Vice President of Business Initiatives
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AI Summary
About The Organization
ReFED is a U.S.-based nonprofit that partners with food businesses, funders, solution providers, policymakers, and more to solve food waste. We serve as the definitive source for data and insights on food waste, providing the most comprehensive analysis of the problem, the solutions to address it, and the resources required to make it happen. From the 2016 Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste, to the 2021 launch of the ReFED Insights Engine, our online data center, to this year’s release of the AI-powered Insights Explorer, we have produced first-of-their-kind tools and services tailored to help key audiences scale their impact. Reducing food waste will have a significant impact on the economy, climate change and natural resource optimization, and our communities, including the 47 million people in the U.S. who currently face food insecurity. We are continuing to grow our team to further build our capacity to achieve our vision of a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food system that makes the best use of the food we grow.
We are a team of doers, and we get a lot accomplished. We create outsized impact, and everyone on the team contributes to accomplishing our shared goals. Learning and professional development are heavily embedded in ReFED’s culture. We promote cross-functional work to embrace diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills to ensure we are an inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Learn more at www.refed.org.
The Vice President, Business Initiatives, serves as ReFED’s senior leader for business-facing work and a formal member of the Leadership Team. This role is responsible for the strategic direction, performance, and external credibility of ReFED’s Business Initiatives team, which engages food businesses directly through consulting, advisory services, and multi-stakeholder commitment programs, including the U.S. Food Waste Pact. While ReFED's work has been primarily U.S.-focused, the organization is beginning to expand its reach globally, with continued growth expected in the years ahead.
The VP, Business Initiatives, partners closely with the Executive Director and other programmatic leaders to ensure that ReFED’s business-facing work is strategically sound, well-resourced, and clearly connected to the organization’s theory of change. This role holds accountability for team performance, funder and business partner relationships, and external representation of ReFED’s business engagement work. The VP, Business Initiatives, reports directly to the Executive Director and manages two Directors and an Analyst with potential for team growth.
As a member of ReFED’s Leadership Team, the VP, Business Initiatives, advances ReFED’s mission by mobilizing food businesses, from farm to fork, to take meaningful, measurable action on food waste. Food businesses are among the most critical partners in the fight against food loss and waste, and ReFED’s programs in consumer-facing businesses have contributed to significant reductions in food waste.
Sara Burnett is the hiring manager for this position. Applications must be received by July 28, 2026, to be fully considered.
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The VP, Business Initiatives, leads a team of two Directors and an Analyst. Together, this team delivers some of ReFED’s most important and impactful work:
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Business Consulting & Advisory: Direct consulting engagements and strategic advisory services that help food businesses assess their food waste footprint, set targets, and implement reduction strategies aligned with ReFED’s evidence base.
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Food Waste Pacts: Ongoing stewardship of the U.S. Food Waste Pact, supporting signatory businesses through goal setting, progress tracking and benchmarking, shared research and pilots, along with peer learning. In addition, ReFED contributes to thought leadership and best-practice sharing through the Global Pact, a network of Food Waste Pacts worldwide.
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Stakeholder Partnerships: Cultivating high-value relationships and collaborations with food businesses, trade associations, and aligned organizations that extend ReFED’s reach and amplify its impact across the food system.
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Business Intelligence & Insights: Synthesis of business sector trends, stakeholder dynamics, and program learnings that inform ReFED’s online tools, technical reports, case studies, and organizational strategy.
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Leadership Team Participation & Organizational Strategy
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Serve as a formal member of the ReFED Leadership Team; participate in organizational decision-making alongside the Executive Director and peer VPs, bringing a business-sector perspective to enterprise-wide strategy.
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Set and communicate a multi-year strategy for the Business Initiatives team that is aligned with ReFED’s organizational goals, mission, and theory of change; ensure the team’s work is coherent, sequenced, and field-shaping.
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Contribute to annual and interim organizational objective-setting (OKRs); ensure Business Initiatives team goals are aligned with and in service of organization-wide priorities.
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Serve as the primary internal connector between Business Services and other teams; collaborate with the other programmatic leaders and VP, Communications, to ensure business engagement work is integrated across ReFED’s programmatic and external presence.
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Advise the Executive Director on business sector trends, team performance, and strategic opportunities; serve as a thought partner on organizational decisions that touch the food business landscape.
Business Consulting & Commitment Programs
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Oversee the strategy and quality of ReFED’s business consulting and advisory services; ensure offerings are differentiated, evidence-based, and responsive to the needs of food businesses at different stages of their food waste reduction journey.
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Provide strategic leadership to the ongoing execution of the U.S. Food Waste Pact; set the vision for how these programs evolve and deepen their impact over time. Including oversight and management of the U.S. Food Waste Pact Advisory Council.
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Identify and cultivate high-value partnerships with food businesses, trade associations, industry consultants, and mission-aligned organizations; ensure ReFED is positioned as a trusted, go-to partner for business-facing food waste action.
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Partner closely with the policy, capital, community engagement, and research teams to incorporate business sector expertise and stakeholder perspectives into ReFED’s broader programmatic work, knowledge products, and external events.
Stakeholder Relationships & Business Development
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Serve as a senior external spokesperson for ReFED in the food business space; represent the organization credibly at industry events, conferences, and with funders and partners.
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Cultivate and steward high-value relationships with food businesses, trade associations, and sector allies; build the kind of trust that enables ReFED to be a meaningful partner, not just a vendor.
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Bring external intelligence, including food industry trends, stakeholder dynamics, and emerging food waste challenges, into organizational strategy conversations and ReFED’s knowledge products.
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Contribute to business development and fundraising efforts; manage relationships with programmatic funders and support proposal development and grant reporting for Business Services work.
Team Performance & Leadership
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Lead, develop, and manage the Business Services team; set clear expectations grounded in ReFED’s job level competency framework and create the conditions for each team member to operate at or above their level.
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Foster a team culture of learning, collaboration, and accountability; actively participate in hiring and model the behaviors and standards expected across the team.
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Establish and oversee annual team objectives (OKRs); develop systems for tracking and evaluating Business Services performance and impact across programs and clients.
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Contribute to the annual budget development process; hold chief responsibility for managing the Business Services team budget in compliance with organizational financial management policies.
Board & Fundraising
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Support Board engagement as appropriate, including contributing to Board presentations and reporting that reflects Business Services strategy and performance.
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Identify and pursue funding opportunities aligned with Business Services strategy; contribute to grant proposals and steward funder relationships tied to business engagement work.
Travel Expectations
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Approximately once per month; domestic and international travel required as programs expand globally.
Required
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12+ years of relevant experience, including demonstrated success leading a team and managing multiple programs or client relationships simultaneously within the food industry.
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Demonstrated success setting and executing a team strategy in a mission-driven, growth-stage organization; ability to translate organizational priorities into clear team goals and individual performance expectations.
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Deep knowledge of the food industry and food business landscape, including sustainability, ESG, and supply chain dynamics; familiarity with food waste as a business challenge and opportunity.
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Experience initiating and developing high-trust relationships with food businesses, trade associations, and industry partners; ability to engage senior leaders and decision-makers at major food companies with credibility and conviction.
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Strong strategic and critical thinking skills; ability to see the whole food system while staying grounded in the practical realities of individual business engagement.
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Demonstrated ability to exercise discretion and independent judgment on matters of organizational significance; comfortable navigating ambiguity and making decisions without complete information.
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Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with a strong executive presence; ability to translate ReFED’s evidence base into compelling narratives for food business leaders and other external audiences.
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Strong commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion as a professional practice; ability to center JEDI principles in team leadership and external engagement.
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Mission alignment with ReFED’s work to catalyze evidence-based action on food waste across the U.S. food system.
Preferred
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Experience contributing to fundraising and business development, including funder relationship management, proposal development, and grant reporting.
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Experience designing and scaling consulting, advisory, or membership programs in a mission-driven context; ability to build service offerings that are both impactful and sustainable.
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Entrepreneurial spirit with demonstrated success scaling programs and initiatives in a dynamic, high-growth environment; comfort building structure where it doesn’t yet exist.
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Established connections and relationships with food businesses and food business influencers.
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Proficiency with G Suite, Slack, Salesforce, Airtable, and related tools; willingness and ability to learn new systems as ReFED’s operations evolve.
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Food businesses are among the largest contributors to food waste and among the most consequential levers for change. The VP, Business Initiatives is ReFED’s primary bridge to this sector, translating the organization’s evidence base into action by the companies that move food through the U.S. system.
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In this way, the VP, Business Initiatives is not just a team leader, but they are a field builder who advances ReFED’s position as the most trusted, evidence-based partner for food businesses committed to reducing food waste.
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Are energized by working at the intersection of business and mission — where the goal is not just to engage companies, but to move them.
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Think at the systems level and can communicate that thinking to a CEO, a funder, and a direct report in the same afternoon.
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Are equally comfortable setting long-term strategy and rolling up your sleeves when the work requires it — and can tell the difference between the two.
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Thrive in a fast-paced, ambiguous, entrepreneurial environment and do not wait for perfect conditions to move forward.
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Hold yourself to a high standard on both what you deliver and how you show up — and hold your team to the same.
- 100% employee and 50% dependent premium coverage for medical, dental, and vision benefits;
- Participation in employer-sponsored 401(k) plans with up to 4% employer matching;
- Professional development opportunities, including an annual budget and the option to participate in ReFED's mentor program;
- 18 paid vacation days annually;
- 10 paid sick days annually;
- Early closure in July and August for Summer Fridays;
- Paid family leave;
- Approximately 13 paid company holidays annually, including closed offices during the last week of the year;
- Short- and long-term disability coverage and term life insurance;
- A flexible work environment with the option to work from home or a co-working space.
ReFED values a diverse range of skills and experiences and encourages all interested candidates to apply, even if they don't meet all of the criteria listed. Our organization recognizes that everyone brings unique perspectives and strengths to the team, and we are committed to considering all applicants fairly and thoroughly. If you are passionate about our mission and excited about the role, don't hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself!
Our Recruitment Process
Our recruitment process includes the following steps:
* Initial screening interview over video call.
* 2-3 interviews over video call with different members of the team.
* Skills assessment over video call which may or may not include an assignment to complete beforehand and present during the skills assessment meeting. All necessary information and guidance will be provided in advance.
* References, usually three, will be requested, and reference checks will be conducted.
We strive to maintain clear and frequent communication throughout the recruitment process, however, due to capacity limitations we may not be able to respond to every initial application. Our process always includes input from multiple team members with diverse backgrounds and perspectives from across the organization.
Our Operating Environment
ReFED is a distributed organization with a team of 35+ team members working remotely from locations across the United States. We use a range of digital collaboration and connectivity tools to facilitate our work, including Google Workspace, Slack, Zoom, Airtable, Salesforce, Miro, MS Office, Adobe, Claude AI, and Insperity.
Our remote culture is built through a variety of means, including 3-4 annual in-person gatherings designed for team building, learning, and fun. These events include our annual team retreat, department retreats, and the ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit, a national convening of the food waste movement that we host annually. We also foster team connections through informal virtual get-togethers, and peer recognition on our “shoutouts” channel in Slack. We have a “Big Dill” spot bonus program and engage in conversation through our Slack “watercooler” channel.
Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commitment
ReFED is committed to creating an inclusive work environment where all individuals have equal opportunities to contribute and grow. We recognize that our success is rooted in the diverse perspectives and backgrounds of our team members, and we strive to foster a culture of belonging where everyone feels valued and respected. As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to recruiting, hiring, developing, training, and promoting individuals regardless of their gender identity, sex, race, religion, age, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status. We acknowledge that systemic barriers limit opportunities for certain groups, and we are dedicated to actively working to remove those barriers and promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in all aspects of our organization. Our commitment to JEDI is an ongoing journey, and we are committed to continuously learning, listening, and improving our practices to create a more equitable and inclusive workplace for all.
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