This job expired on August 20, 2016

Food Center Coordinator

Franklin County CDC

Date Posted June 21, 2016
Location Greenfield, MA
Category Business / Nonprofit
Job type Full-Time

Company description

The Franklin County Community Development Corporation (FCCDC) is a community supported 501c3 non-profit organization that has been growing businesses and communities since 1979. We provide high quality business assistance to start-up and growing businesses by operating a Small Business Incubator, a Business Training Program, a Business Lending Program and the Western MA Food Processing Center (FPC).

The FPC, located in Greenfield, MA, opened in 2001, and is a shared-used commercial kitchen incubator dedicated to assisting start up and expanding food producers. We train clients to use our commercial kitchen production space and equipment, we provide business and technical services to assist them in strengthening their food businesses, we offer co-packing services, value added processing/freezing for local farms and we produce our own line of value-added products for a diverse market, including retail, wholesale and institutional, markets. The FPC encourages the use of local and regionally grown food and processes a wide variety of products.

Job description

The Food Center Coordinator is a key member of the FCCDC/FPC staff and is responsible for driving business to the FPC, qualifying leads, supporting food businesses, and selling value-added products. The position involves a myriad of responsibilities including, but not limited to, attracting and training clients, assisting with product development and production, developing and maintaining relationships to support inside sales and external customers, and the regional distribution network. The ability to collaborate on cross-functional teams is critical. This person will help the FPC generate revenue from fees, sales, grants and fundraising. This person will coordinate with farmers, institutions, retailers and distributors to expand the amount of local/regional food we process and sell. This opportunity is ideal for someone who is motivated, energetic, self-directed, enjoys working with a wide variety of people and is committed to improving our regional food system. This position will report directly to the FCCDC Executive Director and work in close collaboration with the FPC Manager, the Business Development Director and other FCCDC staff.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

Experience in business, marketing, food production, food industry, farming or food systems work;
Degree in business, marketing, food systems or related field is a plus;
Public relations, social media, marketing and sales experience;
Experience conducting trainings and giving presentations;
Business counseling and assessment skills;
Ability to work as part of a team as well as independently;
Excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal skills;
Excellent organizational and time management skills and ability to meet deadlines;
Understanding of small business operations and business environment in the Pioneer Valley;
Ability to work with people of wide-ranging ethnicity, education level, and socioeconomic status;
Fundraising skills;
Proficient with computers, word processing, database and spread sheet programs;
Able to stand/walk/bend/kneel throughout shift and able to lift and carry up to 50 lbs;
Able to operate machinery and forklifts;
Food Safety Certifications (Serv-Safe, etc) a plus.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND REPONSIBILITIES:

FPC OPERATIONS

Respond to inquiries about the FPC in a timely manner;
Work closely with business clients to understand their needs and explain the FPC services to them;
Navigate the FDA code of food regulations and to provide guidance to clients on labeling etc.;
Perform client orientation program/training, schedule meetings with individual clients of the FPC to understand the scope of their business and to develop individual food processing plans;
Schedule and evaluate food product training programs and informational seminars;
Review FPC Policies and User Agreements with client businesses insuring that all requirements for use of the kitchen have been met;
Explore creative ways to use the FPC to generate additional revenues;
Assist in all FPC activities when needed, especially during the harvest season, including processing, cleaning, organizing, receiving and shipping of goods, etc.;
Work with the Food Processing Center Advisory Committee to improve the FPC;
Work with Farm to Institution New England (FINE), MA Farm to School, Pioneer Valley Grows (PVGrows), Franklin County Food Council and other regional networks to improve the Regional Food System and highlight the facility in the region.

CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

Maintain client and potential client information in the FCCDC data base;
Propose updates and improvements to FPC User Agreements and fee schedules as necessary;
Attend and present at appropriate conferences, workshops and other outreach opportunities;
Work with FCCDC staff to provide affordable technical assistance to business owners and assist them with developing their business plans;
Maintain confidentiality of client information;
Maintain and add to referral lists a team of professionals that can provide technical assistance to food business owners;
Maintain FCCDC management office and files;
Conduct other business development work such as participating in the FCCDC client meetings to support organizational work beyond FPC.

MARKETING:

Promote use of the facility, conduct tours, disseminate information and other outreach activities;
Along with the FPC Manager, serve as the contact person for business owners interested in the FPC;
Assist with the development of marketing materials and outreach activities to inform and attract both rental and co-pack clients to the FPC and the FCCDC;
Contact and communicate with other commercial kitchen managers, food and agricultural organizations, etc. as needed.

SALES:

Sell products labeled under the Pioneer Valley Vegetable label;
Answer technical questions to cover all product lines;
Assist with general operations of the FPC;
Coordinate with local and regional distribution;
Coordinate with logistics/order fulfillment to make sure orders ship out on time;
Participate in tradeshows;
Maintain relationships with local distributors, stores, suppliers, etc.;
Develop working relationships with farmers, institutional food service staff, food distributors, aggregators and other processors in the region;
Work with others who are promoting farm to institution to provide assistance throughout the value chain to increase institutional purchases of regional products;
Assist with research about farm to institution performance indicators and use these in promotion.

FUNDRAISING:

Conduct the full range of activities required to prepare, submit, and manage grant proposals to foundation, government and corporate sources;
Perform prospect research on foundations and corporations to evaluate prospects for corporate and foundation grants;
Cultivate relationships with institutional and individual donors;
Assist Executive Director with direct fundraising.
Perform additional tasks as required – possibilities are endless!

Compensation

this position is: salaried, less than 50k

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