Who We Are:
Are you ready to join a team where your talent creates lasting change? At Northern Illinois Food Bank, every day is an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our Neighbors, so that everyone in Northern Illinois has the food they need to thrive! Together we are a dedicated and innovative team committed to ending hunger in Northern Illinois. We embrace diverse perspectives, collaboration, and continuous learning, we celebrate successes, learn from challenges, and foster a culture of growth, optimism, and teamwork.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
Northern Illinois Food Bank will embrace opportunities to stand in solidarity with our community, and center the voices of those most impacted by systematic injustices. We affirm our commitment to anti-racism, to gender equity, to allyship, and to fairness as we work towards a hunger-free future and to create a better and more just world.
The Opportunity:
The Innovation Business Design Lead is responsible for leading structured business design and innovation processes that accelerate Northern Illinois Food Bank’s progress toward the vision of everyone in Northern Illinois having the food they need to thrive. This role manages innovation projects, facilitates cross-functional collaboration, and leads human-centered, service, and business design activities in partnership with internal teams, neighbors, and community organizations.
Reporting to the Senior Director of Innovation, this position works across Northern Illinois Food Bank to incubate strategic innovation initiatives, foster a culture of innovation, and ensure emerging ideas are feasible, equitable, and aligned with operational realities. This role is well-suited for someone with experience in facilitation and project management who thrives in ambiguity and is ready to deepen strategic expertise over time.
This full-time position is based out of our West Suburban Center (Geneva) location.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Business Design Leadership -
- Lead and guide business design efforts for projects that align with the organization’s strategic priorities and innovation agenda.
- Facilitate co-design sessions, workshops, and collaborative problem‑solving activities with internal teams and community partners, ensuring solutions are informed by both community needs and the Food Bank's operational capabilities.
- Conduct process mapping, workflow documentation, and analysis to identify barriers, gaps, and improvement opportunities, and contribute to strategies or approaches that address these challenges.
- Lead the planning, documentation, and coordination of prototypes, pilots, and small‑scale experiments.
- Partner with operational teams to ensure emerging ideas are feasible and aligned with real operational capabilities, ensuring that proven offerings are seamlessly integrated into operational workflows.
- Synthesize feedback and data from experiments to produce clear summaries, recommendations, and next steps
- Project Management -
- Co-design and develop comprehensive project plans, defining key objectives, timelines, and resource allocations to ensure alignment with strategic goals.
- Manage innovation project timelines, milestones, tasks, and team communication.
- Use structured project management practices to organize work, track progress, and ensure accountability.
- Identify risks, barriers, and decision points, and bring them forward with recommendations or options.
- Prepare project updates, reports, and visual summaries for staff, leaders, and partners.
- Support the transition of successful pilots into operational scaling, handoff and sustainability planning.
- Ensure cross‑functional alignment and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders.
Who You Are:
You’re driven, compassionate, and excited to bring your unique skills to a purpose-driven organization. You have a strong commitment to our mission and:
- Committed to the organizational mission of providing nutritious food and resources for our neighbors with dignity, equity, and convenience through partnerships and innovation.
- Committed to a workplace that values Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and builds equity into structures, systems, and processes for employees and the communities we serve.
- BA/BS or relevant experience or equivalent work experience.
- 2–4 years of experience in human-centered design, service design, business design, program design, community innovation, or related work.
- Experience facilitating or co‑facilitating co‑creation workshops, design sprints, or collaborative planning sessions.
- Ability to analyze workflows, map processes, and identify barriers or gaps in service delivery.
- Ability to support the team in planning and documenting prototypes, pilots, or experiments.
- Familiarity with basic financial or feasibility considerations for nonprofit programs
- Ability to coordinate project, including tracking timelines, organizing work, and supporting cross-functional alignment.
- Proficiency with collaboration tools (Miro, PowerPoint, Airtable, etc.).
- Strong communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear summaries, visuals, and presentations.
- Ability to work collaboratively, ask good questions, and bring structure to ambiguous problems.
Why Join Us:
- Make a Difference: Every role at Northern Illinois Food Bank directly impacts the lives of those we serve.
- Flexible Work Environment: We value work-life balance and support hybrid work models.
- Comprehensive Benefits: Enjoy medical, dental, vision, retirement plans, paid time off, and more. The starting pay range for this position is $61,918 - $65,788/annually, based on skills and experience.
- Growth Opportunities: Invest in your career with professional development, career mapping, and leadership training.
- Inclusive Culture: Join a diverse, collaborative team that values equity and belonging.
How to Apply:
Are you ready to make a difference? Apply online at https://solvehungertoday.org/about/join-our-team/. Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter that highlights your passion for our mission and your relevant skills.
Northern Illinois Food Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Our goal is to attract, develop, retain, and promote a talented diverse workforce where all employees feel a sense of belonging and contribute to a culture that values differences, ideas, and experiences. We intentionally seek out diverse perspectives and skills on our teams, knowing that it makes us stronger as an organization and better equipped to serve our neighbors in need. We encourage individuals from historically under-represented communities and individuals with lived experience of hunger to apply.