Director of Public Policy & Communications
Active – Regular full-time
Denver, CO, US
Requisition ID: 1066

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Feeding Colorado is a coalition of the five food banks serving Colorado (as well as Wyoming) through the Feeding America network including Care & Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado, Community Food Share, Food Bank for Larimer County, Food Bank of the Rockies, and Weld Food Bank. Feeding Colorado works to procure food from statewide food donors for the five food banks, coordinates advocacy on state and federal levels to increase awareness and support, and fosters a culture of networking and idea sharing between the food banks.

Collectively, the five food banks provide food to all 64 counties in Colorado and the entire state of Wyoming, distributing food directly to clients and to more than 1,500 food pantries and other hunger relief partners. Last year, the five Colorado food banks distributed a combined total of 141 million pounds of food to people in need.

Feeding Colorado is well positioned for a new stage of growth and is prioritizing public policy and advocacy on behalf of the individual food banks and Feeding Colorado. We are looking for a bold leader with a passion for food policy to join our team as we leverage the power of advocacy and public policy to build the future of these five food banks and Feeding Colorado.

Position Summary:

The Director of Public Policy assists the five food banks in developing and implementing public policy priorities and frameworks, vetting current and potential legislation for potential organizational positions, collaborating with other anti-hunger organizations, creating communications for Feeding Colorado, facilitating trainings and communications amongst the five food banks, and representing the five food banks and Feeding Colorado to local and national coalitions and legislators.

While the Director of Public Policy represents all five food banks, the position is based in Denver at Food Bank of the Rockies (off I-70 & Havana) or possibility of full-time remote. The position is technically employed by Food Bank of the Rockies for purposes of payroll, benefits, and employment guidelines.

Essential Functions:

• Tracks data and metrics from the five food banks to aid in public messaging, communications, and advocacy efforts
  Develops policies and frameworks for Feeding Colorado and the individual food banks as guidelines for advocacy positions, statements, and sign-ons
• Develops internal and external communications for all five food banks and Feeding Colorado regarding public policy issues that pertain to the industry such as policy statements, legislation positions, legislator correspondence, requests for food banks’ board approvals, etc.
• Tracks and vets state and national legislation (and on rare occasions – city/county legislation) and legislative opportunities for potential support or opposition by the five food banks and Feeding Colorado
  Prepares all preparatory information and documents for local and national legislative visits with the five food banks including scheduling, coordination, preparation, and follow-through
• Facilitates communication with the five food banks re. advocacy related issues to assess potential positions and next steps
  Tracks current and potential federal and state legislation as well as areas of opportunity for Feeding Colorado and the individual food banks to increase access to food, maintain or increase funding for food and food distribution, or exemplify community leadership in the area of food policy
• Builds and maintains strong working relationships with congressional delegation, state legislative leaders, issue champions, and respective staff member
• Develops strong collaborations with other hunger relief partners in Colorado and Wyoming including relevant organizations and coalitions
• Drafts statements and communications on behalf of the individual food banks and Feeding Colorado to summarize the state-wide (and Colorado and Wyoming) work for the purposes of communication to the general public, funders, website content, internal trainings, etc.
• Serves as occasional Feeding Colorado spokesperson
• Perform all other duties as assigned or delegated

Competencies:

• Ability to represent Feeding Colorado and the individual food banks with professional poise and work effectively with a wide range of constituents
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and attention to detail as well as the ability to translate organizational data into compelling and relatable information targeted to the audience
• Stellar oral communication skills with the ability to relate well to multiple internal and external constituent groups.
• Skilled relationship builder; proven ability to build rapport easily with diverse groups both
• Demonstrates compassion and sensitivity to disenfranchised populations
• Excellent organizational, time management and follow-through skills
• Self-directed and results-oriented
• Proactive and independent problem solver
• Exercises independent judgement, thinks critically and strategically, collaborates with others and follows through to execute projects and program requirements
• Strong customer service orientation
• Strong emotional intelligence and professional savvy

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field; or equivalent work-related experience]
• Minimum 5-7 years’ experience in advocacy and public policy including strong expertise in food policy
• Strong written communications experience preferred
• Strong working knowledge of legislative processes and city/state/national legislators
• Extensive experience using Microsoft Office Suite and online technologies
• Experience using collaborative tools for file storage and sharing, meeting scheduling, and virtual collaboration preferred

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Sitting and standing for long periods, walking intermittently
• Using office equipment such as computer, mouse, keyboard, printer
• Indoor office environment, occasionally; outdoor work environment frequently.
• Ability to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls, reach with hands and arms, climb stairs, balance, stoop kneel, crouch or crawl, talk or hear and taste or smell
• Occasionally lift or move up to 25 pounds
• Ability to project voice to groups of 25 or more people
• Use specific vision abilities, including close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus
• Frequently operating and navigating a vehicle within rural communities.

We value diversity and inclusivity and are thus always looking to diversify our staff with an eye toward race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and age, among other areas. Candidates who bring such diversity are encouraged to apply.

Feeding Colorado is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE), M/F/D/V/SO.

Visit each of the five Feeding Colorado food banks to view job openings at their locations across the state.

Care and Share Food Bank

Food Bank of the Rockies

Community Food Share

Food Bank for Larimer County

Weld Food Bank