Head of Programs

About Blue Watermelon Project: 

Blue Watermelon Project (BWP), established in 2016, formed to increase access to fresh foods to students in partner schools. Currently serving in 35 partner schools across the state of Arizona, BWP is growing. We see a future in which all people have a taste for a diverse array of food, one in which schools have served students fresh and healthy options, families have been given equitable and culturally-appropriate access, and all have been given the knowledge and freedom to be nourished, ready to learn and poised for academic and social success.

We work at the community level of schools and school districts to rethink relationships with food. We do this by working with three key groups of influencers to integrate taste education and interactive programming into curriculum and everyday life.

• Students - Working with students K-12 is at the core of what we do. We work with teachers and staff to integrate taste education and hands-on techniques into curriculum to engage all senses and encourage learning through doing.
• Parents & Families - By equipping students with a more diverse array of food knowledge, they are more empowered to create at home. We make our student recipes and sources accessible, so parents and families can explore and expand on our efforts.
• Community - All funds raised go toward sustaining our non-profit efforts. Our annual and signature event strives to bring awareness to the school food profession and the wonderful humans that feed kids every day. Feeding the Future doubles as both a culinary classroom for our participating students and an opportunity to create awareness from parents to principals to politicians.

For more information, visit https://www.bluewatermelonproject.org/. 

BWP is actively seeking a Head of Programs who will report to and work collaboratively with the Executive Director and staff to manage program design, implementation, and evaluation. The Head of Programs will build and manage sustainable relationships with school districts, education leaders, chefs, and volunteers to ensure high-quality program delivery and results. This new position will be responsible for program expansion at BWP, leveraging past lessons learned and incorporating innovation in the program structure, curriculum, partnerships, and delivery. Programs managed by this position include:

• Chef in The Garden- We provide K-12 educators with ingredients and curriculum to use food as an educational tool. Lessons, connected to state standards, include content on nutrition, Arizona seasonality, climate-smart agriculture, sustainability and mindfulness, all while featuring a variety of food cultures that teach students where our food comes from.
•  Feeding the Future- For six years we have had the pleasure of hosting a culinary contest that challenges students to create healthy, great-tasting meals that meet the real-life requirements of the National School Lunch Program. This contest was created to help students develop tasty, nutritious, and affordable school meals that can be served to Arizona school children.
• School Food Lab- BWP is seeking to build a school food lab to provide culinary training, assist with development of scratch preparation recipes that meet Child Nutrition guidelines and help schools develop local food procurement plans. The proposed activity would allow BWP to work directly with schools to develop practices to share broadly through NSLP and Farm to school networks to be implemented around the state, region, and country.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaboratively set program goals and priorities as part of the BWP strategic plan.
• Nurture, expand, and manage existing and new relationships among schools, farms, community organizations, Chefs/restaurants, sponsors/donors, and volunteers. 
• Collaboratively develop Blue Watermelon Project communications and curriculum (e.g., website, social channels, marketing materials, monthly newsletter, education content etc.)
• Develop, conduct, and evaluate training needs across staff, volunteers, and partnerships. 
• Support the identification, recruitment, training, and development of a talented team of staff including interns/fellows to execute program logistics, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
• Serve as the main point of contact for BWP and liaise with research staff, Child Nutrition staff, school staff, and families working within the School Food Lab. 
• Coordinate the planning, implementation and evaluation of the annual Feeding the Future event which includes overseeing communication with vendors, on-site liaisons, volunteers, chefs, schools and attendees.
• Foster the connection to pathways that support student engagement and positive behaviors at school meal service (e.g., USDA FFVP Nutrition Education, ADE’s Farm Fresh Challenge, Native American Heritage Month celebrations, National School Breakfast Program Week in March, National School Lunch Week in October, School Food Heros Day in May).
• Plan, schedule, monitor, support, and track the engagement of chefs in BWP programming and special events.
• Gather, analyze, and report on program evaluation data to elevate successes/strengths, troubleshoot challenges, and identify areas for growth/innovation.
• Advance and maintain an organizational culture that prioritizes equity, access, well being and learning opportunities across programs and other strategies. 

Qualifications

• 5+ years of program management experience, preferably in partnership with schools and/or smaller nonprofit organizations.
• Degree in nutrition, research, business, education or related field.
• Experience collecting primary data and managing research teams.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to handle and prioritize multiple tasks.
• Strong interpersonal, written, verbal, and virtual communication skills.
• Strong organizational, project, and time management skills.
• Ability to work independently and within a diverse team of internal and external partners.
• Professionalism, resourcefulness, solution orientation, and a positive attitude.
• Hybrid role, both remote and onsite work in Arizona.
• Reliable transportation.

The salary range for this position is $65,000 - $80,000, plus benefits, based on experience. 

To apply, send your resume and cover letter to jobs@bluewatermelonproject.org with the position title in the subject line of your email.