Advocacy Manager

St. Louis Area Foodbank (SLAFB)

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Advocacy Manager

Immediate Supervisor: Chief Development Officer

Employees Supervised: None

FLSA: Exempt

General Description/Position Summary

The role of Advocacy Manager for the St Louis Area Foodbank is an exciting opportunity for a passionate advocate for policy and relationship building to increase food security across the bi-state region. You will serve as a champion for the SLAFB locally and regionally by educating and supporting policies that support building healthy families and lifestyles for children, seniors, and adults. Through partnerships with legislators, policy makers, groups, and organizations focused on specific issues around health care, food access and budgeting issues affecting families, you will work to promote opportunities that support individuals' abilities to provide food for their themselves and/or their family. Responsibilities include; fostering and cultivating relationships with elected officials at all levels, growing a vibrant and effective grassroots advocacy network, creating and coordinating grassroots advocacy communications, and establishing relationships with partners and advocacy organizations to elevate the Foodbank as the lead hunger relief organization throughout our region. The Advocacy manager will support efforts by Feeding America, Feeding Illinois and Feeding Missouri including compiling, analyzing, and reporting data while also serving as a spokesperson for media and legislative events as required.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary person interfacing with public officials and their key staff by attending meetings and events to advocate for the reduction of food insecurities.
• Champion key issues such as The Farm Bill, Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, Older Americans Act, the Agricultural clearance program and funding programs such as TEFAP and CSFP.
• Explore unique and strategic ways to broaden general knowledge and activate grassroots support of anti-hunger policies.
• Foster and cultivate a strong grassroots advocacy network of St. Louis Area Foodbank community supporters, agencies, and program partners.
• Develop and implement a grassroots advocacy strategy integrating online and offline engagement tactics, including social media messaging, web-based advocacy tools, and community forums.
• Create and deliver compelling advocacy and public policy presentations and grassroots communication pieces and conduct agency site visits to raise awareness and recruit new advocates.
• Seek out and maintain a list of opportunities for local grassroots advocates to engage and interact with government officials.
• Partner with organizations and agencies around educating and advocating for SNAP benefits, Health Care Access, and general access to healthy and nutritious foods for all Americans.
• Monitor and support on a case-by-case basis, efforts, and opportunities to support improving the quality of life for hard working citizens so they can provide for their families such as the TANF program
• Act as the Foodbank's primary liaison with Feeding America, Feeding Illinois, Feeding Missouri on all advocacy related workstreams, including analyzing and reporting data.
• Identify opportunities to advocate for those who are food insecure through meetings and coalitions, such as the Root Cause Coalition and St. Louis Regional Health Commission. Collaborate with these organizations and serve as the Foodbank's representative.
• Serve as a media spokesperson for advocacy related events.
• Keep abreast of federal, state, and local legislation, policy and programming that may impact the mission of the foodbank while educating staff and Board members about the effects of policy and engagement opportunities.
• Create responses on behalf of the Foodbank regarding relevant bills and legislation; secure CEO's signed approval for responses.
• Provide area legislators with updated information related to the Foodbank's work.
• Manage the St. Louis Area Foodbank advocacy database.
• Ensure that the Foodbank remains in compliance with 501(c)(3) regulations for direct and grassroot lobbying limits, electoral politics, and other related advocacy efforts.
• Work with Foodbank leadership to craft, refine, and execute the Foodbank's Strategic Direction.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university in communications, public relations, political science, non-profit management, or a related field required.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong project and time management skills.
• Ability to multi-task and adjust to changing priorities.
• Expertise in building relationships particularly with government officials and community partners.
• Strong understanding of and familiarity with issues of poverty and hunger.
• Proficient with various forms of online and offline engagement tactics, including social media messaging, web-based advocacy tools, and community forums.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Ability to interpret legislation.
• Able to work independently with minimal supervision and in a team environment.
• Able to present a professional demeanor under a variety of conditions.
• Passion for the Foodbank mission and the ability to demonstrate SLAFB's Core Values: Stewardship, Teamwork, Agility and Respect
• Proficient with Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other web-based applications.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule (evenings and weekends), as needed.
• Must be able to pass drug screening and criminal background check.
• A valid driver's license with history of a good driving record.
• Ability to travel for meetings and events. This may include consecutive overnight stays, and traveling by car, bus, and airplane.
• Conditions may include working outside in inclement weather, working closely with others, working alone, and working protracted or irregular hours.

The impact you'll make:

At the St. Louis Area Foodbank, we are working to build a stronger bi-state region by nourishing people, empowering communities, and transforming systems. With the dedicated partnership of nearly 600 hunger-relief programs and local agencies - including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and residential programs - we are responding to hunger in communities across 26 counties in Missouri and Illinois by distributing food to more than 400,000 people every year.

Since opening in 1975, and with the tremendous support and generosity of this community, the St. Louis Area Foodbank has grown to become our region's largest food distribution charity dedicated to feeding those in need. Together, we are feeding people and working to address the root causes of hunger for lasting impact every day.

About the St. Louis Area Foodbank:

• The St. Louis Area Foodbank (SLAFB) is a member of Feeding America, which is a national network of 200 food banks all working together for the common goal of ensuring equitable access to nutritious food.
• This nationwide network offers us a variety of resources, like food, funds, best practices, and gives our work a much bigger, louder voice than we could hope to have on our own.
• The St. Louis Area Foodbank supports 26 counties - 14 in Missouri and 12 in Illinois - thus serves, supports and stewards a diverse group of stakeholders across our region, as well as serves as a member of Feeding Missouri (the 6 Feeding America Food Banks in Missouri) and Feeding Illinois (the 7 Feeding America Food Banks in Illinois).
• As a food bank, we collect food from a variety of sources, such as manufacturers, retail stores, farmers, and individual donors.
• We then store, sort, and repackage that food at the highest safety standards and finally distribute that food to our network of agencies and programs, which work directly with people in the community.
• We facilitate the movement of food safely and efficiently and offer the kinds of resources and support to our partner agencies that a single food pantry or shelter could not hope to access on its own.
• VISION: A nutritionally secure Missouri and Illinois.
• MISSION: Building a stronger bi-state region by nourishing people, empowering communities, and transforming systems.

What we can offer you:

Beyond a great mission, dedicated team members, and an incredible opportunity to truly make a difference in our community, you will be generously rewarded for your contributions including:

• Competitive pay commensurate with experience
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) plan
• 403b plan with robust company match
• Comprehensive benefits (medical, dental, vision, group company-paid life insurance, short-term disability, and more!)

We work hard, play hard and change lives - so apply to join our Foodbank Family!

This job description does not list all the duties of the job. Performance of other duties may be requested. Evaluations will be in part based upon performance of the tasks listed in this job description. St. Louis Area Foodbank has the right to revise this job description at any time. The job description is not a contract for employment.

Current Openings for Advocacy Manager Jobs at St. Louis Area Foodbank