Director of Equity and Inclusion, Miriam's Kitchen

ABOUT MIRIAM’S KITCHEN
Miriam’s Kitchen is the leader in the fight to end chronic and Veteran homelessness in D.C. Founded in 1983 as a soup kitchen, Miriam’s Kitchen has evolved over the years to provide more than meals. Today, Miriam’s Kitchen is a critical player in the fight to end chronic homelessness in D.C. On the direct services level, we help our guests improve their health, increase their income and obtain housing through a range of programs and partnerships. And at the systems level, we work with leaders across the city to make instances of homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.
 
Miriam’s Kitchen is committed to continual learning that fosters inclusion, tolerance, and respect, and we value diversity in all its forms. We have centered our current strategic plan on racial equity and diversity, and are actively working toward becoming the just and equitable organization -- and D.C. community -- that we envision.
 
POSITION SUMMARY
Building upon our ongoing DEI work, Miriam’s Kitchen seeks a Director of Equity and Inclusion (Director) to play a lead role in advancing the organization’s mission as the leading voice for ending homelessness in Washington, DC. Reporting to the Chief Communications Officer, the Director will serve as a member of Miriam’s Kitchen’s senior management team and will provide organizational leadership and development of strategies, practices, and resources to ensure that equity and inclusion are successfully integrated into organizational culture, policies, and communications.
 
The Director will serve as the primary internal resource on racial equity, bringing expertise and fluency in this area and serving as a strategic thought partner to the staff and Board as they build competency on these issues. They will be responsible for developing and implementing tools, resources, policies, and initiatives that create an equitable, diverse, and inclusive work environment aligned with Miriam’s Kitchen’s values. While most of the position’s initial responsibilities will be to address internal equity, the role will also help raise external visibility and awareness of the linkage of racial inequity to homelessness.
 
The ideal candidate will help advance organizational change, foster a positive and inclusive work environment for everyone, and ensure that equity and inclusion considerations are incorporated into Miriam’s Kitchen’s culture to address identity-based inequities across the team. Additionally, they possess a commitment to Miriam’s Kitchen’s vision of ending chronic homelessness in Washington, DC, and to its values and culture.
 
RESPONSIBILITIES:
The responsibilities for this position fall into two broad categories – internal and external. Most of the Director’s key priorities in the first one to two years will be internal, focusing on developing Miriam’s Kitchen’s internal equity framework and practice implementation.
 
Internal

• Drive Miriam’s Kitchen’s efforts to create, revise, reform, and implement policies, as well as advance racial analyses, that shift organizational culture to greater equity
• Help identify and address instances, patterns, practices, and policies of systemic and institutional racism
• Lead the development of tools, resources, and policies in partnership with Human Resources to support staff who have experienced a situation causing harm
• Collaborate with Human Resources and hiring managers to implement recruitment, hiring, and retention strategies that support diverse staffing and advancement
• Collaborate with Miriam Kitchen’s leadership and other decision-makers to develop, implement, and evaluate a framework for racial equity that aligns with Miriam’s Kitchen’s mission and strategic plan
• Coordinate with Performance Management Department to create goals that reflect the enhancement of an organizational culture that promotes equity across staff and a sense of belonging and develop key performance indicators tracking progress toward those goals
• Support departments and programs in setting and implementing annual and long-term racial equity goals.
• Collaborate with other departments, such as Development, Advocacy, and Communication.
• Contribute to organizational strategy, management, and leadership as a member of the Directors’ Team

External

• Provide guidance and recommendations for racial equity-related external communication as needed
• Actively participate in racial equity events, sharing key learnings with Miriam’s Kitchen staff and integrating best practices into the organization’s equity work
• Raise visibility and awareness of the connection between race and homelessness
• Develop and coordinate external convenings with the larger Racial Equity field, including organizing similar events for Miriam’s Kitchen to host
• Participate in roundtable, conferences, and panel discussions and serve as liaison to the academic and research community
• Establish collaborative partnerships with other leaders in the Equity community to share and reflect on best practices

QUALIFICATIONS
Miriam’s Kitchen encourages candidates who bring a diverse set of professional experiences to apply to this role.

• Demonstrated commitment and comprehensive understanding of race, structural racism, and racial equity work, nationally and within D.C.
• Strong interest in and commitment to ending chronic homelessness in D.C. and learning the structural and systemic causes of homelessness
• Experience leading and facilitating organizational equity and inclusion initiatives and projects with teams, including developing policies and procedures to embed these values into an inclusive work culture.
• Excellent communicator with exceptional listening skills
• Ability to build rapport with a diverse range of guests, colleagues, and community members through effective communication, team building, listening skills, and empathy
• Independent worker who is action-oriented, with an ability to convert strategy and planning into action
• Expertise in facilitating complex and sensitive discussions
• Ability to manage multiple projects across different departments, programs, and groups
• Creative, innovative, and strategic in approaches to overcoming obstacles
• Compassion, trustworthiness, and patience for all people regardless of their background, position, or stance
• Resilience in dealing with adversity and conflict
• Experience with receiving and/or providing front line services preferred
• Ability to set and measure goals throughout a multifaceted, long-term change project
• Demonstrated ability to work as a part of a multidisciplinary team, including the ability to work with volunteers in a professional and collaborative manner
• Willingness to learn and carry out Miriam’s Kitchen’s commitments to social justice and racial equity
• English fluency required; Spanish proficiency a plus
• Expertise with office productivity tools (Microsoft Office, Google Suite, etc.)

SALARY AND BENEFITS:
Salary range: $85,000 - $95,000. Miriam’s Kitchen is proud to offer comprehensive benefits that support the continued health and wellbeing of our team, including: 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance; generous medical coverage for dependents; 100% employer-paid short-term disability, long term disability, and life insurance; employer retirement contributions; generous annual paid leave, and annual professional development funds for all full and part-time team members.