Job Description

Whole Kids Foundation, in its 10th year, is on a mission to improve children’s health and wellness through their nutrition by supporting schools and inspiring families! We support a network of more than 12,000 schools and dozens of national / regional partners and are catalysts in transforming the way we nourish our children. We develop, partner, and lead work in the U.S., U.K., and Canada.

This full-time Team Member position will help develop and manage strategic programmatic goals of the Foundation. This position will eventually be responsible for leadership of the Programs team and steward the connection between nutrition equity and our programs with our operations team members. This position will also help bring to fruition through collaboration our vision of catalyzing whole healthy school environments!

The Senior Programs Leader will help lead innovation and strategic growth toward accomplishing the mission of the foundation. This position will ensure financial sustainability and evolution of programs through evaluative processes and will work collaboratively with a multitude of partners across three countries to help shape the vision and future direction of the organization. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience working regionally/nationally with a clear understanding and empathy for challenges faced by resource-limited school districts, experience and understanding of school food operations and public education systems, while embedding values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all programmatic work.

This position reports to Director of Programs and Finance.

What it means to work with us
We are a small, dynamic, and diverse cross-foundational team who are highly collaborative internally and externally leveraging shared resources, ideas and strategies, and creative problem solving. We provide clear advancement opportunities, comprehensive benefits, and professional development.

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Programmatic leadership: Collaborate on, plans, and execute strategic plans for growth and development of WKF’s programs in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. Includes overseeing and evolving existing grant programs, transformative work, and the development and revision of curriculum and training in order to produce a robust portfolio of culturally inclusive programs
• Provide leadership and directional support that furthers our commitment to an equitable and inclusive organizational culture and supports a growing programmatic team
• Experience and a strong working knowledge of school food operations including procurement, finance, facilities, human resources, policy and current developments in fields of child nutrition, food justice, and education
• Guide strategic storytelling of our work and develop relationships and consistent communication with all internal and external stakeholders, including Board, Communications team, Revenue team, and Whole Foods Market
• Manage, evaluate, and communicate financial insights for an annual multi-million-dollar program investment budget
• Other programmatic, project and operational duties, as needed

Knowledge, skills and abilities required:

• Passion for the mission of Whole Kids Foundation and an understanding of and deep connection with Whole Foods Market Core Values
• A ‘think-big’ mentality, strategic thinker with experience developing, operationalizing, and evaluating innovative comprehensive programs while taking initiative and independently identifying solutions
• Proven relationship builder with ability to earn trust with a diversity of stakeholder groups and a deep respect and regard for the inherent strengths and capacities within every community
• 5+ years of program leadership experience that includes school food operations.  Other relevant areas of experience include education curriculum, training, or nonprofit sector
• 3+ years of experience in a team management role managing individuals including direct reports, both local and remote, full-time and contract
• A proven understanding and ongoing commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects at once in an entrepreneurial, collaborative environment where every role includes a full range of responsibilities from hands-on to strategic
• Commitment to sharing power and leadership to drive programmatic outcomes, including measuring success by growth, connection, engagement, and development
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, ability to manage lots of details simultaneously
• Excellent communication skills (English prefered) including ability to give clear direct feedback, set clear expectations, and connect with people on a personal level through excellent service
• College degree or equivalent experience welcome
• Responsive and committed to follow-through in a fast paced and rapidly moving environment
• Friendly and self-motivated attitude
• Willingness to engage in continuous learning and training
• Flexibility to handle job duties as assigned not covered on this job description