Farm Fresh Rhode Island is seeking a full-time Food Access Operations Manager. The Farmers Market Operations Manager reports directly to the Food Access Program Director. This role is responsible for managing Fresh Bucks and Bonus Bucks programs at Farm Fresh RI markets and partner markets across the state. Additionally, this position plays a key role on the Farm Fresh RI farmers market team by facilitating back-end market operations including ensuring updated vendor paperwork, rent, and licenses are collected and ensuring adequate staffing, equipment, and supply levels are maintained for Farm Fresh RI markets.
Farm Fresh is a growing and increasingly complex organization, with significant back-end demands to ensure that programs run efficiently and in concert with each other. The Food Access Operations Manager plays a central role in facilitating this well-balanced flow of activities within the Food Access programs. Data entry and analysis are central functions to the role, along with maintaining relationships with Farm Fresh’s Bonus Bucks partner markets and EBT system vendors. This role demands an ability to stay organized, think on a systems level, and readily jump back and forth between diverse task areas. This position is responsible for developing logistical systems and managing staff to run effective weekly farmers markets. They oversee weekly market execution, including all pre- and post-market duties as well as preparing, collecting, and reconciling all administrative documents from market staff and vendors. Application Deadline is May 1, 2023.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
Food Access Program Data & Bookkeeping
- Maintain market accounting, sales, and EBT and Fresh Bucks analytics documents.
- Oversee and manage weekly internal market scrip processing as well as associated weekly market scrip data entries.
- Process, prepare, and distribute market related checks to vendors and food access partners.
- Field questions from vendors or farmers market partners around market payables and receivables.
- Support Food Access Program Director in fielding questions from RI Bonus Bucks partners regarding Bonus Bucks reimbursements, as well as RI partner market stipend payments.
Back-End Market Logistics
- Maintain adequate market equipment and supply levels, ensuring market managers have what they need for each market day.
- Develop seasonal market equipment flow across all Farm Fresh RI programs, ensuring Markets and Harvest Kitchen staff understand when equipment can be used and needs to be returned. Communicate any changes in plans as needed.
- Supervise collection of updated paperwork from vendors such as insurance, department of health certification, and Fresh Bucks contracts seasonally, as needed.
- Manage and maintain credit card and EBT processing equipment in partnership with the Program Director and Business & Finance team.
Market Staff Management
- Directly lead and supervise all part-time seasonal market staff, ensuring that program SOPs, systems, and policies are upheld at markets.
- Recruit and train part-time seasonal program staff, summer AmeriCorps VISTA members, interns, and volunteers in partnership with the Food Access Program Director.
- Oversee completion of weekly market tasks including completion of daily required market sheets, post-market reports, and attendance docs.
General Support and Admin
- In consultation with Food Access Program Director, assist with new program planning and execution.
- Manage Market Welcome Table staffing and processes.
- Personally manage 1-2 summer markets, which may rotate as needed (May-Oct).
- Must complete tasks as assigned by the Food Access Program Director and Sr. Director of Programs & Operations.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Needed to Perform this Role
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google Suite
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with exceptional attention to detail
- Ability to prioritize and handle a variety of assignments simultaneously in a vibrant work environment
- Demonstrated commitment to the success of co-workers and Farm Fresh RI’s mission and values
- Passion for local food systems and social justice
- Must be able to build relationships with people from varied cultural, economic, educational, racial, and religious backgrounds
- Must maintain a customer service orientation while considering solutions and interacting with external partners
- Must be willing and able to work a flexible and changing schedule including evenings and weekends (evenings as late as 9pm and Saturdays)
- Must hold valid driver’s license and have access to reliable transportation
Priority Skills
Candidates with any of the following skills will be prioritized:
- Spanish speaking or non-English language skills
- Deep understanding of communities in Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls
- Experience supervising staff
Physical Demands (Physical, Mental & Environmental)
The following capabilities are required in order to perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations that do not create an undue burden on the company are available to address the following requirements.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit/stand for long periods of time at a desk or at the farmers market; use hands to handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls on computers; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear in meetings and on the telephone or on the computer in an office or variable setting.
- Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and the ability to adjust focus.
- Employees must be able to lift and carry up to 50 lbs.
- Ability to travel, which may include travel via car, train, airline, overnight hotel stays.
Benefits
- This is considered a full-time, hourly, benefit-eligible position with a starting wage of $21 per hour.
- Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holiday benefits.
- Monthly contributions to flexible health, dental, and life insurance plans.
- Annual professional development credit and opportunities.
- IRA Matching contribution after 2 years of employment.
To Apply
- Please send your resume and cover letter Attn: Cara Mitchell to [email protected] with subject line “Food Access Operations Manager.”
- Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until filled. Applicants who apply by May 1, 2023 will be prioritized for consideration.
- No phone calls or drop-ins please.
Organizational Info
Farm Fresh Rhode Island has grown briskly since achieving 501c3 status in 2007, to capture the public interest in locally grown food and translate it into sales for local and regional farmers and producers. Strongly mission-driven, Farm Fresh RI hosts a variety of programs to enhance the local food system, with particular attention to farm viability and low-income access to fresh food. Farm Fresh also operates a range of marketplace programs (retail, wholesale, processing) that engage and connect tens of thousands of eaters with thousands of farmers and food producers across the New England region.
Mission: Farm Fresh Rhode Island is growing a local food system that values the environment, health, and quality of life of farmers and eaters in our region.
Vision: A New England region abundant with diverse family farms and fertile soils, with locally and honestly produced foods and flavors at the heart of every dinner table.
Farm Fresh Rhode Island’s work environment is fast-paced and collaborative. We value creative thinking, approach our work with energetic spirit, and strive to have fun together while we’re at it!
Farm Fresh Rhode Island is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment for all employees. We encourage enquiries from candidates who will enrich and contribute to the cultural and ethnic diversity of our organization. Farm Fresh RI does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, creed, color, religion, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, national origin, or disability status in employment or programming. Farm Fresh Rhode Island is an Equal Opportunity Provider.