Senior Specialist, Community Giving and Engagement

A career at Whole Foods Market is more than just the work you do- it's about your personal growth and creating meaningful change. Our purpose is to nourish people and the planet. That means improving how people eat, funding grants for school gardens, providing access to fresh and healthy food to people living within food deserts, alleviating poverty in developing countries, and so much more. Working with us means you are making a difference within your community and beyond. We aren’t just a grocery store: we’re world-changers. With your help, we will continue to set the standards of excellence and revolutionize the grocery industry.The Senior Specialist, Community Giving and Engagement, is responsible for executing the Global, regional, and store-level community giving strategy across all stores. The CG&E team is tasked with all WFM giving including ownership of Nourishing Our Neighborhoods, support for regional giving and backend operations, and store giving communications. The giving program aims to improve food access in the communities surrounding our stores, reduce food waste in partnership with the Sustainability team, and integrate more holistically into the Team Member experience. The Senior Specialist will report into the Team Leader, Community Giving and Engagement, and will partner with the broader CG&E and Communications team, working across regions to drive alignment and consistency in the shopper experience in all stores, and support regional media relations as needed. Embrace a hybrid work environment, spending 3 days in our office and 2 days working from home/remote. We are a people-first company. We thrive on collaboration and have a laid-back but hard-working culture.This role will be based out of our Emeryville or Glendale, CA Regional Office. Relocation assistance is not provided for this position.

Responsibilities

• Serves assigned geographic areas as day-to-day point for Nourishing Our Neighborhoods van recipients and potential candidates in addition to regional giving initiatives.
• Develops processes, systems, and training to ensure effective and compliant store-level community donations, leveraging the Community Engagement Portal as needed.
• Engages with store-level team members to understand needs and hands-on assistance.
• Engages with store team members, and as required, regional stakeholders to ensure effective implementation.
• Owns online portal to ensure it remains fit-for-purpose; engages with technical teams to resolve issues with user interface, ordering inconsistency, etc.
• Serves as regional support through emergency and disaster relief incidences requiring community engagement and/or donations.
• Represents store-level concerns and ensures effective two-way communication.
• Supports monthly reporting to regional and global leadership on donations, delivering data-driven insights and recommendations.
• Supports an annual budget and forecasting within their area of responsibility.
• Trains and develops direct reports. Advises, mentors and counsels Team Members in individual development, job performance, professional growth, and career opportunity.
• Monitors performance of team to drive and ensure successful achievement of established objectives.
• Builds relationships with the store and regional teams, along with maintaining relationships with appropriate local community stakeholders and influencers.
  
  

Skills

• Strong aptitude for creative and strategic problem-solving and concise communication.
• Self-starter with ability to ideate independently and collaborate effectively.
• Mature leader with passion for developing and leading diverse teams in fast-paced environments.
• Understanding of consumer insight analytics and related marketing, retail, and customer engagement metrics.
• Builds and nurtures relationships with peers, senior-level stakeholders, and leaders.
• Experience engaging and developing relationships with non-profits and external parties.
• Advanced ability to plan, estimate, organize, and monitor program activity and problem solve.
  
  

Education & Experience

• BA/BS degree and 4-6 years’ relevant experience OR equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Experience in focus area- preferably with a retailer.