LUCSA LEAD – Chicago, IL

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LUCSA LEAD

The Urban Canopy

Chicago, IL

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Company description

Founded in 2011, The Urban Canopy is pioneering the local food cycle to create a more sustainable and equitable food system in Chicago. We are growers, distributors, composters and community members who seek to positively impact our city’s environment, people’s health, and local economy. We strive to make healthy produce accessible to all, reduce the miles fresh food travels, keep food waste out of landfills, and create and maintain local jobs.

To achieve this, we structure our business into seven Branches: Compost Club, Indoor Farm, Outdoor Farm, Local Unified CSA (LUCSA), Farmers Markets, non-local Distribution and Processing. These branches each work in their own way to change the way our food is grown, distributed, and wasted.

We operate according to B-Corp principles with a triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. In service of the environment we focus on reducing food waste, food miles, and encouraging and enabling sustainable farming practices. In service of nutrition we make healthy produce accessible and available year round. We work for food access in order to empower our communities to build towards a healthier food system. All this is achieved through local, self-sustaining, meaningful jobs, constantly growing to meet the demand for a local, ethical, sustainable full-cycle food system in Chicago.

Job description

Duties and Responsibilities:

  1. Day to Day Operations
    1. Assist in management of LUCSA administration
      1. LUCSA Members – track member payments, update delivery schedules, create season delivery routes, manage customer services issues, create weekly newsletters with information on share contents, and social media postings
      2. LUCSA Partners – ordering with Urban Canopy’s farm, other farms, bakeries, and other local food vendors, maintain payments, coordinate deliveries 
    2. Lead packing and distribution of LUCSA shares 
      1. Set up LUCSA Crew for success with clear direction and organization of produce and space 
      2. Track produce quality, share sizes, and variety
    3. Fill in for driving routes when standard crew is unavailable (UC vehicle is provided)     
  2. Long Term 
    1. Pre-season development
      1. Creating and updating membership documents, forms, and supporting materials
      2. Marketing and outreach to meet season membership goals
    2. Develop a yearly budget with membership goals for the year
    3. Participation in branch specific and general Urban Canopy meetings 
    4. Encouraged to develop new and inventive ways to support local food producers 
    5. Research new partnerships, technologies, and strategies to create a stronger LUCSA system and program 
    6. Assist in developing new standard operating procedures for the LUCSA Branch

 

Qualifications:

  • Computer proficiency
    • Intermediate level Google Docs Suite skills
    • Experience with Mailchimp, Formstack, and Authorize.net a plus!
  • Must have a valid driver’s license 
  • Be able to lift 50 lbs
  • Punctual, effective and clear communicator
  • Positive work ethic, able to work in a team and independently
  • Ability to adapt to changing circumstances and handle moderate amounts of uncertainty
  • Broader interest in sustainability and food
  • Comfortable working in a high speed environment and able to multitask multiple assignments with a high degree of detail.

Scheduling Requirements and Expectations

The LUCSA Lead position will require availability on Monday-Friday or Tuesday-Saturday for 40 hours of work. Time off is always available for vacation and holidays, though your presence or effective delegation are integral to the effective functionality of the position. Please consider your commitment to the schedule as a part of your qualifications for the position. 

Qualifications

While these are desired qualifications, they are by no means hard requirements. If someone has a history of taking on ambiguous or challenging projects unrelated to local food and are willing to learn about a new field, you still may be a great fit for the position!

  • Experience in customer service, food service, project management, and/or database management
  • 1-2 years experience with managing a team 
  • Understanding of local seasonality and Midwestern produce availability 
  • General comfortability or experience with Excel/Google Sheets coding
  • Willingness to accommodate immediate and unexpected shifts in procedure, take time to learn from the change, and desire to improve and reduce these changes in the future – to sum up: problem solving, decision making, stress management, and systematizing
  • Motivated, curious, organized, and communicative 
  • Ability to lift up to 50 pounds, work in 40 degree cooler for up to 8 hours (with breaks!), and feel comfortable driving in the city of Chicago

Additional Information: 

  • Wage starts at $21.50  per hour.
  • Up to 80 hours of PTO per year.
  • UC employees have access to free and wholesale food: includes surplus produce from our markets and CSA, and occasional product from our partners. 
  • Complementary Compost Club membership: home pick-up option available only if employee lives within our service area. 
  • Eligible for healthcare option with a $200 stipend. 

Compensationthis position is : hourly, $20/hr +

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