Overview
Join the Policy and Government Relations team at City Harvest, build your career in policy and advocacy, and support the efforts of hundreds of pantries by advocating for systems change and policy solutions to hunger. Scheduled to start in mid-January, the Dunn/Ramirez Food Policy Fellowship is a great opportunity to advance your career during NYS busy time for advocacy:
PRIMARY PURPOSE:
Named after two late City Harvest staff members that transitioned in 2020 and 2022 after dedicating their lives to combating food insecurity, the inaugural Dunn/Ramirez Food Policy Fellow is an opportunity for an emerging advocate to support City Harvest’s Policy & Government Relations Department. Miguel Ramirez served as the Financial Operations Coordinator at City Harvest, in which he processed donations from City Harvest supporters. During his time at City Harvest, Ramirez also completed his MPA at Baruch College, in which his thesis focused on how transitioning from using the Official Poverty Measure to the Self-Sufficiency Standard can improve government’s approach to eradicating hunger. Marlon Dunn was a long-time union CDL truck driver for City Harvest, primarily rescuing hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh produce from the Hunts Point Produce Market and delivering it to pantry programs across the five boroughs. The Dunn/Ramirez Policy Fellow will be a critical piece in supporting our FY25 New York State and New York City policy priorities and advocacy campaigns, including mobilizing advocacy volunteers, compiling materials for meetings with lawmakers, and supporting City Harvest in developing compelling data and narratives about our advocacy campaigns during our Advocacy Season (January through May).
POSITION SCOPE:
- Starting 2nd or 3rd week of January until April
- Part time 20 hours a week, $30/hr.
- Core in office hours are 10 am to 3 pm. Community Day hours fluctuate.
- Offers on-the-ground support for advocacy volunteers and agency stakeholders during advocacy campaign activations and lobby days.
- Support and/or lead advocacy PowerPoint presentations to City Harvest Volunteers.
- Compiles pre-meeting, leave behind, and follow up materials for lobby days and general meetings with lawmakers.
- Documents the impact of City Harvest’s policy goals and advocacy campaigns.
- Provides thought partnership in generating copy and other communication tactics to reach stakeholders through newsletters and social media
- Travels to and from Albany, DC and City Hall 3 to 5 times to provide backup logistical support and notetaking support.
- Participates in coalition meetings and webinars as needed and compiles notes.
- Supports timely City Harvest community survey and program evaluation projects that assess community needs and public policy insights.
DECISION MAKING/PROBLEM SOLVING:
- Determining and delivering an effective and culturally competent tone for advocacy presentations and general interactions with advocacy campaign stakeholders
- Identifying and documenting effective processes for compiling and issuing lobby day material
- Developing effective notetaking models
- Determining effective and efficient means to compile and assess data and/or survey results with guidance from Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning staff lead.
RELATIONSHIPS:
Internal Contacts:
- Policy & Government Relations Department
- Monitoring, Evalution & Learning
- Newtwork Capacity
- Program Operations
- Volunteer Programs
- Marketing & Communications
External Contacts:
- Charitable Food Network
- City Harvest Volunteers
- Pantry Participants
- NYC Consortium Policy & Advocacy Work Group
- FeedingNYS
- Good Food Purchasing Coalition
- Government Officials
COMMUNICATIONS:
- Present powerpoints to City Harvest Advocacy Volunteers
- Read phonebank script to government officials’ staff members.
- Engage in dialogue with community-based coalitions
- Comfortability with speaking with people of diverse backgrounds and experiences about campaign goals in City Harvest, at food distributions, with grassroot/grasstop organizations and the broader New York City community. or government offices, or
- Offer backup support in communicating logistics and advocacy talking points to agency partners and other advocates during lobby days and other direct advocacy moments
- Offer input and ideas for communicating advocacy campaign goals and outcomes to stakeholders through newsletter and social media
POSITION REQUIREMENTS:
Education:
- Enrolled in Grad School OR 3 – 5 years’ experience (see below)
Experience:
- Involvement with grassroot and/or electoral campaigns (without enrollment in grad school program requires 3 to 5 years of leadership role in grassroots campaigns)
- In person and virtual oral presentations on community facing topics (without enrollment in grad school program requires 3 to 5 years of developing and presenting to communities)
- Worked on newsletters
- Volunteered or participated in food pantry programs
- People with lived experience are strongly encouraged to apply
Related Skills or Knowledge:
- Understanding of the power of policy and advocacy
- Demonstrated cultural competency and ability to work with and communicate with New Yorkers of diverse backgrounds and lived experiences
- Presentation skills
- Comfortability with compiling data
- Microsoft suite
- Propensity for what resonates with social media users and the public
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORK ENVIRONMENT:
- Work is performed in an office environment and requires the ability to operate standard office equipment and keyboards. Standing desks are available and interns are encouraged to walk after prolonged periods of sitting.
- Ability to occasionally lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move supplies and materials.
- Ability to travel on public transportation or drive a vehicle within New York City.
- Required to work irregular hours in January and February and some weekends
- 2 to 3 trips to Albany and DC by a charter bus or Amtrak.
- Ability to walk or wheel to and from meetings in Albany and DC for up to 6 to 8 hours
