Company description

The South Seattle Community Food Hub (SSCFH) is a community-driven initiative designed to address systemic gaps in the local food system and food insecurity. A core element of the SSCFH is  the development of a multi-use shared food facility that can provide much-needed cold storage,  aggregation, processing, and distribution infrastructure to regional food system stakeholders, with an emphasis on advancing racial equity and development of community-led solutions that prioritize the needs and assets of local growers and hunger relief organizations. The SSCFH facility, which is slated for development to begin in early 2025, is located at 915 S 96th Street in a warehouse adjacent to Food Lifeline’s headquarters.  

Community stakeholders advising the development of the SSCFH have identified three goals: 1)  Increase the capacity, resiliency, and collaboration between hunger relief agencies across the  region through shared infrastructure; 2) Expand access to aggregation, packing, storage and  processing infrastructure for regional growers to increase the quantity of locally grown food used  by the hunger relief sector and to facilitate market access to other institutions and; 3) Support and promote a more local, just and sustainable food economy by prioritizing food hub resources, services and infrastructure to BIPOC, Immigrant and Refugee -led and -serving growers and community-based organizations that have not traditionally had access to such infrastructure.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and seek to bring our values of diversity and inclusion to our hiring process. Beyond our commitment to non-discrimination, we encourage applications from candidates who can contribute to the diversity of our organization and who have lived experience of inequity and connections to marginalized communities.

Note on our hiring process

Our hiring process is atypical. Hiring decisions are made by our Personnel and Advisory Committees, which are both composed entirely of volunteers, and decisions are made with an emphasis on democratic process. This means that our hiring process is slower moving than traditional hiring processes. Please expect a longer timeframe.

Job description

The Partnership Development Manager will be responsible for building, maintaining, and expanding strategic partnerships to support the growth and success of the SSCFH from March to November 2025. This role will focus on identifying and cultivating relationships with key stakeholders such as food producers, distributors, community organizations, hunger relief organizations, and other  potential users or tenants. The ideal candidate will be a self-motivated, results-driven individual with strong communication skills and a passion for the food system.

As a member of a community-defined and community-led project, the Partnership Development Manager holds a personal and professional commitment to and knowledge of racial equity  principles and brings this skillset to the South Seattle Community Food Hub, its Advisory Committee, and project stakeholders. 

Responsibilities 

• Utilize an equitable process for creating partnerships with future SSCFH users and tenants which results in a roster of future users of the SSCFH who may also be involved in the development of and, in the future, the governance of the SSCFH.
• Cultivate and maintain strong, mutually beneficial relationships with potential tenants and users of the SSCFH facility
• Serve as the primary point of contact for new partnerships
• Negotiation & User Agreement Management: In collaboration with the Project Development Director,  support partnership negotiations, develop and manage user/lease terms, and ensure successful implementation and ongoing management of partnership agreements, including letters of commitment and letters of intent
• Uphold strong equity standards and challenge and be challenged on such. Center equity in all work
• Increase the SSCFH’s visibility in the community in order to build relationships. This work may include attending community events and meeting with stakeholders in-person at farms, organizations, and other venues in King County
• Receive input from stakeholders (users, broader community, supporters, etc.) to maintain a dialogue that will inform the future of the SSCFH
• Communicate the SSCFH’s plans to potential users so that those users can plan to work with the SSCFH. This work includes collaboration with the Communications Director on community engagement events and digital communications.
• Gain a better understanding of who the potential users of the SSCFH are and what their needs are for the facility

Desired Qualifications

• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and in person and across difference
• Strong relationship-building skills
• Experience managing partner relationships in the context of commercial projects or within the context of food systems
• Familiarity with the food production and distribution ecosystem
• Experience in partnership development, business development, or tenant development and relationships in a related industry (preferably food production, agriculture, hunger relief, etc.)
• Strong organizational skills
• Demonstrated commitment to equity as a path towards collective liberation, i.e. a future in which racism and other axes of oppression do not exist
• Experience and commitment to racial justice and its intersections with hunger
• Familiarity with local hunger relief, food system, and agriculture communities
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Being multilingual in a language used by BIPOC, Immigrant, and Refugee communities in the area is beneficial for this role, although not a necessity

Decision-Making Responsibilities

This position works in partnership with the project’s Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee and its six specialized subcommittees are the decision-making bodies for the developing SSCFH and all utilize consensus decision-making, with an emphasis on maximizing member participation. Each subcommittee has its own roles and responsibilities and unique decision-making authority. This position works with both the Advisory Committee and the Programming and Partnership Committee. It is responsible for scheduling, planning, and facilitating the meetings for the Programming and Partnership Committee and for collaborating in the planning and execution of the Advisory Committee meetings. 

This position is in horizontal, peer partnership with the Project Development Director, Communications Director, and Project Manager.

Salary and position details 

This is a $45/hour, part-time (20-25 hours/week) position with an additional $3 hourly differential for relevant multilingual skills. It is a time-limited position (March-November, 2025) that is subject to grant funding. The employee is being hired only for the duration of the grant for which they work, are subject to the regulations of those externally sponsored programs, and shall be employed for periods concurrent with the grant award and any extension of such grant award.

The position utilizes a hybrid remote/onsite model with great flexibility. Schedule is flexible to the needs of the Advisory Committee and subcommittees. Evening and weekend hours will be required. Local, area, and potentially statewide travel required.

Generous paid vacation, paid sick leave. 10 paid holidays annually.

Physical Demands

Position requires continuous talking and listening, in person and by video. Position requires prolonged periods of sitting with frequent use of keyboard, using repetitive hand and wrist movement. Position requires walking and standing and occasionally lifting and carrying of items up to 10 pounds.

Compensation

this position is: hourly, $20/hr +

Application instructions

Deadline

February 26, 2025