Northwest Local Food Coordinator

The Local Food Coordinator is a dynamic individual, enthusiastic about supporting the success of local food systems and local food businesses in their region and comfortable with public speaking and presentations. Their core focus is to build engagement with individuals and enterprises in their region and to develop sales leads for the Sales Manager to close. A successful Local Food Coordinator has strong communication and relationship-building skills, excellent attention to detail, and is driven, self-motivated, and eager to help Montana’s purpose-driven food and farming businesses grow thanks to Abundant Montana’s marketing services. They know how to listen, build connections, communicate value, and get buy-in. We operate as a start-up, and our culture is one of test-and-iterate. A successful team member must have an affinity for and comfort with change, creativity, joint problem-solving, agility, and experimentation. We’re looking for someone who’s ready to help us take Abundant Montana to the next level.

AERO/Abundant Montana is working to address a historic lack of representation, inclusion, and equity in the food system sector with effective solutions. We welcome applicants from all life experiences and encourage members of traditionally underrepresented backgrounds to apply, including Indigenous people, people of color, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, two spirit and non-binary people.

Job Responsibilities

• Be an ambassador for Abundant Montana and local food by engaging with consumers and community groups through dialogue, tabling, and presentations sharing about the value of Montana-grown food 
• Find and add Montana food and farming businesses to the Abundant Montana Find Food and Farm Map 
• Approve and welcome all new listings on the Find Food and Farms Map, and ensure all information is aligned with our brand and style guide 
• Meet monthly and annual outreach and lead generation quotas
• Build trusting relationships with Abundant Montana’s key client base, including farmers, ranchers, value-added producers, restaurants, retailers, and other food and farm businesses, to understand their needs and how Abundant Montana can help their businesses thrive, in order to develop well-informed sales leads and internal product development
• Understand Abundant Montana programs and services, and effectively communicate opportunities to businesses 
• Communicate frequently with the Sales Manager regarding sales leads 
• Use and accurately track engagement data in CRM software
• Lead timely and efficient distribution of Local Food Guides (LFG) in your region, including creating and maintaining a distribution spreadsheet and having 100% of LFGs distributed by annual goal date 
• Co-plan annual Abundant Connections producer/buyer meet-up event and other regional events, as relevant

Job Requirements

Nitty Gritty Expectations: 

• Reports to the Director of Community Partners and Sales 
• Remote position within the state of Montana 
• Travel in-state, primarily within your region, estimated at least 40% of the time, to:
  • Table, speak, and represent Abundant Montana at community events and retailer/producer operations, farmers markets, trade shows, conferences, community gatherings, and more
  •  Distribute Local Food Guides 
• Subject to 3, 6, 9-month review to evaluate performance; 12-month probationary period from date of hire 
• Meet monthly and annual quotas: 
  • Offer 18 presentations per year
  • Table at 15 events per year
  • Recruit 10 new newsletter sign-ups per event, or a minimum of 100/year 
  • Add 75 new listings to the Find Food and Farms Map per year 
  • Meet with 6 new connections per month 
  • Generate 15 meaningful, well-vetted sales leads for the Sales Manager per month 
• Has a valid driver’s license and access to reliable transportation to complete job duties
• Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds

 Skills Required: 

• The ideal candidate is a highly autonomous and high-performing individual with proven experience in outreach and relationship building; has deep regard for the Montana values of stewardship, reciprocity, and kindness; and an appreciation for the value of strong, food- and nutrition-secure communities. 
• 3+years experience in food system work. 
• Demonstrated experience and ability to lead presentations and conversations in public settings. 
• Fluency with data management softwares (CRM, project management, Google Suite).
• An understanding of why marketing matters to food and farm businesses, and the ability to effectively communicate this to diverse audiences. 
• Ability to both understand the value of Abundant Montana products and a business’s needs in order to offer them the correct products and services. 
• You’re a people person; you love talking to people, have excellent interpersonal and persuasive skills, and have no problem maintaining quality relationships with individuals and potential customers. 
• Passionate about finding ways to satisfy customers’ needs. 
• Resilience and a willingness to deal with rejection; doesn’t give up easily. 
• Excellent organizational skills, including the ability to handle numerous client companies and client leads. 
• Always a team player; lifts everyone around them.
• Excellent attention to detail and follow-through; you don’t let tasks or follow-ups fall through the cracks 
• Needs little instruction. 
• Never stops learning. 
• Adapts well to change. An enthusiasm for and embodiment of AERO/Abundant Montana’s core values: Vision-Holders, Greater Together, Compassionate, Accountable, Imaginative Pragmatists, Agile, and Playful. 
• Experience in marketing, advertising, and/or the culinary sector is a plus.