Marketing and Community Engagement Specialist

Position Title: Marketing and Community Engagement Specialist

Supervisor: Marketing Director as primary, Executive Director secondary for fundraising responsibilities.

Employee Status: 40 hours/week Non-exempt

We value diversity in all of its forms and strive to have our employment practices reflect that. As such, we are an equal-opportunity workplace and will not discriminate based on disability or other legally protected categories. If an employee has a disability that makes it difficult to perform their job duties, they are encouraged to notify us to discuss reasonable accommodations. 

Position Summary

This role strengthens Food Connects' organization-wide communications, fundraising, and community presence. Working closely with the Marketing & Communications Director and the Executive Director, this position supports content development, campaigns, donor relationships, communications and community engagement efforts that support Food Connects' programs. This role is a key driver of community visibility and engagement on behalf of the organization, representing Food Connects at events and building relationships that grow our audience, impact and donor pipeline.

Core Competencies

• Written Communication: The ability to express oneself clearly in business writing.

• Persuasive Communication: The ability to plan and deliver oral and written communications that make an impact and persuade their intended audiences.

• Building Collaborative Relationships: The ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnerships with others inside or outside the organization who can provide information, assistance, and support.

• Initiative: Identifying what needs to be done and doing it before being asked or before the situation requires it.

• Thoroughness: Ensuring that one’s own and others’ work and information are complete and accurate; carefully preparing for meetings and presentations; following up with others to ensure that agreements and commitments have been fulfilled

• Time Management: Can organize time for optimum efficacy with regard to deadlines, collaboration, competing priorities, and personal work style.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Marketing & Communications

• Write, edit, and coordinate content across all formats and channels (website, social media, email, print, press, and event materials) for both B2B and B2C.

• Maintaining consistent brand voice and messaging.

• Execute the organization's social media presence and email/website communications, including content calendars, scheduling, list and audience segmentation, and publication review.

• Coordinate marketing and fundraising campaigns, including timelines, approvals, deliverables, and materials collection from staff.

• Support design of print/digital materials (annual appeals, newsletters, annual reports, event materials) using tools such as Mailchimp and Canva.

• Manage photo/video shoots and maintain an organized library of marketing and brand assets.

• Track performance metrics across social, email, website, and campaigns, and use data to recommend improvements to content, format, and strategy.

• Serve as the internal resource for communications and brand standards across the organization.

Food Hub Marketing and Sales Support

• Develop buyer-facing Food Hub communications and promotions.

• Coordinate with sales, operations, and procurement staff to ensure marketing materials reflect current availability, pricing, and product details.

• Maintain and improve systems for tracking Food Hub marketing needs and identify opportunities to strengthen buyer-facing marketing.

Community Engagement & Events

• Represent the organization at community events and tabling opportunities to build public awareness and grow the prospect pipeline.

• Identify and track community events and partnership opportunities relevant to the organization's visibility and outreach goals.

• Support organization-wide efforts to strengthen community presence and identify new relationship-building opportunities across the region.

Fundraising & Development

• Manage the fundraising and outreach calendars, tracking upcoming stewardship and partnership opportunities.

• Support the Executive Director in cultivating and stewarding major and corporate donors, including drafting correspondence, preparing briefing materials, processing gifts, generating acknowledgment letters and tax notifications.

• Maintain the donor database Little Green Light (LGL), ensure accurate records for all donors and corporate sponsors, and collaborate with the Finance Team to reconcile revenue.

• Coordinate logistics for fundraising campaigns and cultivation/stewardship events, including annual appeals, year-end giving, and stewardship follow-up.

Qualifications

Required

• 2+ years of professional experience in marketing, communications, and/or development, with direct, hands-on responsibility for content creation.

• Experience managing social media accounts and email marketing platforms (e.g., Mailchimp or similar) for an organization, including content planning and performance tracking.

• Comfort representing an organization publicly and engaging with strangers in person, at tabling events, community gatherings, or similar settings.

• Strong writing skills across formats (web, social, email, print) and ability to adapt tone and content for different audiences.

• Demonstrated experience with data upkeep and management.

• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and deadlines across two functional areas (marketing and development) without day-to-day oversight.

• Experience with design or layout tools such as Canva or similar.

Preferred 

• Experience working in a nonprofit, particularly one with multiple programs or funding streams.

• Experience with donor or customer management software such as Little Green Light.

• Familiarity with food systems, agriculture, or community food access work.

• Experience with Asana or similar project management tools.

• Prior experience in a role that combined marketing/communications with fundraising or development responsibilities.

• Photography or basic videography skills for content capture at events and on-site.

Working Conditions & Physical Demands

Food Connects will make reasonable accommodations to enable individuals to perform the essential functions of their work.

Work Conditions: The position is based in the Food Connects office in Brattleboro with 2 in-office days required per week. Up to 3 days may be worked remotely.

Physical Demands: This position entails extensive use of a desktop or laptop computer, sitting or standing at a desk workstation. 

Compensation and Benefits

• This is a full-time, non-exempt, hourly position. 

• Pay rate is $22.00 hourly, negotiable depending on experience. 

• A full-time position has the following benefits after a 90-day introductory period:

• Paid time off & sick time off

• Short-term disability insurance

• Life insurance

• Access to vision and dental insurance

• 15% employee discount on food purchases. 

• 2% retirement contribution

• $3,000/year Health & Wellness Stipend.