Job opening: Food Sourcing Specialist (Lafayette) 

Position Summary

Leads the Food Sourcing activities in the Western part of the Second Harvest service area and serves as the liaison for all food industry partners – including retail, manufacturers and agricultural, in the 12 southwest parishes of Second Harvest’s service area. Coordinates the Retail Store Donation Program, Food Drive Program, and residential gleanings. Primary responsibilities include building relationships and sourcing donations from the regional food industry and identifying innovative and unique methods for increasing donations from emerging source streams. Collaborates with internal departments to maximize donation opportunities and works with Food Sourcing Team to address prospects and challenges. Responsible for managing donor tracking/performance system and donor recognition plan.

Accountabilities

• Continue to strengthen relationships with retailers participating in Store Donation Program through education of store personnel, attending store meetings and conducting store training sessions
• Onboard new banner stores participating in enhanced retail partnership options (Store Donation Program, Brown Bag program, Retail Partner Program, food drives) and assist with planning, logistics and building relationships relevant to these relationships
• Manage the Rescue Runner program with a focus on restaurants, casinos and conventions centers located in the Lafayette and Lake Charles areas with future expansion possible

• Work with Agency Relations to ensure agencies participating in the Retail Partner Program are meeting program requirements, following food safety protocols and reporting in a timely manner
• Serve as liaison between Food Sourcing Department and Transportation/Operations Department to schedule pickups, address transportation challenges and coordinate unique logistical requests
• Focus on expanding Food Sourcing operations in the Lake Charles area, with a focus on prepared food rescue and building Second Harvest brand awareness
• Expand regional produce sourcing opportunities in 12 western parishes including launching community garden program, increasing VAP partnerships and gleaning opportunities
• Manage donor tracking systems (Ceres and MealConnect) to keep donor information up to date, run donor reports for tracking trends and volume. Use systems to manage current donors, lapsed donors, and prospects turned donors.
• Participate in food industry events including food shows, association meetings and network conferences and coordinate donation collections as needed
• Coordinate Food Drive Program including managing the logistics and materials
• Collaborate with Development team to ensure food sourcing grant requirements and reporting are met.

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent life experience.

 Experience: Progressive sales experience preferably in the food industry.

Skills and Capabilities

The ideal candidate will possess many of these professional and personal abilities and attributes:

• Strong people skills; ability to interact with a diverse donor base.
• Intermediate computer skills in Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Ability to work independently.
• Willingness to work “off-hours” as requested by the customer and/or as needed to help fulfill the goals of SHFB.
• Ability to lift 20+ pounds and be comfortable working in a range of indoor and outdoor environments and temperatures

Allowable Substitutions: Combination of education, experience, and/or training that provides the required knowledge and skills for the position may be considered in lieu of education and/or experience at the company’s discretion.

How to Apply:

1. Email resume and cover letter  to jobs@secondharvest.org.
2. Type “Food Sourcing ” as the only content in the subject line of your email.