Associate Director, Strategic Communications Partnerships

Position:                           Associate Director, Strategic Communications Partnerships Team:                                Communications Reports to:                       Vice President, Strategic Communications Location:                          Chicago, Illinois, USA or Remote The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) seeks to nourish the world’s hungry through uniting and advancing food banks. Founded in 2006, GFN connects food banking organizations in more than 40 countries that together serve more than 16 million people annually. The organization currently operates with a team of twenty-three employees based primarily out of Chicago and engages a globally diverse Board of Directors. Our goal is to support communities in their fight against hunger and food insecurity through advancing the food banking model.  GFN launched a new strategic plan in 2019 that charts continued growth with an ambitious vision to help enable its food bank members to materially increase the amount of food distributed to those in need, distribute more nutrient-rich foods, and strengthen the resilience of their communities. Its major goals include:
  • Increase the number of people served by food banks with which GFN currently works;
  • Expand food banking in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa;
  • Support food banking organizations in distributing a greater diversity of foods;
  • Build a trusted global network of food rescue and relief organizations.
Our 2030 vision is a global network of community-led food banks that serve meals to 50 million people facing hunger.  Our team provides best practices, partners and resources to food bank founders and organizations to help them fight hunger more effectively.  In the next five years, we are especially aiming to come alongside changemakers in low-income communities, primarily those based in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. The Opportunity: The Global FoodBanking Network is seeking to add an Associate Director, Strategic Communications Partnerships to its rapidly growing Communications team. The Associate Director will work closely with the Vice President, Strategic Communications to build and execute GFN’s policy and advocacy engagement strategy, with an initial focus on the global conversation on food systems and the planned 2021 UN Food Systems Summit. GFN has an opportunity to actively contribute to multilateral efforts to achieve SDG2 and SDG12.3. This role will ensure that GFN is participating in the key forums, dialogues, and conferences, and will make connections with other stakeholders in this space, across governments, UN and other agencies, and civil society. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
  • Conduct and maintain a stakeholder mapping to identify critical stakeholders (across government, UN and multilateral agencies, civil society working on hunger relief, food insecurity, and food loss and waste), existing networks, and cross-sectoral initiatives; use this analysis to help build the engagement strategy.
  • Identify and develop collaborative relationships with key stakeholders and create a network of international partners and other food policy organizations, experts, researchers, and practitioners.
  • Maintain a calendar of global food systems events; seek opportunities to showcase GFN’s work and elevate its presence at these moments.
  • Plan, design, and implement, in collaboration with Communications team, strategies for communications and outreach for public awareness concerning food banks and their potential to reduce hunger and food loss and waste globally and contribute to government and international agency commitments under the 2030 Agenda.
  • Contribute to, develop, and disseminate communications and outreach materials such as op-eds, briefs, policy briefs, newsletters, infographics, websites, and social media messaging as part of the Communications team.
  • Develop and host events to further GFN’s work and engage key decision makers and stakeholders; prepare talking points and briefing memos to support senior engagement at events.
  • Analyze key international policy trends in areas as they relate to and support the advancement of GFN’s program.
  • Develop briefing notes and position papers as requested for both internal and external use on key policy issues, and coordinate research initiatives as required.
  • Liaise closely with Digital Communications Officer to ensure that editorial content positions GFN’s work on the international stage and within context of 2030 Agenda and UN Food Systems Summit.
  • Perform other duties as requested.
Candidate Profile: The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:
  • At least 7-10 years of professional work experience directly in partnership building, advocacy, and communications;
  • A proven track record of successfully cultivating relationships, and building and managing international partners;
  • An understanding of the complexity of actors and initiatives in the food policy space and the ability to strategize around which stakeholders and opportunities can best influence and elevate GFN’s work;
  • Experience developing and executing advocacy-driven engagement strategies, ideally in a global context and with the goal of furthering the SDGs;
  • Strong writing skills, with previous experience producing policy briefs and targeted advocacy communications materials;
  • A commitment to the mission of GFN and some familiarity with food security, food justice, and sustainable development issues;
  • Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, and the ability to effectively and comfortably build relationships;
  • Ability to work independently and in a collaborative team environment across multiple programs and departments;
  • Demonstrated ability for handling multiple, complex relationships simultaneously in a fast-paced environment, demonstrating strategic thinking, problem solving, and attention to detail;
  • Highly organized, reliable, and able to balance priorities and meet deadlines;
  • Willingness and ability to travel;
  • Flexible, energetic, positive, and creative;
  • Fluency in written and spoken English – other language proficiencies welcomed;
  • Bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree preferred.
Location: The position will be based at GFN’s global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, USA (remote location as needed during the COVID-19 crisis), or may be based remotely. To Apply: Please email a cover letter, resume, and salary expectations to hr@foodbanking.org. The Global FoodBanking Network embraces a philosophy that recognizes and values diversity. Its goal is to attract, develop, and retain a talented, diverse workforce in a culture where all employees will contribute to their fullest potential.  EOE