Senior Program Coordinator of CA Pre-Apprenticeship

Full Time

Remote in CA

Limited Service Role Through December 2026*

The Senior Program Coordinator of CA Pre-Apprenticeship will lead program implementation of the CA Healthy School Food Pathway Pre-Apprenticeship to ensure a high-quality participant experience.

About the Chef Ann Foundation

Founded in 2009, the Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) believes that all children should have equal access to fresh, healthy, delicious food, providing them with the foundation to thrive and meet their true potential. We ensure that school food professionals have the resources, funding, and support they need to provide cook-from-scratch meals that support children's and our planet's health. To date, we’ve reached over 16,000 schools and over 4.4 million children in all 50 states with our school food programming.

Job Description

This position resides on our Programs team and reports to the Senior Director of CA Workforce Programs. The Senior Program Coordinator of CA Pre-Apprenticeship will oversee the operations of the Pre-Apprenticeship program to ensure a smooth application process and a high-quality participant experience. The role includes supervising a team focused on the Pre-Apprenticeship, with the possibility of team growth based on the number of program participants and team capacity.

About the Healthy School Food Pathway (HSFP) Program

HSFP is a work-based learning experience that aims to prepare individuals for job opportunities in healthy, scratch-cooked school food programs. The HSFP program focuses on supporting workforce readiness and professional growth for new and incumbent school food operators. The pipeline from entry-level positions through management and school food leadership (Pre-Apprenticeship, Apprenticeship, Fellowship) offers professionals the resources, hands-on training, and network to become confident leaders with in-depth knowledge and experience in creating and running successful scratch-cooked meal programs. This includes an emphasis on CAF’s five key areas: food, finance, facilities, human resources, and marketing.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensures the CA HSFP Pre-Apprenticeship is implemented at the highest level and represents the organization’s commitment to quality, result-driven programming;
• Manages team members who are responsible for the day-to-day execution of program processes and participant support, including participant issues as they arise, to ensure the program operates smoothly, and all necessary components are completed at the appropriate times;
• Leads the planning and implementation of the Pre-Apprenticeship program, including participant selection, onboarding, orientation, learning schedule, evaluation components, and funder, state, and federal reporting;
• Coordinates and leads educational program components, including live virtual learning sessions, to ensure program participants achieve desired learning competencies;
• Leads participant selection (including interviews) and onboarding processes of the Pre-Apprenticeship to ensure they have the information needed to participate in the program and all necessary documentation is submitted;
• Support program participants during the course of the program to ensure timely completion of all required learning for the Pre-Apprenticeship program and an overall positive experience in the program that leads to participation in the Apprenticeship program;
• Work with the Senior Coordinator of Apprenticeship to ensure the proper promotion of the Apprenticeship program;
• Collaborate with the Director of District Support to ensure alignment between district and participant needs;
• Oversee the maintenance of the Pre-Apprenticeship program registration and ongoing tracking and reporting as required by state and federal partners;
• Manage the Pre-Apprenticeship program timeline, such as key deliverables, to ensure adequate planning and implementation of the Pre-Apprenticeship program;
• Lead the exploration and implementation of additional supportive services for participants, including partnership development and participant enrollment in programs with partner agencies;
• Work closely with the CA Workforce Programs team to leverage work and knowledge, share resources, track program statistics, and report on workforce development initiatives;
• Work with the CA Workforce Programs team to identify and implement program improvements to enhance the participant experience.

Basic Responsibilities

• Update and create key program documents, instructions, slide decks, timelines, etc., as needed for each Pre-Apprenticeship cohort;
• Work with the Director of Recruitment to launch new Pre-Apprenticeship cohort applications, including updating application questions, tracking applications, and providing applicant assistance;
• Facilitate the translation of educational materials, program instructions, and other key information into Spanish;
• Maintain files and necessary documentation regarding program participants for the team;
• Condense large amounts of information into easy-to-read reports, including data collection, cleaning, and chart creation;
• Lead program efficiencies and opportunities, and follow through as appropriate;
• Implements technology integration, especially around the application cycle, participant onboarding process, grantee reporting, participant tracking (e.g., Salesforce), learning platforms (e.g., Moodle), and others as directed;
• Requires less supervision and demonstrates an ability to self-direct work;
• Support the identification and development of partnerships with key stakeholders across diverse industries, such as education, agriculture, labor, and workforce development;
• Maintain awareness/knowledge of child nutrition legislative advocacy efforts, emphasizing CA;
• As assigned, attend steering committees and coalition meetings to report back to the team on program/organization alignment opportunities;
• Schedules own travel as directed by supervisor and communicates travel plans with the team to ensure efficient use of time and travel funds;
• Maintain understanding and awareness of federal and state policies related to program operations.
• Contributes to the presentation of program information and collaborations with the Marketing team;
• Other duties as assigned within the scope of this position.

Position Requirements

• Bilingual English/Spanish required;
• High school diploma or equivalent;
• Ability to travel for work, up to 10% of the time, mainly within California;
• Ability to learn and engage with new learning technology programs;
• Ability to work virtually and participate in meetings in the Pacific time zone (PST/PDT).

Preferred Education, Formal Training, and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher;
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office, G Suite, Asana, Moodle, and Salesforce platforms;
• Knowledge of and/or work experience in school food;
• Knowledge of and/or work experience in workforce development;
• Experience in program planning and management.

Essential Traits

• A passion for food systems and a strong interest in childhood health and wellness;
• Strong professional relationship cultivation and management skills that translate into building strong partnerships;
• Resourcefulness in finding solutions to unique problems and making pivots to ensure outcomes;
• Ability to manage multiple timelines and prioritize appropriately;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including editing;
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively;
• Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills;
• Flexible, collaborative mindset and innovative thinker;
• Willingness to engage in continuous learning and training.

Compensation

Compensation ranges between $54,600 - $71,280 per year and will be commensurate with the candidate’s previous experience and credentials. The Chef Ann Foundation is a great place to work. It provides its staff with a competitive benefits package, including medical, pharmacy, dental, vision, short-term disability, long-term disability, group life insurance, accident insurance, critical illness insurance, hospital indemnity, 403(b) retirement plan with a match, holidays & paid time off. We are a fully remote national organization headquartered in Boulder, CO, with team members across the US. This position is remote, but must be based in California.

Posting will close on September 24, 2025, at 1 pm MST

The anticipated start date for the position is November 3, 2025.

*This position, and any continued employment thereafter, is expressly contingent upon the availability of funding for the position. CAF's obligation to employ and compensate is conditioned on:

(a) the organization’s receipt of sufficient budgeted funds for the position for the applicable fiscal period and

(b) Ongoing approval of such funding by the organization in its discretion, consistent with applicable law.

If, after employment begins, funding for the position is reduced, not renewed, or otherwise becomes unavailable, CAF may terminate employment effective on the later of

(i) the date funding ceases or (ii) after providing at least 60 days' advance written notice, subject to any additional obligations under applicable law.

At the Chef Ann Foundation, our work to ensure access to fresh, healthy school food for all is grounded in the principle of equity. We support and celebrate differences; our team and community are stronger with every new voice. CAF is proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace.