Communications Assistant

JOB TITLE: Communications Assistant

POSITION: Part-time, 20 hours a week

LOCATION: Remote within the United States - Option to work from office in Berkeley, CA

REPORTS TO: Communications Manager

DURATION: 12 weeks

Our Organization

The Center for Good Food Purchasing uses the power of procurement and partnerships to create a transparent and equitable food system for people, animals, and the environment. We do this by helping major institutions nationwide adopt and implement the Good Food Purchasing Program.

Over 65 institutions in 25 major US cities have enrolled in the Program. With a collective annual food spend surpassing $1 billion, these institutions and cities are committed to directing their purchasing power toward the five Program values: local and community-based economies, environmental sustainability, valued workforce, animal welfare, and community health and nutrition centered around the principles of equity, transparency, and accountability. Using the Program’s metric- and data-driven framework, they measure and improve food purchasing practices over time.

We also work with national partners, local grassroots coalitions, and institutions to shift toward values-based purchasing from farm to fork and build a cohesive network movement to support more resilient and equitable food systems.

Position Summary

The Center for Good Food Purchasing seeks a motivated and detail-oriented person with a strong appreciation for the power of storytelling to mobilize support for more sustainable food purchasing practices at school districts and other taxpayer-funded institutions throughout the nation and build momentum for a just and equitable food system.

The Communications Assistant supports the communications team in sharing success stories through our social media accounts and newsletter, improving contact list organization and segmentation, and assisting Center staff in creating the additional designed materials they need to communicate their work to external audiences.

This is a part-time, 12-week role. It is a remote role and can be performed anywhere in the United States. The Center for Good Food Purchasing is based in Berkeley, California.

Essential Functions

Responsibilities may include:

• Social media support: drafting posts including writing copy, designing imagery using Canva or similar platform, and preparing hashtags and handle tags; highlighting partner posts, news items, or other relevant content to amplify
• Newsletter support: gathering and organizing information for monthly newsletter
• Contact management: support in efforts to improve organization and utilization of segmented contact lists
• Design: utilize existing branding guidelines to support the development of communications materials such as one-page briefs, presentations, or infographics

Required Qualifications

• Detail-oriented with a strong appreciation for reaching targeted audiences with strategic messaging.
• Highly motivated and organized with the proven ability to work collaboratively and to meet deadlines across a number of simultaneous initiatives.
• A work style that’s comfortable receiving guidance/direction from the staff and then executing independently to meet agreed-upon goals and objectives.
• Ability to support written and visual storytelling.
• Ability to work independently and effectively in a virtual environment.
• Ability to work with a remote team, including regular access to a computer, phone, internet, and video conferencing.

Preferred Qualifications

• A creative mindset that can make wonky food-policy debate more relatable and relevant to the general public.
• Experience collaborating with a team on direct outreach efforts or public-facing messaging campaigns (blogs, website posts or pages, newsletters, social media content, etc.)
• Experience or interest in building sustainable, equitable, fair, and humane food systems.
• A passion for communications or interest in learning and gaining experience with communications / nonprofit messaging techniques and/or tools.

Compensation & Benefits

The Communications Assistant is a part-time, non-exempt temporary position with an hourly rate of $18/hour. The anticipated workload is 20 hours per week for 12 weeks. While all staff have a regular work schedule, there may be flexibility depending on your work or school schedule and the nature of the assigned projects.

The Center for Good Food Purchasing, a fiscally-sponsored project of Community Partners, is a people-first workplace that values flexibility, work-life balance, and restoration. In addition to offering competitive benefits (i.e. medical/dental/vision, disability/life insurance, vacation, and a 403(b) plan with employer match after two years), we also offer generous paid holidays (25 days in 2024, including annual summer and winter breaks, in addition to vacation time) and remote work stipends. Benefits eligibility is determined by hours worked in a week.

Community Partners® is an equal-opportunity employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. We strongly encourage and seek applications from people of color, including bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as women, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. In addition, the organization will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.