Whole Kids Foundation – Programs Innovation Leader

Whole Kids Foundation (WKF) is a member of the Whole Foods Market family of nonprofit foundations. Our combined Whole Kids Foundation and Whole Cities Foundation team is a dynamic and fast-paced 501(c)3 team-family.

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.

Programs Innovation Leader

This full-time Team Member position will help develop and manage strategic programmatic mission goals of the Foundation, which include leading innovation and will also have an emphasis on strategic storytelling acting, taking the lead as the liaison between programmatic work and communications team, while leading and mentoring our robust internship program.

The Programs Innovation Leader will lead a robust portfolio of culturally inclusive innovative programmatic work including our Healthy Kids Innovation Grants, our Youth Entrepreneurship work (still in pilot mode), and local / Central Texas focused work, as well as undiscovered innovative work in the world of children’s nutrition. This position will ensure financial sustainability and evolution of these 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. This Leader will also be the driving force for embedding values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all our programmatic work. 

This position will also steward the connection between our multi-faceted programs with our communications team and become the programmatic storytelling expert and strategic thought leader to share relevant stories from partners and upcoming programmatic investments while providing feedback and approving all content on behalf of the programs team for our blogs, newsletters, external communications, webpages, and videos. And through collaboration, this position will help bring to fruition our vision of catalyzing whole healthy school environments!

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 developing and leading new and innovative programs, leading and mentoring junior team members, and a passion for children’s nutrition and storytelling! 

This position reports to Sr. 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.

Position: Programs Innovation Leader

Location: Austin, Texas

Status: Full-time employee

Reports to: WKF Sr. Director, Programs and Finance

Pay Category: LD5

Benefit Category: BC3

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Programmatic leadership: Collaborate on, develop, and execute strategic plans for growth and development of WKF’s programs in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. Includes overseeing and evolving or developing a robust portfolio of culturally inclusive innovative programmatic work
• Manage, evaluate, and communicate financial insights for an annual program investment budget
• Provide leadership and directional support that furthers our commitment to an equitable and inclusive organizational culture and supports a growing programmatic team while embedding values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all our programmatic work
• Serve as a thought partner for strategic storytelling of our work from the field and develop relationships that promote consistent communication with all internal and external stakeholders, including Board, communications team, revenue team, and Whole Foods Market
• Lead and mentor our robust internship program to manage grant communications and provide exceptional service through external communications to school and organization recipients and interested applicants with the guidance and expertise of the Programs Operational Manager
• Other programmatic, project, and operational duties, as needed

Knowledge, skills and abilities required:

• Passion for the mission of Whole Kids Foundation and healthy eating and children’s nutrition along with an understanding of and deep connection with Whole Foods Market Core Values
• A proven understanding and ongoing commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity
• 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 grant programs. Other relevant areas of experience include school food operations, education curriculum, training, or nonprofit sector
• 2+ years of experience in a team management role managing individuals including direct reports, both local and remote, full-time and contract
• 2+ years of experience collaborating with a communications or content team to produce relevant partner storytelling moments

• 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 preferred) 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

Additional Job Requirements

This position is based in Austin, Texas at the Whole Foods Market Global Headquarters. We work a 40-hour week and workdays are typically Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, with occasional weekend and evening hours for events. Currently, we offer a hybrid work-from home option with in-person office time expected. Semi-frequent travel to districts is required up to 30%, typically during the academic school year.

Note: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The qualifications listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Whole Foods Market is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.

At Whole Foods Market, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all Team Members and candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Whole Foods Market hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.