Career Opportunity

The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (the Food Bank) seeks a strategic, collaborative, and energized leader to serve as its next Chief Community Impact Officer. The ideal candidate will bring experience developing strategy and measuring outcomes, leading large multidisciplinary teams and significant budgets, building cross-sector partnerships, and managing government-funded and large-scale community programs.

Mission: At the Food Bank, we envision a future where no one goes hungry. Together, we nourish people, build solutions, and connect communities to address hunger at its roots.

Reporting Structure: The Chief Community Impact Officer reports to the President & CEO, serves as a member of the Executive Management Team, and leads the Directors of Community Health & Nutrition, Community Outreach, Network Engagement & Strategy, and Senior Nutrition Programs.

Total Staff and Budget: The Food Bank has nearly 200 staff members across its 34-county service area. The Community Impact Department includes approximately 45 staff.

Salary: Salary is commensurate with experience with a range beginning at $150,000+ annually.

Working Environment/Location: In-person at the Food Bank’s Raleigh headquarters, with up to two days per week of flexible work location, plus regular regional travel throughout the 34-county service area and to national feeding-related meetings and conferences.

Key Responsibilities of the Chief Community Impact Officer

Impact Strategy

• Lead the development, execution, and continuous improvement of the Food Bank’s community impact strategy, translating organizational priorities into clear goals, workplans, and measurable outcomes.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the President & CEO, Executive Management Team, and Board on community needs, food insecurity, partner network trends, emerging opportunities, and risks.
• Provide executive leadership for Community Impact’s role in major organizational initiatives, partnerships, integrations, and change efforts.
• Establish clear measures of success and regularly assess and communicate progress, challenges, and recommendations.

Community Programs & Partner Network

• Provide strategic oversight for community-facing programs and the partner agency network, including Community Outreach, Community Health & Nutrition, Senior and Children’s Nutrition Programs, and Network Engagement & Strategy.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement in programs and partnerships based on community need, data, lived experience, organizational priorities, and available resources.
• Ensure programs and partnerships are effective, sustainable, compliant with applicable requirements, and accountable for measurable outcomes.

Community Engagement & External Partnerships

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with partner agencies, government entities, healthcare organizations, funders, advocacy organizations, community leaders, and neighbors.
• Develop cross-sector partnerships that expand access, leverage resources, strengthen community capacity, and address the root causes of food insecurity.
• Represent the Food Bank in public forums, coalitions, community events, media engagements, and other external settings.
• Ensure partner and neighbor perspectives inform organizational strategies, programs, and decisions.

Department Leadership

• Lead, develop, and hold accountable a large, multidisciplinary team, establishing clear expectations and building a culture of collaboration, inclusion, professional growth, and strong performance.
• Develop effective staffing, leadership, succession, and resource plans aligned with organizational strategy and available funding.
• Oversee departmental budgets, grants, contracts, and resources while ensuring appropriate compliance, risk management, and stewardship.
• Model organizational values and contribute to strategy, culture, and decision-making as a member of the Executive Management Team.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Resource Development

• Partner with Development to shape fundable program strategies, cultivate key funders, and strengthen grant proposals, reports, and other resource-development efforts.
• Partner with Communications & Public Policy to translate community needs, lived experience, and program results into effective storytelling, advocacy, and public engagement.
• Partner with Finance, Operations, People, Technology & Data Analytics, and other teams to strengthen systems, data, processes, compliance, and organizational decision-making.
• Promote alignment across departments, branches, programs, and community-facing work.

The Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications:

• Inclusive Leadership – Ability to lead, motivate, and develop individuals and teams while fostering a positive, inclusive, and high-performance work environment .Builds rapport and sets a positive leadership tone ensuring decisions are informed by diverse perspectives. Leads the department to deliver strong results, builds leadership capacity, and cultivates trust with internal and external stakeholders.
• Strategic Thinking & Execution– Strong problem-solving and data interpretation skills; able to identify challenges, develop solutions, and measure impact. Articulates a compelling vision and ensures organization priorities and agency practices are fully aligned to the strategic plan. Makes data informed decisions that balance near term execution with long term sustainability.
• Teamwork & Collaboration – Skilled at building partnerships and engaging diverse stakeholders to achieve shared goals. Fosters a culture of teamwork and collaboration across the organization. Communicates transparently across departments and listens actively to staff and stakeholders so teams stay aligned to shared priorities.
• Results Based Accountability – Aligns performance expectations to organization wide impact aligned to the mission. Establishes accountability standards and ensures staff are empowered and supported to deliver outcomes.
• Adaptability & Continuous Learning – Ability to lead organization change at the highest level and inspires others to align with the new direction, showing commitment, ongoing communication, and highlighting successes.
• Creative Problem Solving – Engages leaders in framing issues and creating effective solutions. Communicates the rationale for decision and solutions and keeps stakeholders informed.
• Equity & Social Justice Commitment – Deep understanding of equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice principles, and a demonstrated commitment to advancing food equity.
• Communication Excellence – Outstanding interpersonal skills; a persuasive verbal and written communicator who adapts messages to different audiences.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible leadership experience in community development, human services, food systems, public health, nonprofit management, or a related field, including 8+ years leading multidisciplinary teams, senior leaders, significant budgets, and complex initiatives. Experience with government-funded programs, compliance, partner networks, or large-scale community programs is strongly preferred.
• Alignment to the mission, vision, and core values of the Food Bank.
• Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Public Administration, Nonprofit Management, or a relevant field required; Master’s degree preferred.

About the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is among the largest hunger relief networks in the United States. For 45 years, the Food Bank has served as the central hub of a network of more than 700 partner programs across a 34-county region, including no-cost food markets, pantries, meal sites, and initiatives serving children, adults, and seniors. The Food Bank is a member of Feeding America and ranks first in North Carolina in total food distributed.

The Food Bank’s 2030 Strategic Plan, Rooted in Community, prioritizes improving neighbor access and experience, increasing equitable food access, expanding policy and advocacy efforts, and advancing holistic supports that address the root causes of hunger. The plan is grounded in equity, data, and lived experience. The Food Bank was named the 2024 Feeding America Network Collaboration Award winner for its efforts to bring diverse populations together to inform the work of alleviating hunger.

Want to know more? Visit foodbankcenc.org.

Benefits

Benefits include medical, dental, and vision plans; health and flexible spending accounts; paid time off including holidays, personal, vacation, and sick time; a 403(b) with 5% match after 90 days; paid parental leave; an employee assistance program; 100% employer-paid short- and long-term disability and group life insurance; voluntary accident and critical illness benefits; and business travel mileage reimbursement.

The Food Bank is an equal opportunity employer. It does not regard race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, marital status, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any protected class characteristic when seeking to hire. People with lived experience with hunger and food insecurity are encouraged to apply.

How To Apply

To apply, scroll to the bottom of this page. You will see instructions for uploading your compelling cover letter, resume, and salary requirements.

Please provide all requested information to be considered. For technical assistance, contact talent@armstrongmcguire.com. No phone calls, please. Applications will not be accepted by email or directly from third-party posting sites.