Chief Operating & Impact Officer
UNITED FOOD BANKDescription: Scion Executive Search has been retained to conduct an immediate search for the Chief Operating & Impact Officer of United Food Bank , an organization on a mission to unite communities to alleviate hunger in Arizona. This is a full-time, onsite position based in Mesa, AZ. ABOUT UNITED FOOD BANK: United Food Bank is a mission-driven nonprofit uniting communities to alleviate hunger across Arizona. Through partnerships with more than 125 food pantries, mobile markets, and hot meal sites, the organization provides reliable access to nutritious food for neighbors facing hardship. United Food Bank views food security as the first step toward helping individuals and families achieve long-term stability and opportunity. Grounded in the values of being Uniters, Cultivators, and Optimists, the organization fosters a collaborative, solutions-focused culture and continues to expand its reach and impact across Arizona communities. At a pivotal moment of growth, United Food Bank is advancing a dual strategy to support lasting stability. Through Food for Today, the organization ensures efficient distribution of food through a complex supply chain. Through Food for Tomorrow, United Food Bank leverages partnerships and programs to connect neighbors with resources that support long-term economic stability. Position Overview: The goal of United Food Bank is to create stability for any neighbor who is experiencing a need for food. The Chief Operating and Impact Officer (COIO) will be responsible for operationalizing our dual strategy for achieving this goal: Food for Today - Ensuring the right food gets to the right place at the right time, optimizing a complex supply chain to help our Arizona neighbors reach a stable place with their immediate food supply. Food for Tomorrow - Leveraging our operational touchpoints to create pathways to economic stability. This is accomplished through a combination of direct services and robust partnerships, ensuring neighbors have the resources to maintain stability. The COIO leads the sourcing, storing, repacking and distribution of tens of millions of pounds of food across more than 19,000 square miles of Arizona, from urban centers to remote rural and tribal communities. This person leads most of United Food Bank’s floor-facing staff, so this is a culture leadership role as much as an operations one. This is a moment of change, and the COIO arrives to lead it. We are redesigning how food reaches our agency partners. We are designing a new campus that opens in 2028. And we are rebuilding trust between leadership and the people who do the work on the dock, in the warehouse and on the road. The COIO is a member of the Senior Leadership Team, staffs the Board’s Operations & Impact Committee, and ensures operations comply with federal, state and local law and Feeding America contract requirements. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: Senior Leadership and the Board Executive role: Reports to the Chief Administrative Officer and serves as the senior operations leader on the Senior Leadership Team, with joint responsibility for organizational leadership and mission success. Board partnership: Serves as staff lead to the Operations & Impact Committee, bringing quarterly impact results and the Operational Response Plan, which Feeding America requires every three years with Board approval. Strategy: Translates the organization’s strategy, Stability First, into a continuous, multi-year operational roadmap. Sees industry trends early and names obstacles before they arrive. Leading through transition: Steps into a seat held by an interim leader during the holiday distribution season. Stabilizes the operation quickly, earns the team’s trust, and leads the changes ahead without losing the work in flight. Frontline Culture and People Leadership Retention and engagement: Accountable for turnover and engagement results across Operations teams, with measurable pr…