We are so so excited to announce that we have been fortunate enough to secure the necessary funding to formalize, grow, and bring sustainability to our food-based programming- United We Eat. This program has been incredibly well received by the Missoula community and refugee participants alike and we are looking forward to bringing on new member of the team to help make the magic happen! You will find the job post below- feel free to share!

UNITED WE EAT PROGRAM MANAGER 

Soft Landing Missoula (SLM) is looking for a Program Manager to oversee, develop, and manage all aspects related to SLM’s social enterprise food-based programming- United We Eat.

About Soft Landing Missoula and United We Eat:

In the fall of 2015, Soft Landing Missoula was born from a grassroots effort by Missoula community members with the goal to do more for refugees fleeing war and persecution. At the time, Montana was one of only two states in the nation that was not participating in resettlement. One short year later, and a lot of hard work by many, we saw the arrival of the first refugee family to land in Missoula in decades. SLM now functions as a 501(c)3 non-profit with a mission to help Missoula, Montana be a welcoming, supportive, and informed community that can assist refugees and immigrants to integrate and thrive. Working alongside many incredible partners, SLM provides ongoing support to refugees by helping them meet their physical, educational, and social needs as they settle into our community.

United We Eat is SLM’s food-based programming that has a goal of using food to provide a cultural bridge to our greater community, as well as social and economic opportunity for Missoula’s refugees and immigrants. For families forced to leave everything behind, the unique things that can be carried, the things that are kept in hearts and heads, oftentimes are recipes and traditions surrounding food. In 2017, with interest and requests from refugee families, SLM began to provide a platform for people to feel valued by sharing their food with their new community and bring a little bit of that tradition to Missoula. Evolving over the years to include assistance at Missoula’s two farmers’ markets, partnerships with restaurants for “Supper Club” dinners, organization of holiday cookie sales, and most recently, the launching a successful pilot program in the summer of 2019 that provided 150 pick-up meals a week, United We Eat has become an integral part of Soft Langing’s programming. In 2019 alone, we worked with 12 refugee and immigrant chefs to create and sell around 2,500 meals and thousands of cookies. This engaged over 600 customers and put over $20,000 directly into the hands of our chefs. 

Job Description: 

We are currently looking for an experienced, creative, and compassionate “people person” to maintain and manage our growing United We Eat program. The United We Eat Program Manager will work directly with refugee and immigrant chefs, volunteers, and other Soft Landing staff and employees to create and manage a sustainable social enterprise that provides a beautiful and valuable product for Missoulians, economic benefit for the chefs, and is financially stable for Soft Landing Missoula. They will be responsible for working within a budget, maintaining a system to track results, and participating in fundraising activities for the program. This is a very hands-on position that will be working both behind the scenes to manage the website, sales, accounting, and marketing of a “business”, as well as managing the kitchen while working directly with chefs and customers to create a quality experience for all. This is a dynamic job that will have variable daytime, evening, and possible weekend hours.

This is a full time, 35/hrs (negotiable) per week salaried position at $31,000-$35,000/yr, DOE, for someone interested in food-based social enterprise, refugee and immigrant issues, and leadership of innovative programming. 

Benefits include:

• Medical, Dental, Vision

• 4 weeks paid vacation

• 6 weeks paid parental leave

• Flexible scheduling and an awesome team of co-workers in a relaxed but hard working office

This position reports to the Executive Director of Soft Landing Missoula.

Duties & Responsibilities:

Program Management:

• Manage all aspects of SLM’s food-based programming including Supper Clubs, Farmers’ Market assistance, cookie sales, United We Eat @home, and other special events.

• Maintain clear and current records tracking budget, trends, and program results.

• Management of chefs, volunteers, and other personnel such as dishwashers, a possible VISTA, and/or intern.

• Maintain a courteous, kind, and responsive environment for all; chefs, volunteers, personnel, and customers.

• Maintain current and explore additional community partnerships for program success.

• Work with Executive Director to evaluate and implement sustainable program growth.

• Work with Executive Director and Donor Engagement and Impact Director to fundraise for the program.

Kitchen Management (currently specific to United We Eat @home):

• Complete and maintain ServSafe Certification through Missoula City/County Health Department.

• Ensure that all food and products are consistently prepared and served safely in accordance with all relevant food safety agency requirements.

• Submit and track all required paperwork with the Health Department and other applicable agencies.

• Prepare and transcribe home recipes in coordination with the chef to a product that is able to be commercially created in large quantities, utilizing available tools as needed, such as video examples, translators, and online imagery. Experienced volunteer resources also may be utilized for calculating quantity.

• Coordinate and purchase all ingredients and equipment needs, including unusual and specific needs.

• Directly assist chef and kitchen personnel (both paid and volunteer) where needed to ensure standards and efficient operations.

• Establish and keep tidy electronic records for all chef bios and recipes, including portion sizes, any ingredients with special ordering procedures, and serving directions.

• Control ingredient and packaging cost and food waste.

• Coordinate and document volunteer and other personnel hours.

• Ensure that all equipment is kept clean and in working condition through personal inspection and by following the facility’s preventative maintenance programs.

• Provide orientation of program rules, policies and procedures and supervise the training of chefs, kitchen volunteers, and employees in safe operation of all kitchen equipment and utensils.

• Train and monitor kitchen personnel in cleanliness and sanitation practices.

• Maintaining cleaning schedules for the kitchen facility including floors, mats, walls, hoods, other equipment and food storage areas according to facility and program policy.

• Check and maintain proper food holding and refrigeration temperature control points.

• Prepare required paperwork, including receipts, reports, and schedules in an organized and timely manner.

• Work with customers to resolve concerns in a timely and courteous manner.

Website and Marketing:

• Maintain the unitedweeatmt.org website (hosted through Shopify) to ensure accurate and current sales options.

• Utilize Mail Chimp to send out program emails to customers on a regular basis. 

• Manage social media surrounding United We Eat programming, including the use of volunteers and other personnel to assist in this. 

• Work with the Executive Director to create additional marketing opportunities.

Qualifications:

• Energetic, compassionate, humble and a positive sense of humor.

• Innovative and creative thinker.

• Experience and interest in working with diverse communities.

• Interest in economic opportunity for under-served populations.

• At least 2 years experience in non-profit and/or business management.

• Proficient in Google Drive, spreadsheet use, email, website management, and social media platforms.

• Passion for and significant experience in the food industry- both front and back of house.

• Ability to acquire and maintain personal certifications necessary for the job with an interest for additional personal skills development.

• Able to speak and write passionately and articulately about the mission of Soft Landing Missoula as a whole as well as the United We Eat program. 

To apply, please email a cover letter explaining your interest and a resume including 3 references to info@softlandingmissoula.org. Applications encouraged by Feb 10th, but position will be open until filled.