fundraising priorities and establish fundraising goals.
The ideal candidate is a dynamic, forward-thinking, experienced, and collaborative leader and will have:
- A passion for and experience working with faith leaders/communities and agricultural/farming/rural contexts.
- Deep knowledge and experience with racial equity and intersectional frameworks and approaches.
- Excellent management skills and attention to detail, with demonstrated experience prioritizing competing projects.
- A solutions-oriented approach to the work that creates cohesion in teams.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to communicate a vision confidently in a way that motivates others; ability to quickly synthesize information and communicate it back out to multiple audiences.
- Ability to quickly map out project plans, including timelines, key performance indicators, and ownership of responsibilities.
- A background in effectively problem-solving in a nonprofit environment.
- Authentic commitment to the mission of RAFI-USA: to challenge the root causes of unjust food systems, supporting and advocating for economically, racially, and ecologically just farm communities.
- Experience working with BIPOC communities and/or organizations.
Compensation: Full-time position. Annual salary of $67,225 based on 40 hours/week. Generous benefits package includes paid time off, 401k, medical, dental, life, and long/short term disability insurance plans.
Location: Candidates local to the Triangle area of North Carolina strongly preferred.
RAFI-USA values an equitable and inclusive workplace. We are an equal opportunity employer with a deep commitment to engaging the skills and leadership of people of color, LGBTQ persons, and other individuals from diverse backgrounds. People from these and other historically marginalized backgrounds are encouraged to apply. RAFI-USA is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, physical or mental handicap, matriculation, or political affiliation.