Youth & Family Initiatives Coordinator at Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin

Description

Summary: The Youth & Family Initiatives Coordinator is responsible for managing a portfolio of SHF programs and for supporting SHF’s partners who distribute food via youth and family-oriented sites. This position is a blend of building strong relationships with partners and strong administrative practices to manage program sites and budgets. 

The coordinator will serve as a subject matter expert for SHF's network of partners as well as oversee day-to-day program implementation. SHF’s youth & family program sites are heavily centered in Dane county, however the coordinator’s reach will extend across our sixteen-county service area.

Expectations of the Employee

• Adhere to Second Harvest Foodbank Policy and Procedures.
• Act as a role model within and outside the Foodbank.
• Perform duties as workload necessitates.
• Execute and implement timely and appropriate plans and ideas.
• Maintain a positive and respectful attitude.
• Communicate regularly with supervisor about department issues. 
• Demonstrate flexible and efficient time management and ability to prioritize workload.

Position Responsibilities & Essential Functions

Partner Relations

• Build and maintain relationships with community partners in their day-to-day work with youth and families and those looking to develop and/or expand youth and family food-related programs. 
• Create and maintain relationships with all school districts across SHF’s 16 counties and work with Community Representatives to determine how to best support each district within their individual territories.
• Seek feedback from community partners and look for opportunities to gather community voice.
• Work with community partners to identify opportunities for new initiatives that meet the identified needs while centering nutrition equity and the root causes of hunger.
• Conduct visits to and site inspections at program sites using them as a positive opportunity to: 
• Openly discuss issues and concerns. 
• Offer feedback and support.  
• Make our partnership stronger through the implementation of best practices.
• Ensure continued best practices in the safe storage, handling and distribution of food. 
• Collaborate with partner programs to identify opportunities to access and leverage federal child nutrition resources (CACFP, SFSP, PEBT, SNAP, etc.).
• Develop and maintain best practice documentation, toolkits, nutrition education materials, backpack program materials and food assistance resource materials, and an online resource center for program partners. 

Program Management

• Manage budget tracking, reporting and compliance for SHF Y&FI programs including but not limited to Kids Cafes, School Pantries, Thea’s Table and Harvest Snack program.
• Support the success of existing and new Y&FI programs in coordination with schools and community partners.  
• Work with the Community Relations Manager and Director of Partnerships & Community Impact to develop program performance objectives and measure progress to evaluate program success.
• Build and maintain program profiles and partner accounts in accordance with Feeding America guidelines to include current Memoranda of Understanding for all programs with community partners.
• Ensure program and administrative requirements are being met for any applicable grants.  
• Provide customer service, training, and hands on assistance to community partners.
• Perform any other duties as needed to fulfill our mission, drive our vision and abide by our values. 

Interdepartmental Collaboration

• Advocate for cross-departmental understanding of the unique needs of SHF’s Y&FI partners, serving as the subject matter expert in the area. 
• Coordinate with Food Resourcing team to ensure product available in inventory aligns with the needs of the Y&FI Programs.
• Collaborate with the Development Department to ensure they have the statistics, information and stories needed for Y&FI program grant application opportunities and reporting and are informed of program needs & messaging to assist in their stewardship of specific donor intent requests. 

Competencies

Personal Effectiveness

• Ability to set own priorities and work independently.
• Ability to take personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness of work and achieve results with little oversight. 
• Ability to build and maintain customer satisfaction with the services offered by Second Harvest.  
• Looks for better ways to perform routine aspects of job; asks for and uses feedback to improve performance.
• Respects and maintains confidentiality; avoids situations and actions considered inappropriate or which present a conflict of interest.
• Adheres to all workplace safety standards and practices. 
• Ability to focus on results and desired outcomes and how best to achieve them. 
• Ability to multitask and jump between tasks, programs and platforms routinely throughout the day. 
• Ability to maintain composure in highly stressful or adverse situations. 
• Ability to build constructive working relationships characterized by a high level of acceptance, cooperation, and mutual respect. 
• Ability to cultivate and develop equitable and inclusive working relationships with staff, volunteers, community partners, vendors, and neighbors.

Program Management Skills

• Leadership through influence and collaboration; ability to prioritize and communicate with staff about key objectives necessary to achieve organization goals.
• Innovative and forward thinking; listens for emerging trends from staff and community; able to translate new ideas into action.
• Excellent relationship building skills with ability to communicate and work effectively with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to identify and resolve problems in a timely manner, and gather and analyze information skillfully.
• Willingness to make decisions; exhibits sound and accurate judgment and makes timely decisions.

Communications

• Professional written and oral communication skills with the ability to relate well to all levels of SHF, ability to build appropriate rapport, ability to build constructive and effective relationships. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to collaborate and build relationships; and leverage resources within the function and across the organization to achieve desired outcomes. 
• Ability to communicate the branded message internally and externally (mission, vision, values).

 Computer Skills

• To perform this job successfully, the individual should have intermediate knowledge of the following computer software programs.
• Microsoft Office Suite – specifically Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Must have the ability to quickly learn and effectively use internal software programs.

Note: This role is largely Dane County based and works from SHF’s Madison offices. After the Coordinator is fully trained in the role, the position may work remotely up to a 40% maximum as approved by their supervisor.

Language Ability

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. 
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and standard operating procedures. 
• Skill in writing for a variety of audiences and editing news and feature articles. 
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups, managers, agencies, clients, and the public.

Communications

• Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to relate well to all levels of SHF, ability to build appropriate rapport, ability to build constructive and effective relationships. 
• Demonstrates group presentation skills and conducts productive meetings. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to effectively coach and mentor team members; collaborate and build relationships; and leverage resources within the function and across the organization to achieve desired outcomes. 
• Ability to communicate the branded message internally and externally (mission, vision, values). 

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.

This job operates in a professional office as well as at community sites within the territory for meetings. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets, etc. The employee is occasionally required to work in outdoor conditions and extreme temperatures. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; stand, walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk; and hear. The employee must have the ability to work on a computer for several hours at a time. The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl, taste/smell and lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. 

FOR CONSIDERATION YOU MUST APPLY BY:  OCTOBER 10, 2025 

Requirements

Qualifications

Required Education/Experience

High School Diploma or a combination of lived experience, education, and training.

Two or more years of experience in youth and/or family programming.

Demonstrated experience with external relationship-building, program reporting and evaluation.

Demonstrated ability to set own priorities and work independently.

Valid driver’s license and good driving record.

Regular access to dependable transportation with insurance levels of 100/300/50.

Ability to travel throughout service area for meetings and food distributions.

Ability to successfully pass background check.

Food Safety Certification (Safe Food Handler) must be secured within first year of employment. 

Preferred Education/Experience

Experience working with community-based, nonprofit organizations.

Lived experience with the impacts of systemic racism or marginalization.

Experience working with children in a school or school-adjacent organization. 

Experience with food banking.