Brief Job Description (essential functions of the job):

The mission of the Mayor's Office of Food Justice is to build a food system that is equitable, resilient, sustainable, and just. In pursuit of this mission, OFJ will work to expand equitable access to nutritious food with respect to affordability, physical accessibility, and cultural connectedness; support Boston’s food economy; and promote environmentally sustainable and resilient food production.

Building on the work of the city’s previous Office of Food Access, OFJ works to embed food systems and racial equity approaches into existing food access programming, and to pursue whole-of-government strategies, in partnership with GrowBoston, that leverage city resources and partnerships to shift the city and region’s food system, reduce food insecurity and address the food system’s impact on climate. This includes close partnerships with other city and state departments, along with facilitating a community of practice of organizations, businesses and entities in the city who are addressing food insecurity and inequitable food access by developing a new food system.

In partnership with the Director of the Mayor's Office of Food Justice, the Deputy Director will lead operational, planning and evaluation work, manage contracts, pursue funding relationship and identify strategic opportunities. As a key leader in the department, the Deputy Director plays a backbone role in infrastructure, providing guidance to the team about internal City procedures and ensuring a synergistic external approach across programmatic areas.

• Support the Director to manage and monitor the daily financial operations of the department to comply with approved City and funder policies including reporting and evaluation responsibilities within the office for external funders like ARPA and USDA
• Support the Director and the OFJ team to work with subrecipients and end recipients to comply with all federal and state grant regulations
• Support the Director in the management of contracts and contractor relationships with flexibility and integrity
• Develop partnerships and liaise with research partners to evaluate OFJ programming and facilitate continuous improvement
• Lead and/or oversee office’s grantmaking work to community organizations, developing grant guidelines, deliverables and reporting schedules
• Pursue funding opportunities to develop and support new and existing OFJ initiatives, as well as to support City-endorsed partner programs where appropriate including researching and writing grants
• Supervise Partner and Community Engagement Manager, provide oversight of OFJ staff as needed
• Support director to identify, launch and evaluate strategic initiatives and programming in support of the overarching strategic food justice goals of OFJ and GrowBoston.
• Assist in the development of strategic plans and workplans for the department.
• As needed, identify and support the capacity-building needs of partners organizations by providing technical assistance on funding research and grant applications
• Conduct programmatic and policy research and develop policy memos and program proposals for internal and external purposes
• Liaise with the Mayor’s Office, Press, Digital, Advance and Speechwriting offices, other Cabinets and Department Heads to ensure City food related communications and initiatives align with food justice principles
• Develop protocols and train OFJ team and city colleagues on providing robust emergency food support to residents in need
• Perfroms related duties as required

• Must have six (6) or more years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, experience in collaborative food systems/food access work, public policy or public administration, partnership engagement, and program/policy development 
• Completion of a Master’s degree preferred. 
• Experience with grant management, budget management and grants accounting
• Experience managing contracts and with contractor oversight
• Proven track record in securing new funding opportunities. 
• Experience working with, and facilitating conversations among diverse partners from public, private, and non-profit sectors. 
• Excellent planning, organization, and project management skills 
• Previous experience in program evaluation 
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement difficult collaborative projects/partnerships with multiple stakeholders and move critical efforts forward in a respectful way that delivers improved support for divested communities/clients.
• Excellent team and consensus building attributes and dynamic leadership qualities 
• Ability to promote and implement continuous process improvements and document process management protocols
•  Experience implementing mission-driven programmatic and policy objectives with a focus on increasing access to healthy foods in underserved communities 
• Demonstrated ability to work respectfully among individuals with diverse cultural, political, and socioeconomic backgrounds. 
• Excellent research,  analytical and communication skills
• Should exercise stellar judgment, develop and implement strategies with minimal oversight and demonstrate tenacity, drive, and self-awareness 
• Commitment to advancing racial justice in the City of Boston
• High level of proficiency in the following programs: Google Suite and Microsoft Office, including Excel and Google Sheets. Survey tools such as Google Forms, Survey Monkey, Survey Gizmo, and Canva.

Terms:

Union/ SalaryPlan/ Grade: MO-9/ Fulltime / Non union

Hours per week: 35