VP, MFHA

### Job Details

#### Description

The National Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation are proud to be part of a highly respected industry, providing hospitality, opportunity, and quality of life. Much like the industry we represent, we have a dynamic, diverse, and inclusive culture, grounded in trust, hospitality, collaboration, and innovation. These are the core values that inspire our work, and what we’re looking for in a Vice President for the Foundation’s Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA), dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across the restaurant, foodservice, and hospitality industry.

Serving as a prominent leading force in driving the MFHA’s long-term growth, development, and influence, the Vice President will be responsible in shaping the industry’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. You will play a pivotal and leadership role within the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), with strategic and operational responsibility for all foodservice and hospitality DEIB initiatives of the Foundation.

Reporting to the President of the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation, the VP, MFHA will work collaboratively with the Board of Advisors, staff, and the other members of the Senior Leadership Team across National Restaurant Association to develop and execute a strategy to elevate the MFHA brand, building an awareness and understanding of the organization’s educational resources, products and services, while developing a deep understanding of the emerging market needs to identify opportunities for expansion.

Position must operate out of our DC office, with a required three days onsite, Monday – Wednesday.

The work you will do as VP, MFHA will positively impact the Foundation’s mission in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across the restaurant, foodservice, and hospitality industry. We look forward to hearing from you!

We are proud to offer our team members comprehensive benefits, designed to support their financial, professional, and personal well-being. In addition to outstanding healthcare coverage (medical, dental and vision), competitive salaries, generous vacation and leave time, we offer a matching 401(k) plan, a unique collection of corporate discounts and memberships, as well as programs to support career and skills development, including coaching, learning and tuition assistance, and so much more!

### Responsibilities

#### Strategic Direction

– In conjunction with the NRAEF President, develop and lead a visionary DEIB strategy to ensure that MFHA makes consistent and timely progress in achieving its vision, mission, and goals.
– Strategize on emerging social issues concerning DEIB and develop and implement a comprehensive business strategy that responds to these dynamic shifts and increases the Foundation’s overall impact for the restaurant, hospitality, and foodservice industry.
– Leverage the organization’s rich library of resources and data and identify opportunities for future growth and business development.

#### Board Relations

– Build and maintain transparent and collaborative relationships with the members of MFHA’s Board of Advisors.
– Partner with the Board and NRAEF President to establish long-range operational plans and provide regular feedback on strategic, financial, and programmatic matters impacting member attraction, retention, and efforts to increase MFHA’s reach into the hospitality and foodservice industries.

#### External Relations

– Serve as the enthusiastic champion and a primary spokesperson for MFHA before key audiences to communicate MFHA’s vision, strategy, and priorities. Advocate for comprehensive DEIB strategies with a myriad of audiences including members, leaders in business, academia, and government, media, and others.
– Build and support alliances, partnerships and collaborations with external stakeholders who share a common set of priorities and can promote the NRAEF/MFHA story, mission, and goals.
– Expand relationships with partner organizations from advocacy, association, public policy, philanthropy, research, and other spheres.
– In partnership with the Development team, participate in fundraising ranging from donor stewardship to proposal development.

#### Industry DEI Impact

– Direct and oversees all aspects of industry DEIB initiative strategy, planning, and delivery.
– Provide leadership, guidance, and innovation to ensure quality, integrity, and continuous improvement of organizational industry DEIB initiatives and project management.
– Lead implementation and review of industry DEIB aspects of the Strategic Plan and initiate steps to align staff roles, responsibilities, and activities with organizational priorities.
– Ensure that MFHA remains a cutting-edge innovator within the workforce development sector, adapting to new realities, incorporating new approaches, and expanding alliances and audiences.

#### Operational Management

– Provide leadership, direction, and oversight of the organization’s $1.5M budget operations in fulfillment of the mission, vision, and strategic plan; direct and lead the day-to-day business affairs of MFHA.
– Ensure the organization’s financial integrity and long-term sustainability through oversight of strong fiscal management in partnership with NRAEF’s President, staff, and Board of Advisors.

#### Staff and Organizational Leadership

– Engage, inspire, and motivate an outstanding team of dedicated professionals which includes MFHA team members and independent contractors. Foster an environment of trust, internal collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement to ensure staff are empowered to help drive the mission and vision of the organization.
– Cultivate a culture of integrity, diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, social responsibility, teamwork, transparency, and results.
– Manage MFHA’s leadership team, including hiring, mentoring, and engaging to ensure professional growth, compensation management, and performance reviews.
– Articulate and establish measurable goals, objectives, and metrics for assessing, reporting, and improving impact and performance.
– Develop and enhance the systems needed to gather internal and external organizational performance information and utilize it to assess, improve, and demonstrate organizational impact.

### Requirements

– Bachelor’s degree required. Advanced degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent business experience is preferred.
– Demonstrated passion for the improvement of DEIB outcomes in the restaurant and hospitality industry.
– A minimum of 10 years of experience in senior leadership in an organization of similar scale and complexity with multiple product and service lines and diverse organizational units.
– Successful track record for growing customer/membership reach and identifying creative opportunities to support organizational growth of products and services to support member value and engagement.
– Exceptional influence, communication, and listening skills, key to forging strong relationships, establishing trust, and enhancing engagement with staff, board, the foundation, and the broader membership community.
– Inclusive, diplomatic, and charismatic.
– Strong business and financial acumen and analytical skills. Tech savvy with an understanding of how to apply modern technologies, analytics, and tools in supporting an organization’s continued relevance.
– Demonstrated experience for attracting top caliber multi-cultural talent and developing a high performing team to drive growth and ensure cohesiveness around operational goals and objectives. A proven track record for team building in a complex, multi-layered organization.
– Inclusive and collaborative staff leader, stewarding an organizational culture that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion.
– Operates with the highest level of integrity and character, demonstrating high moral and ethical behavior.
– Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience as an effective public speaker at the national and international level.
– Ability to travel as needed.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, age, disability status, genetic information and testing, family, and medical leave, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We strongly encourage women, people of color, people with disabilities and veterans to apply for our job openings. This commitment supports our policy of developing and capitalizing on the abilities of all our team members, as well as selecting, developing, and promoting those who are best qualified.

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