School Food Innovation Specialist

School Food Innovation Specialist

Reports To: Director of Client Strategy & Growth

Direct Reports: None

Job Status: Full Time, Permanent, Salaried

Work Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 am–5:00 pm, with flexibility as required

Work Location: Hybrid, with regular work at RFRK, schools, pilot sites and partner organizations (up to five days per week)

Compensation: $60,000–$70,000 annually, commensurate with experience

About Real Food For Real Kids:

Real Food for Real Kids (RFRK) is a growing company on a mission to make real food the standard rather than the exception.

A multiple award-winning company recognized for excellence and innovation, we’re a leading healthy catering company for child care centres, schools and camps. RFRK proudly serves nutritious meals and snacks to thousands of children throughout the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area every day. We’re well-positioned for growth into new markets and planning for significant expansion over the coming years.

Our team is looking for a curious, resourceful builder to help shape the future of school food. If you are excited by research, relationships and hands-on pilots that make nutritious meals work for students and schools, keep reading!

The Position

As the School Food Innovation Specialist at Real Food for Real Kids, you will research, design, pilot and evaluate practical food service models built for school-age children.

You will explore students’ needs and eating habits alongside the realities of school facilities, schedules, staffing, volunteers and budgets. Working with colleagues and sector partners, you’ll turn research and promising ideas into menus, service approaches and operating models that can work across diverse schools. You will design fully subsidized, pay-what-you-can and full-fee program options.

Some of the things you’ll get paid to do

• Research school food policies, funding, partners and successful approaches in Canada and internationally, translating lessons into practical opportunities.

• Build meaningful relationships with schools, school boards, school food advocates, governments, community organizations, funders and researchers.

• Design adaptable food service models for diverse student populations, schedules, school facilities, equipment and staffing or volunteer capacity.

• Partner with our R&D department to test meals, portions, menu structures and service formats suited to school-age students.

• Plan and lead school food pilots, defining objectives, budgets, partners, roles, timelines, risks and success measures.

• Visit schools and pilot sites to observe operations, listen to students and program teams, troubleshoot issues and gather feedback.

• Use participation, satisfaction, operational and financial data to assess what works and recommend what to improve, adapt, scale or stop.

• Turn pilot insights into clear business cases and repeatable playbooks covering ordering, payment administration, production, delivery, equipment, food safety and service.

About You

Required Education & Experience

• Experience in school or institutional foodservice, program design, operations, innovation, public or nonprofit partnerships, applied research or complex project delivery.

• College diploma, university degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

• Demonstrated ability to take a new program, service or pilot from concept through implementation and evaluation.

• Strong project management, relationship-building and communication skills, and the judgment to navigate complex stakeholder environments.

• Strategic and systems-oriented thinking, combined with comfort interpreting research, operational and financial information and working hands-on in schools.

Nice-to-have

• Direct experience in school food, education, institutional catering, community food programs or public-sector program delivery.

• Experience with publicly funded and fee-based programs, research partnerships or human-centred program design.

• French language skills

Working at RFRK comes with other perks too:

Benefits & Savings Programs

• Performance-based annual bonus

• Comprehensive benefits starting on Day 1, inclusive of a Health Spending Account and a Wellness Spending Account

• Competitive RRSP Matching program

• RESP Matching program for up to 2 children

• Family comes first! We offer parental leave top-up programs for new parents

• Access to virtual Healthcare Professionals through our 24/7 dedicated Employee Assistance Program

• Fuel your day with the healthy, delicious food we proudly make, served daily in our staff cafeteria

• Real Rewards for Great Work - Recognize your coworkers and receive peer shout-outs through our recognition platform, where points can be redeemed for gift cards

We Value Fresh Minds

• Generous vacation time to support a healthy work-life balance

• Eight Wellness Days each year, giving you the flexibility to rest, recharge, and take care of yourself
  
  

Continuous Growth

• Annual learning & development stipend to support your professional growth

• Exciting career opportunities within a mission-driven organization

• Mentorship program designed to support your career development and long-term success

This is a newly created position and is currently vacant. We are hiring to fill this new role as part of RFRK’s growth.

To apply, please upload your résumé *and* cover letter, including salary expectations, explaining why you’d be a great fit for this role. Please include your favourite recipe in your cover letter. If you meet almost all of the requirements and are not sure if you should apply, apply anyway! We may see something special in your application that sets you apart from the rest.

Real Food for Real Kids is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and inclusion in our workplace and at all levels of our organization. We strongly encourage applications from diverse backgrounds and communities.

We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

No phone calls, emails or drop in visits, please. We’ll contact applicants who fit the bill, and invite them in for an interview.

We appreciate the interest from the Staffing industry however respectfully request no calls or unsolicited resumes from Agencies.

Please note: As part of our recruitment process, we use automated tools and artificial intelligence technologies to assist with application review. These tools are used to support, not replace, the hiring team’s evaluation of your qualifications and fit for the role.

Thanks for your interest in Real Food for Real Kids!

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