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We are seeking a Business Initiatives Senior Manager to join ReFED’s Capital, Innovation, and Engagement team. You will play a critical role within the organization by supporting delivery of new and emerging food waste reduction products and offerings to food businesses, as well as managing analysis and insights development for food business data. This position will report to the Director of Capital, Innovation, and Engagement, and will liaise closely with other internal stakeholders, particularly the Data & Insights team.
About The Organization
ReFED is a national nonprofit working to end food loss and waste across the food system by advancing data-driven solutions to the problem. We leverage data and insights to highlight supply chain inefficiencies and economic opportunities; mobilize and connect supporters to take targeted action; and catalyze capital to spur innovation and scale high-impact initiatives.
Starting with the 2016 Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste, ReFED has developed a trusted history of producing first-of-their-kind tools and resources, providing a full-supply-chain picture of U.S. food waste, cost-effective solutions to reduce it, and methods to track progress. In February 2021, ReFED launched the Roadmap to 2030 and Insights Engine, an online data center serving as the next generation of data, insights, and guidance on U.S. food waste reduction. Reducing food waste will have a significant impact on mitigating climate change, optimizing use of water, land, and other resources, and providing meals for the over 50 million people in the United States who currently face food insecurity. We are growing our team in an effort to further build our capacity to achieve our vision of a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food system that optimizes environmental resources, minimizes climate impacts, and makes the best use of the food we grow.
We are a team of doers and we get a lot accomplished. We create outsized impact and everyone on the team contributes to accomplishing our goals. Learning & professional development are heavily embedded in our culture at ReFED. We promote cross functional work to embrace diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills in an effort to ensure we are an inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Learn more at www.refed.org.
About The Work
In this role, you will help address the following:
- Support the development, delivery, and scale of new and emerging products and services for food businesses to accelerate their ability to reduce food waste. ReFED is concluding a 12-month strategy scoping and pilot process for a new Business Initiatives program. As that program continues to develop in 2023, the Senior Manager will support the implementation and delivery of current offerings, such as strategic advisory projects, as well as support research and business plan development for new products and offerings (60-70% of role).
- Manage data collection, analytics, and insights development with food business data (20-30% of role). This includes:
Learning, managing, and teaching ReFED’s methodology and data collection tools for unsold food across food business sectors;
Scoping, developing, and managing business-related data products, such as business reporting templates and calculators; - Managing and analyzing incoming business data for various internal and external data reporting needs; and
- Development and delivery of data-focused products for food businesses.
- Grow as a thought leader regarding food waste in food business sectors. This may include, for example, the development and dissemination of recurring trend reports (up to 10% of role).
Some other things you would engage in:
- Customer Discovery and other Food Business Engagement
- Gathering input and feedback on potential offerings for intended users
- Developing recommendations of products and services for ReFED to explore
- Meeting with and identifying potential food business partners and clients for ReFED
- External Consultant Management
- If needed for strategic advisory projects, support in finding and contracting expert consultants
- Manage consultants in supporting the delivery of projects
- Close collaboration with ReFED’s Data & Insights team
- Heavy onboarding to ReFED’s methodology and approach to food business data
- Regular collaboration and engagement with the Data & Insights team to ensure streamlined use of business data and analytics
You could be a great candidate for this role if you:
- Have 5-7 years of relevant experience
- Have experience working with food businesses (e.g., growers, manufacturers, retailers, food service companies, restaurants) on sustainability or operational initiatives on internal teams or in a consulting capacity
- Excel in project management and communication across a variety of internal and external stakeholders, including business leaders
- Have experience in data management and analytics, and translating data into actionable insights
- Are proficient with MS excel, python, SQL, and/or business intelligence software
We think you would thrive in this role and at ReFED if you:
- Are comfortable working and communicating in an entrepreneurial, ambiguous environment
- Are passionate about the role of food businesses in addressing social and environmental issues
- Are comfortable wearing many hats and collaborating with both data and programmatic colleagues
- Thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth organization
- Hate wasting food
We don’t require:
- Specific degrees or certifications
- Non-profit experience
If you don’t meet all of the criteria above but still are interested in the job, please apply! Nobody checks every box, and we are looking for someone excited to join the team who possesses important skills we likely have not thought of. If that is you, don’t hesitate to reach out and tell us about yourself.
Our Recruitment Process
Our recruitment process includes the following steps:
- Initial screening interview over zoom
- 2-3 interviews over zoom with various team members
- Skills assessment over zoom which may or may not include an ask to complete work ahead of time and present during the skills assessment meeting. All necessary information and guidance will be provided ahead of time.
- Reference checks, typically three are requested
- We aim to be as communicative as possible throughout the recruitment process but may not have the bandwidth to respond to every initial application. Our process always involves multiple team members representing diverse backgrounds and viewpoints from across the organization.
Our Operating Environment
ReFED is an entirely remote organization with 20 staff distributed across the U.S. As such, we work with a variety of digital collaboration and connectivity tools to enable our work. Our operating stack includes: Google suite (mail, calendar, docs, sheets, slides, drive), Zoom, Slack, Monday, Salesforce, Miro, Evernote, MS Office, Adobe, and Insperity.
We build our culture remotely, with two key in-person gatherings of the full team each year. These include our annual team retreat and the Food Waste Solutions Summit, an annual conference that we host. Our remote culture building includes team-hosted casual get-togethers, ask-me-anythings with our Board and Advisory Council members, peer recognition on our shoutouts channel in slack and through our Big Dill spot bonus program, as well as engagement on our watercooler channel in slack. Our in person moments are incredibly valuable with big focuses on team building, learning, and fun.
Learn more about our culture here.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Commitment
ReFED is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that everyone has a seat at the table, and that this table always has room for growth. The success of the organization is rooted in the visible and invisible qualities of our people. Our people embody a variety of views, perspectives, and backgrounds to push the envelope of what is possible and better meet the needs of the community in the hopes of building a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food system. Community is more than a word here. As stewards of this food system that benefits from the inclusion and enhancement of diverse voices, ReFED recognizes that systemic barriers limit opportunities for certain groups which contributes to ongoing disparities. Furthermore, we accept that our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) means a commitment to constant learning, listening, and interaction in all aspects of our work. ReFED is an organization that seeks to attract exceptional and dedicated talent to advance our mission, and we firmly believe that inclusion through recruiting, hiring, developing, training, and promoting employees of all genders, races, religions, ages, national origins, political affiliations, ancestries, sexual orientations, disabilities, and veteran status, creates an atmosphere that enables us to lead with an entrepreneurial spirit and innovate with enterprise.
Compensation & Benefits
ReFED offers a competitive salary and benefits package, opportunities for professional development, and policies and programs that encourage a healthy work-life balance. The salary range for this position is USD $80,000 to $95,000 and will be determined commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications.
ReFED’s U.S. benefits package includes:
- 100% employee and 50% dependent premium coverage for medical, dental, and vision benefits;
- Participation in employer-sponsored 401(k) plans with up to 4% employer matching;
- Professional development opportunities – including annual budget – and option to participate in ReFED’s mentor program;
- 18 paid vacation days annually;
- 10 paid sick days annually;
- Early closure in July and August for Summer Fridays;
- Paid family leave;
- Approximately 13 paid company holidays annually – including closed offices the last week of the year;
- Short- and long-term disability coverage and term life insurance;
- Flexible work environment with option to work from home or a co-working space.
- Learn more about our values, team, and commitment to employees at refed.com/careers.
Jackie Suggitt is the hiring manager for this position. All correspondence should be addressed to Jackie. Applications must be received by April 12, 2023 to be considered.
