Distribution Specialist - Oregon Food Bank Inc

Job Homebase:7900 NE 33rd. Dr. Portland, Oregon 97211
Site requirement: Onsite

Reports To:Distribution Manager

Schedule: Sunday - Thursday, 1:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Who We Are:

Oregon Food Bank (OFB) believes that no one should be hungry. Our mission is to eliminate hunger and its root causes. We believe that food and health are basic human rights for all. We know that hunger is not just an individual experience; it is also a community-wide symptom of systemic barriers to employment, education, housing and health care such as systemic racism, sexism, and cissexism. That’s why we work systemically to achieve our mission to end hunger: we foster community connections to help people access nutritious food, and we build community power and strengthen networks of support and the safety net to eliminate the root causes of hunger for good.

We build community power to dismantle systems and policies that drive hunger and poverty.

Oregon Food Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we strongly encourage applications from candidates who can increase the diversity of our organization and strengthen our capacity to eliminate hunger. We believe strongly in the power of lived experience — and we actively seek individuals who have experienced hunger and its root causes to join our team. Our organization is stronger because of the leadership of people who have faced food insecurity in their own lives and/or hail from historically under-represented communities. Learn more about our commitment at oregonfoodbank.org/equity.

Who You Are:

You care deeply about community, about people experiencing hunger and hold them in the center of all that you do. You are committed to apply equity as a process and an outcome of your work to disrupt systemic social patterns that promote hunger such as racism, sexism, and cissexism. You have a strong affinity with OFB’s 10 Year Visionand are profoundly excited to achieve this vision for and with our community.

Position Summary:

As the Distribution Specialist, you will work as part of a team in a warehouse over 100,000 square feet, following established inventory and material handling procedures to receive and distribute food and other products using a warehouse management system (Primarius) and handheld computers. The Distribution Specialist performs a variety of warehousing duties that require an understanding of food warehousing procedures and receiving and storing of products. You are flexible and adaptable to a fluid and dynamic environment, and bring a positive, can-do attitude to daily work challenges. You prioritize customer service and collaboration, and can balance competing work demands with composure and accountability to achieve desired results.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Operate several types of warehouse equipment safely and proficiently. Report all incidents and accidents to the manager, filling out the incident/accident form correctly.

• Picks orders in dry, cooler or frozen areas of the warehouse. Building pallets in accordance of the processes and procedures of the individual warehouse.

• Receive and store products in dry, freezer, and cooler warehouses, using FIFO methods, and count and locate into inventory using hand held computers.

• Communicate with Shipping and ReceivingSupervisors, Managers and Inventory Specialists about issues, challenges, and errors in goods ordered and received as well as transferring products between warehouses.

• Maintain productivity and accuracy while order pulling.

• Ensure proper warehouse space management by combining pallets and rearranging space to accommodate a steady flow of products.

• Analyze, plan and manage work with other departments to ensure the proper flow of product in and out of the warehouse that is being repacked, ensuring that Regional Food Banks, Partner Agencies and clients are served well.

• Support Volunteer Action Center assisting in setup, troubleshooting issues, errors and other questions that arise.

• Communicates with and supports RFBs and Partner Agencies to schedule and create orders, both in the Web Window (Primarius) and Agencies shopping the dock.

• Inspects perishable goods inventory to ensure it is of acceptable quality before distribution to RFBs or Agencies

• Perform pest control inspections and notify the appropriate staff of any issues, while segregating the product.

• Clean and organize the warehouse during shift, this includes but not limited to, recycling and compost in accordance with OFBs Waste Management Systems.

• Unloads and inspects shipments from Outside Carriers and OFB trucks that have backhauls.

• Receives and labels product in correct categories in accordance with OFB receiving guidelines.

• Inspect and set reefer units on trailers to the correct temperature of the product that is to be loaded.

• Load OFB and Outside Carrier trailers in accordance with DOT regulations weight restrictions. Securing load to ensure it does not shift during transportation and cause damage to the product.

• Follow all Food Safety and Warehouse regulations.

• Ensure timecards are filled out daily and are accurate.

• Check email throughout the shift for any urgent communications that need to be addressed.

• Organizational level responsibilities of exempt employees include:

  • To be an ambassador and a leader for OFB’s vision and mission, a cross-departmental collaborator, and an active contributor to building a movement to end hunger for good by addressing the root causes of hunger: systemic oppressions such as racism, xenophobia, sexism, and cisexism.

  • In consultation and coordination with the supervisor, actively contribute to:

    • cross-departmental efforts

    • work culture activities and programming

    • advisory and consultative groups such as the compensation committee, affinity groups, Equity Ambassadors, Equity Think Tank meetings, among others

    • plan and engage in professional development activities that strengthen your capacity for your specific role as well as your capacity to contribute and advance organizational goals, OFB’s vision and mission.

• Identify, share, engage in, and collaboratively adjust and make necessary changes to this description of duties according to the inevitable evolution of the role over time.

Skills and Experience:

• Deep passion for eliminating hunger and its root causes.

• Three to five years’ experience in a warehouse environment or relevant field.

• Ability to operate a handheld and desktop computer. Working knowledge of basic math, English grammar, sorting, and reading skills. Ability to operate, or learn how to operate, hand and electric pallet jacks and various forklifts.

• Ability to use a computer to accurately maintain warehouse inventory, research problems with orders or inventory and other software needed to communicate with the organization, i.e. (Gmail, various organization calendars, google docs).

• Ability to learn and safely operate manual and powered industrial trucks (sit down and stand up forklifts, pallet riders, stock pickers, and reach trucks) IAW OR-OSHA 1910.178; prior experience with warehouse equipment is preferred.

• Ability to manage multiple projects with attention to detail, handle interruptions, maintain focus on tasks and produce accurate work.

• Experience with Microsoft Windows, Google/G-Suite, and Office Suite (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook), Adobe Reader, and basic office equipment.

• Ability to obtain required certification relating to food handling and equipment usage.

• Ability to thrive in a creative, responsive, and fast-paced culture.

• Organizational level skills and experience required for exempt employees include:

• Disposition and willingness to maximize multiple perspectives to innovate, problem solve and seek creative solutions.

• Experience in modeling intercultural competence and demonstrated commitment to equity and social justice.

• Demonstrated ability to think strategically, collaborate, take initiative, and to maintain confidentiality.

• Project coordination and organization skills; ability to manage multiple projects with attention to detail; ability to handle interruptions, and produce timely, accurate work.

• Ability to both work independently and as part of a team; comfortable working in an office environment and offsite.

• Ability to thrive in a diverse, creative, responsive, mission-driven, and fast-paced work culture.

• Experience of successful multicultural immersion working and/or living within OFB's Equity Constituencies: BIPoC, Immigrants & Refugees, Single Mothers, Trans and Gender-Non-Conforming folx.

  • Multicultural Immersion defined as: Actively integrated in one or more communities, interacting with individuals and groups, and seeking to understand the diversities within and between communities by being there and engaging in daily life activities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Food warehouse experience.

• Customer service experience.

• Strong analytical and problem solving skills.

• Organizational level preferred qualifications of exempt employees include:

  • Multilingual skills at a minimum professional level of proficiency or greater in English and any additional language/s, defined as being able to speak the languages with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical and professional topics.

  • Multicultural skills of adaptation and integration are strongly preferred.

    • Adaptation is defined as the capacity to communicate and interact with people of multiple cultures, backgrounds, and styles by incorporating and adapting to the world view and perspectives of others.

    • Integration is defined as being able to “code-switch” or move in and out of one's worldview and help others understand different cultures, backgrounds, and styles to promote diversity and inclusion.

  • Commitment to continued professional development to strengthen capacity to work through an equity lens for equity and racial justice.

  • Strong capacity to consider multiple perspectives, to pivot to respond to emerging needs and lead through organizational changes.

  • Years of successful multicultural immersion either working with and/or living within one or more of OFB’s Equity Constituencies at the time of hire. An additional step for at least 10 years above minimum required of successful multicultural immersion working with and/or living within one or more of OFB’s Equity Constituencies at the time of hire.

    • Multicultural Immersion defined as: Actively integrated in one or more communities, interacting with individuals and groups, and seeking to understand the diversities within and between communities by being there and engaging in daily life activities.

The Fine Print:

Work environment:

Work is performed in a warehouse environment while moving around and/or using heavy machinery for extended periods of time.

Work may require to lift, move and carry objects from 20 to 40 pounds, such as boxes containing office and other supplies. Crouching, bending, kneeling and reaching when filing. Accommodations may be available upon request.

Background Check:

This position does require a criminal background check. Criminal background checks may be required for the following reasons:

• Insurance requirement

• Third party contractual requirement/s

• Job duties requirements include unsupervised administration of cash or other liquid assets.

• Job duties include unaccompanied work with minors, elders, or anyone legally unable to consent to touch, discipline, or sexual contact.

A criminal record unrelated to theft, assault, or sexual violence may not make you ineligible to work at Oregon Food Bank. We actively support all our staff in developing relevant skills and capacities to improve job retention and advancement.

Inclement Weather, Service Disruptions and Disaster Response expectations:

OFB is part of the regional disaster response network and, as part of our commitment to our community, we all are expected to report to work as soon as it’s safe to do so and to respond to the disaster, emergency, inclement weather or extended service disruption as needed and as possible. To this effect we have teams with different levels of response and support. This role is internally classified as part of the Snow Team, which means that:

Snow Team(or On-Site Team) : Ensure work continuity on-site with applicable differential pay/s

Note: Regardless of team classifications our staff is supported to prioritize their safety and those of their dependants, families and loved ones while in communication and coordination with supervisors.

1. Nonexempt classification refers to workers that are entitled to a minimum wage and overtime pay at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek. They do not; 1) Supervise two or more full-time employees or four part-time employees regularly; 2) Are responsible for managing at least part of a business; 3) Play an important role in the job status of other employees, including hiring and delegating tasks; nor 1) Perform office or non-manual work directly related to the business operations or management of an organization and its customers; and 2) Exercise independent judgment and discretion over important business decisions.