Work with Us

Position Overview

This is a full-time (40/wk), position reporting to the organization’s Family Engagement Manager. The Program Application Specialist will help people submit applications for federal and state safety-net programs, and will play a key role in targeted assistance in advocacy campaigns. Appointments will be both over the phone and in person. This work will be on-site at Missoula Food Bank & Community Center or at partner sites and occasionally offsite for events. They will also be spending some of their time working in EmPower Place with a focus on engaging families and working our North Star of ending childhood hunger in Missoula. EmPower Place is a collaborative child learning suite that is operated in partnership with spectrUM Discovery Area and Missoula Public Library, and goals for the space include narrowing the opportunity gap and fostering positive role model and academic mentor relationships for children whose families use food bank services. The Program Application Specialist will build relationships with families in EmPower and invite them to be a part of our north star work. Will work with our school meals project and engage with families at schools to connect them to SNAP and other resources.

The hours for this position will be Monday from 11am-7pm and Tuesday-Friday from 8am-4pm with some evening and weekend hours possible with special events.

Position Type: Non-Exempt, Full-Time

*Apply by sending your resume, cover letter, & 3 references to Ashlee Schleicher at ashlee@missoulafoodbank.org by April 3rd*

QUALIFICATIONS:

• High School diploma or General Equivalency Degree (GED)
• Experience in an office or nonprofit setting preferred
• Gifted communicator with children and caregivers.
• Work collaboratively within a team environment and have a willingness to assist other co-workers and volunteers.
• Ability to grow and maintain positive working relationships with a diverse group of partners, volunteers, coworkers and community members.

Other requirements include:

• Proficiency in the operation of common computer applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Strong oral and written communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively in person and over the phone.
• Possess excellent time management skills.
• Demonstrated organizational skills and detail-oriented work.
• Be self-motivated, self-directed, and take initiative in performing a wide variety of tasks.
• Exercise safe workplace policies and procedures and effectively communicate adherence of policies to in-person applicants.
• Be open-minded and flexible with regard to the work performed.

SPECIAL JOB SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS:

• Stand and/or walk for long periods of time; bend, twist, kneel and stoop; pull, push or carry heavy objects, including the ability to lift up to 50 pounds, with reasonable accommodation.
• Participate and engage in anti-racism work.
• Perform the essential functions of the position with reasonable accommodation.
• Hours may include occasional evening and weekend hours.
• Must have the ability to be physically active for long periods of time and to work within a fast-paced environment.
• A criminal background check will be required.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide application assistance to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other safety-net resources like Medicaid, TANF, Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) and Federal Free/Reduced Lunch program.
• Hold regular walk-in hours for application assistance weekly.
• Help complete applications with thoughtful communication, accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ensure consistently high standard of patience, kindness and confidentiality while assisting applicants.
• Maintain detailed records of the progress of applications.
• Attend trainings and team meetings to learn about program updates and report on progress.
• Facilitate enrollment events for families, seniors and other populations at particular risk of hunger.
• Onboard volunteers and interns, as needed, to provide application assistance at the food bank and target outreach events.
• Provide monthly reporting on the output of the application assistance program.
• Work in partnership with External Relations Team, Child Nutrition Team and Central Kitchen to achieve targeted enrollment goals for Access to School Meals Campaign.
• Represent MFB&CC at resource fairs and other outreach opportunities where application assistance and resource referral is the primary goal.
• Other duties as assigned.

No child should grow up hungry in America. By connecting kids in need with nutritious food, the No Kid Hungry campaign surrounds children with healthy food where they live, learn and play.

We’re ending childhood hunger by connecting kids to effective nutrition programs like school breakfast and summer meals. This work is accomplished through the No Kid Hungry network, made up of private citizens, public officials, nonprofits, business leaders and others providing innovative hunger solutions in their communities. These public-private partnerships work together to identify and eliminate the barriers that may prevent children from accessing existing food and nutrition resources.

Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign has created a program to involve college-aged Youth Ambassadors in the fight against childhood hunger by working with one of our community partners.

For the summer program, Missoula Food Bank & Community Center will host one (1) Youth Ambassador or to work on initiatives related to the alleviation of childhood hunger.

Youth Ambassadors will receive a stipend of no more than $6000 for over the course of the summer, for a completion of 360 hours over 10 weeks, with one week’s paid vacation. The Youth Ambassador program starts May 30, 2023 and ends August 4, 2023. Option available for temporary hire after Youth Ambassador program completion. Temporary Kids Table Summer position will pay $15/hour by Missoula Food Bank & Community Center, through August 28, 2023.

Youth Ambassadors will report to a national No Kid Hungry staff member, and a Missoula Food Bank & Community Center member. Ambassadors will participate in weekly conference calls, complete a weekly report, and attend online training sessions throughout their term.

Interested applicants should apply online at http://nokidhungry.org/youth-ambassadors.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

General:

• Support summer open meal sites through meal distribution and participant engagement for 2-5 hours each day, dependent on site placement (40%).

• Lead and support volunteers in meal production for 2-4 hours each day (40%).

• Record keeping and other office work will take 1-2 hour each week (5%).

• Attend trainings and organizational meetings for 1-2 hours each week (5%).

• Support other services offered by Missoula Food Bank & Community Center including: store and pantry services, senior and homebound individual’s nutrition programs, and weekend backpack program for 1-2 hours each week (5%).

• NKH meetings and reporting will take approximately 1 hour each week (5%).

Includes:

• Provide a safe space as a positive role model for children

• Connect families with educational engagement activities and additional resources, as needed

• Lead and support volunteers who assist at meal site

• Perform safe food-handling practices

• Track program progress through meal tracking, statistical reporting, and data entry

• Engage in equity work to better understand the underlying issues of childhood food insecurity

QUALIFICATIONS:

No Kid Hungry seeks enthusiastic college students to join our program as Youth Ambassadors.

The ideal candidate will have:

• A great attitude and willingness to work on all kinds of projects

• Interest in hunger issues

• Commitment to working with diverse communities

• Reliability, responsibility, and a good work ethic

• Good customer service and interpersonal skills

• Ability to work independently

• Familiarity with social media

• Use of personal laptop and mobile phone preferred

• Good driving record as they may have access to a Missoula Food Bank vehicle

Missoula Food Bank & Community Center seeks AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs to help ensure success of the summer Kids Table program. The AmeriCorps VISTAs help supervise and support volunteers in preparing meals for community families. The AmeriCorps VISTAs will lead an open meal site, including: planning and implementing engagement activities, connecting families with additional resources, providing a safe place for children, and supervising volunteers who assist at meal sites.
Missoula Food Bank & Community Center is an anti-racist, LGBTQ2s+ ally organization. All service members sign a Code of Conduct agreeing to act within these values while serving as part of our team.

Position dates: June 5-August 13, 2023

Available positions: 4

If interested, please submit a Resume and Cover Letter to aclark@missoulafoodbank.org by April 16, 2023.
Visit the Campus Compact Montana website for more program information.

Weekly activities:
● Support summer meal sites through meal distribution and engaging participants, 2-5 hours each day (40%).
● Lead and support volunteers in meal production, 2-4 hours each day (40%)
● Organizational reporting and record keeping, developing engagement programming, attending trainings and meetings, 2-3 hours each week (10%)
● Support other services offered by MFB&CC: store and pantry services, twice monthly senior and homebound individual’s home-delivery nutrition programs, and weekly distribution of weekend backpack program, 1-2 hours each week (5%)
● AmeriCorps meetings and reporting, 1 hour each week (5%)
Benefits:
• Living allowance of $3,375 (pre-tax)
• End-of-service option of Segal Education Award for $1,459.26 OR End of Service Cash Award of $345.80. Eligible for Education Award matching programs at many Colleges and Universities.
• Option for temporary hire by Missoula Food Bank & Community Center with same job duties May 30-June 2 and August 14-28 at $15/hour
• No work June 19th in honor of Juneteenth, or July 4th in honor of Independence Day
• Daily one hour paid lunch break, with lunch provided
• Professional development and training opportunities
• Possible internship credit, if desired