Outreach Manager, Early Childhood and Afterschool Nutrition

Outreach Manager, Early Childhood and Afterschool Nutrition

Project Bread connects people and communities in Massachusetts to reliable sources of food while advocating for policies that make food more accessibleso that no one goes hungry. To assist us in meeting our mission, Project Bread The Walk for Hunger is seeking an Outreach Manager, Early Childhood and Afterschool Nutrition to join our team.

At Project Bread, we have a deep commitment to creating positive social change and recognize that hunger and racism are inextricably linked. We work in a fast-paced environment that values learning, innovation, and diverse perspectives. Knowing its centrality to our work, Project Bread is committed to equity and inclusion. We aspire to build a diverse team, including groups that are traditionally underrepresented among our sector leadership. We strongly encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.

The Role: Project Bread is expanding our Child Nutrition Outreach work into the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The Outreach Manager will lead this new initiative from the ground up, building the CACFP outreach program and helping childcare and afterschool providers across Massachusetts serve more children through it.

This role blends program development with hands-on execution, translating best practices into action, and providing direct technical assistance and support to childcare and afterschool providers. It's a great fit for someone who's energized by both building relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and doing the behind-the-scenes program management that makes a new initiative succeed. The ideal candidate brings strong organizational, communication, and strategic skills, along with some prior experience in childcare nutrition programs or CACFP.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Assess the current landscape of childcare and afterschool providers' CACFP utilization across Massachusetts to identify opportunities, gaps, and program development priorities.
• Research CACFP outreach best practices from other states, consulting with experts, providers, and stakeholders, to shape program planning across both childcare and afterschool settings.
• Develop outreach plans and strategies to bring more childcare and afterschool programs into CACFP and help them serve more children through it.
• Work closely with the full Child Nutrition Team to align childcare and afterschool outreach strategies with statewide program goals, integrating CACFP outreach into the team's existing work with school nutrition departments and community-based organizations.
• Grow Project Bread's relationships across the early childhood education and afterschool sectors, maintaining strong working relationships with state agency staff, childcare administrators, afterschool providers, and local community networks.
• Provide outreach, technical assistance, and customized support to childcare and afterschool providers to strengthen and expand CACFP participation, using evidence-based strategies that follow USDA nutritional guidelines and program requirements.
• Equip other Child Nutrition Outreach team members to deliver the same technical assistance and support to CACFP providers.
• Partner with the Child Nutrition Team and Project Bread's Research and Evaluation team to analyze program data and improve outcomes.
• Lead program initiatives that affect the Child Nutrition Team's statewide work, such as data projects, outreach campaigns, or resource development.
• Present on the Child Nutrition Team's work at external conferences, community meetings, and internally to Project Bread board and staff as needed.
• Maintain accurate record-keeping systems to support weekly, monthly, and annual reporting.
• Participate in cross-functional initiatives with other Project Bread departments to advance the organization's work across Massachusetts.
• Support the annual Walk for Hunger, including working as event staff the weekend of the Walk (first weekend in May), and attending pre-Walk events as assigned.
• Participate in organization-wide events and meetings.
• Act to promote, sustain, and grow Project Bread's positive, productive, and inclusive working environment.

Qualifications:

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow and excel professionally. We know people gain skills through a variety of professional, personal, educational, and volunteer experiences. Project Bread recognizes this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work. This said, we are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate most of the qualifications and experiences listed below.

Priority Competencies:

• Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving: Comes up with strategic, pragmatic, and equitable solutions to new challenges, and has a track record of taking an idea from concept to implementation.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Builds strong, collaborative relationships with external partners and maintains them over time.
• Project Management & Organization: Thinks broadly about big-picture goals while staying on top of the incremental details and processes that make a program run well.
• Program Implementation: Translates policy, guidelines, and best practices into practical, on-the-ground programs turning strategy into something providers can actually use.

Additional Qualifications and Experience:

• 3+ years of relevant professional experience in nonprofit, school-based, childcare, or community-based settings.
• Prior experience with CACFP in childcare settings, school food service, or other child nutrition programs.
• Comfortable as a self-starter and strategic thinker who can build a new program from scratch, moving between many different situations and settings, both independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to communicate clearly with a range of audiences.
• Able to travel reliably across Massachusetts, with regular visits required to meet with childcare and afterschool meal providers and other stakeholders.

All employees are currently working in a hybrid remote-and-in-person model and are expected to work in person at least one day each week. The Outreach Manager will regularly work in person at Project Bread's East Boston office and in the field meeting with childcare and afterschool meal providers and stakeholders.

Benefits include health and dental, flexible spending accounts, retirement plan with match after one year, fully paid PFML leave, life and long-term disability, contributions to commuting costs and wellness expenses, and flexible paid time off.

This position is currently funded for 2 years, with the opportunity of extension based on future funding.

Priority consideration will be given to candidates that apply by August 10.

Project Bread is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, height, weight, or marital status in employment or the provision of services. Please contact us at jobs@projectbread.org if you would like to request special accommodations during the interview process.