Community Engagement Coordinator

About the Position

The anticipated salary for this position: $76,742 - $105,080

WHO WE ARE

In FY23, Montgomery County launched a newly created Office of Food Systems Resilience (OFSR), to streamline and coordinate the County’s efforts to address local food system challenges. The OFSR was created based on the recommendation of the Montgomery County COVID-19 Food Security Task Force and established by the County Council in July 2022 under Bill 20-22.

The Office of Food Systems Resilience (OFSR) develops and implements interagency budgetary, regulatory, and operational strategies to build a more equitable, efficient, resilient, and sustainable food system in Montgomery County. The Office defines “resilience” as the capability of individuals, communities, and the county to withstand and rapidly recover from food systems disruptions, stresses, and changes.

OFSR envisions a community where all residents can obtain healthy, nutritious, and culturally appropriate foods without fear of financial stress, and a local food system that is able to adapt when facing changes and disruptions.

Through fostering public-private partnerships with the community toward systems change, OFSR leverages County government investments to ensure equitable and dignified access to nutritious, culturally diverse foods for all residents and harnesses the unique strengths of business, nonprofit and government partners to enhance the health of our people, our economy and our natural resources.

Rising food costs and persistent rates of hunger across our county, a reduction in federal and private funding for food assistance programs, and deep systemic inequities and supply chain fragility that existed well before the pandemic, all require interagency strategies that maximize local dollars and leverage additional external funding to be better prepared for future crises.

The OFSR has four guiding, equally important values that drive our work.

Equity– address social justice and disparities to build equity in our community.

Systems-based–identify and address the interconnections of food system priority areas, simultaneously considering relationships between and impacts on production, access, natural resources, education, and economy rather than on individual issue areas.

Innovation– to transform our food system, it is necessary that novel approaches, creative ideas, and best practice models from other jurisdictions are considered.

Evaluation– strategic policy and investment decisions require intentional and reliable data collection and analysis, and solutions with clearly defined success metrics and measurable results.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The OFSR Team offers a collaborative, innovative, and ambitious work environment and colleagues who are mission-driven, dedicated, and creative systems-thinkers. It’s a fast-paced but fun work environment requiring the ability to work independently while also engaging frequently with fellow staff, other agencies, and a diverse community of partners. We are passionate about breaking down silos to address systemic challenges with local strategies, exploring and implementing best practices, and building efficient and effective programs to support our residents today and well into the future.

What You'll Be Doing

The Community Engagement Coordinator supports a wide range of OFSR initiatives, with a focus on grant programs and external communications.

Coordinate County government investment in community organizations through OFSR grant programs, including drafting application materials, administering agreements and payment, facilitating data collection and reporting, and evaluating and showcasing impact.

Provide direct technical assistance to community partner organizations and residents in accessing MCG resources and programs.

Coordinate publication and drafting of content for external communications, including social media and newsletters, website maintenance, and print publications.

Design public-facing graphics and reports using graphic design tools.

Host and participate in outreach events.

Solicit community insight and feedback to inform County policies and programs.

Support OFSR initiatives to secure federal, state, and private dollars to support County food systems initiatives through research, proposal writing, subgrant administration, and program administration.

Engage with community members and a wide range of food system partners including food assistance providers, farms and food businesses, government agencies, advocacy and philanthropic organizations, etc.

Participate in government agencies’, and community-based organizations’ initiatives that intersect with the food system such as food waste reduction, climate adaptation and mitigation, and housing and health equity.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience: Considerable (3 years) of full-time professional experience in public policy and/or community engagement, preferably with a focus on food systems, public health, social justice, human services, and/or sustainability.

Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree.

Equivalency: An equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted.

Preferred Criteria, Interview Preferences

General:

Outstanding written and verbal communication, team collaboration, and cultural competency skills

Organizational and time management skills, with the ability to handle multiple tasks and deadlines, track project statuses, and ensure timely completion of tasks.

Attention to detail and ability to work independently in a faced-paced environment.

Problem-solving and creative strategic thinking

Preferred: Demonstrated knowledge of food systems policy issues at a local, state, and/or federal level

Work Experience:

Design and development of communications materials, website, and presentations for a variety of audiences

Community Outreach and Engagement, including prior relevant experience in community-based service delivery and/or technical assistance

Collaborating and communicating with a wide range of partners and audiences

Preferred: Policy analysis and interpretation

Technical Skills

Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Teams, Outlook, Excel) and online service platforms

Proficiency with digital communication and design tools (e.g. Canva, Mailchimp, WordPress, or Google Analytics)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Office of Human Resources (OHR) reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position.

Montgomery County Government(MCG) is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should email OHR at . Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.

MCG also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference.

All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria or interview preference status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on the Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for an interview.

This will establish an Eligible List that may be used to fill both current and future vacancies.

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Ethics Law: Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code. Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.