Corporate Employee Engagement Manager

Position: Corporate Employee Engagement Manager Job Type: Full-time Team: Development Reports to: Associate Director, Corporate Employee Engagement Location: Chicago or US remote anywhere amenable to CST time zone

The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) seeks to nourish the world’s hungry through uniting and advancing food banks. GFN is the only international organization committed to fighting hunger by supporting food banking organizations. In 2020 alone, 40 million people accessed food through a GFN-supported food bank.

The Opportunity: In less than four years, GFN has grown from a $2 million to a $20+ million organization reflecting the expansion of food bank operations across their network to meet the rising hunger need in 44 countries. In these efforts, corporate partnerships are a critical source of funding, donated and purchased product, skills-based and operational volunteer hours, as well as other in-kind resource contributions that enable food bank success. This position will be responsible for working alongside Development, Product Sourcing, and Program colleagues to maximize global corporate relationships by creating and implementing meaningful employee engagement activities aligned with network member capacity and that drive value to help food banks serve their communities.

Corporate employee volunteers are the engine that power many food bank operations, from the acquisition of product through food drives, creating organizational awareness in the community, and the processing of product donations, to the full range of skills-based efforts that supplement limited food bank budgets and enable great community impact. Engagement of community-based volunteers is also an important way to build holistic partner engagement including financial support via employee giving, corporate match/gifts, and major gift supporters. Effective programs, however, must align with individual food bank capabilities and provide incremental value to support their work.

For many corporate partners, meaningful employee volunteer activities are important as they provide a visible demonstration of the company’s commitment to social impact and contribute to positive staff morale, therefore is a key part of a corporate partnership partner engagement and stewardship program.

This position will develop and implement corporate volunteer engagement strategies to support GFN food bank efforts with valuable community resources, while also structuring program options that meet Corporate Partner needs. Key to the individual’s success as well as the programmatic impact of their work will be the development of communication and implementation materials and oversight of the program with the goal of creating, maintaining, and increasing holistic corporate engagement vital to the success of GFN food banks.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to: Corporate Employee Volunteer Programming
  • Create and manage employee volunteerism programs that support the strategic needs of GFN and food banks.
    • Provides a framework to solicit virtual and in-person food bank volunteer activity where needed as well as assess ad hoc donor engagement opportunities as they arise, including skills-based volunteer opportunities.
    • Ensure opportunities align with food bank needs and are able to support.
    • Ensure program volunteerism opportunities are consistent and that they leverage partners’ energies and resources given the capacity and constraints of food bank members.
    • Ultimately provide donor benefit as well as support and advance the mission of GFN and our network of food banks.
  • Design and execute individual employee volunteerism initiatives that are both useful to food banking organizations and achieve corporate partner goals.
    • Manage and track any risks and issues at a global and local level that might be an impediment to the success of the partnership.
    • Proactively collaborate with the development, communications, and programs teams to manage the donor experience and connect partners to our donor development process. Creates a donor-centric fundraising approach across the entire organization.
    • In working with the overall partner relationship manager, ensure appropriate expectations are set for donors and food banks regarding program support activities (i.e., sponsorship, internal and external communications); Once set, ensure expectations are met by both program partners.
    • Design engagement toolkits for partners, in coordination with development and communications, to distribute to regional and country-level offices to promote and activate the partnership.
  • Track and report employee volunteerism activities, modifying and adapting the program framework as learning is gained for maximum value to corporate partners as well as food banks.
Food Bank Network Advocate in Corporate Partner Program Planning
  • Working with GFN Regional Managers and the larger Programs Team, forge effective and supportive working relationships with food banks throughout the GFN network, and understand their interests, desired areas for growth, and limitations as they relate to all potential volunteer engagement opportunities.
  • Building upon these food bank relationships and community understanding, advocate on behalf of the food bank Network with donor discussions to promote corporate employee engagement opportunities.
  • Instill and/or strengthen a culture of volunteerism within GFN food banks, helping reinforce the multi-faceted benefits of community engagement, revenue-generating potential, and resource building that corporate volunteer programs offer.
  • Act as a consultant and subject matter expert to the network members on their volunteerism efforts and strategies and support members to have conversations with corporate partners around volunteerism.
Corporate Partner Network Engagement Reporting
  • Routinely liaise with food banks in the GFN network to obtain holistic corporate volunteerism partner data in a timely fashion and help convert these into report formats with data insights that meet corporate partner expectations.
  • Similarly, ensure corporate partner data is shared back with the food banks as appropriate along with data insights to benefit network efforts.
  • Standardize data collection to ensure corporate partner data requests to GFN member food banks can be completed as efficiently and easily as possible.
  • Facilitate programmatic close-out activities upon volunteer program completion with corporate partner to recognize lessons learned and opportunities for further partnership.
Corporate Partnership Team Support
  • Support the Development and Product Sourcing Corporate teams in recruiting new partners to contribute food and funds by offering programs for skilled staff in support of food banks serving our shared communities around the world.
  • This role will be responsible for a core element of holistic corporate partnerships that will drive new and additional revenue resulting in $1M total revenue.
  • Meet partner needs for staff engagement, while acting as an advocate for GFN and member food banks and delivering outstanding customer service to increase investment and product donations while minimizing program attrition.
  • Help prepare annually a summary of partnership accomplishments, to include stories of how the global partnership is being realized at the local level.
  • Assist in the annual valuation of corporate partnerships to GFN and its network of food banks.
Qualitifications:
  • College degree is preferred but not required.
  • 5+ years of experience in managing complex, demanding projects with multiple stakeholders that have, at times, competing interests, preferably in a cross-cultural setting.
  • At least five years of experience in volunteer engagement and program coordination, preferably in a multi-national, multi-cultural environment.
  • Significant experience in managing and building collaborative relationships. This includes the professional maturity to interact effectively with senior individuals from around the world that evaluate donations and other investments through a data-driven, results-oriented lens. 
  • Experience in external-facing roles that require direct communication with corporate partners.
  • Creative thinker, problem-solver, and excellent negotiator that understands stakeholders’ interests, finds common ground, and drives collaborative and mutually beneficial agreements.
  • Excellent communication skills, including the ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and persuasively in multiple forms (e-mail, phone, face to face).
  • Ability to create compelling collateral in a variety of formats.
  • Outstanding organizational skills, superb attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple relationships and projects concurrently.
  • Easily navigate through Microsoft Office suite, Salesforce experience is preferred.
  • Proven ability to summarize and analyze data.
  • Energetic self-starter driven to achieve (and exceed) tangible goals with excellence and urgency.
  • Fluency in other languages (especially Spanish) preferred.
  • Commitment to the mission of reducing world hunger through the advancement of food banking.
To Apply: Please email a cover letter and resume to hr@foodbanking.org. EOE 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.