PO Box 1945, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 1-360-378-0095 – https://sjifh.com

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR WHOLESALE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR

The San Juan Islands Food Hub (SJIFH) is currently accepting proposals for a Wholesale Business Development Coordinator (Business Development Coordinator) based in San Juan County, Washington for a three-year contract at $5,600 per year from December 2020 to September 2023, with possibility of renewal.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The Business Development Coordinator is responsible for growing SJIFH to the wholesale market, as per SJIFH business development plans. The Business Development Coordinator facilitates conversations between wholesale buyers and producers in order to establish price points and projected volumes that support SJIFH producers, SJIFH wholesale buyers, and SJIFH,

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION

The mission of SJIFH is to increase the production and sales of local food in remote San Juan County, Washington in support of a viable agricultural economy, food security, and community access to healthy, sustainably grown food.

SJIFH partners have known from a 2016 USDA-funded feasibility study, reviewed and revalidated in 2018, that wholesaling of local farm products in SJC is hindered by gaps in farmer-customer communications, lack of infrastructure, and distribution challenges due to the county’s island geography. To address these challenges, SJIFH is providing an online marketplace, linked to aggregation sites and transportation among three major islands and to the mainland.

SJIFH’s original focus was on wholesaling. With COVID-19, however, SJIFH turned to sales to provide an outlet for farmers and value-added producers who have lost their wholesale accounts. In April of 2020, SJIFH became a multi-stakeholder cooperative with a focus on retail sales. Retail sales to date have exceeded projections by 20%, and SJIFH is now circling back to the wholesale operation, in anticipation of the restoration of wholesale markets post pandemic. This project will cement the long-term sustainability of SJIFH by developing wholesale markets as per the SJIFH business model.

In October 2020, SJIFH received a three-year USDA Local Food Promotion Program grant. The goal of the grant project is to increase the efficacy and capacity of SJIFH as a wholesale marketplace, specifically as follows: ● Objective 1: Increase access for at least 40 SJC farmers and 25 agricultural value-added producers to inter-island and regional wholesale markets by expanding SJIFH managerial capacity with part-time staff

● Objective 2: Increase knowledge of SJIFH by 150 local and regional buyers, with 70 of those buyers purchasing from SJIFH as the result of SJIFH outreach and strategies to expand relationships between buyers and sellers

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PO Box 1945, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 1-360-378-0095 – https://sjifh.com

In addition, as part of the project outside the scope of work of the Business Development Coordinator, SJIFH will be working to increase cool storage infrastructure and increase the number of local farms certified in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training, Value- Added Product Development Training, and/or Preventive Control Training for Small Value-Added Producers.

SJIFH anticipates the gradual return of wholesale markets and tourism (which helps drive the demand for local food). The regional market for San Juan County products remains virtually untapped and will be a focus of SJIFH in the future. SJIFH is collaborating with the Puget Sound Food Hub to open markets for San Juan County products on the mainland, especially in the Seattle Metropolitan area.

ELIGIBILITY AND GUIDELINES

This RFP is open to consultants with expertise in the wholesale food and farming sector in the Pacific Northwest. Successful proposals will include access to a home or organization office for equipment and office costs. Knowledge of local wholesale buying and selling is essential.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

1. Work to recruit new wholesale buyers. 2. Collaborate with the SJIFH Market Manager on producer communications and on implementation of SJIFH wholesale strategies. 3. Frame pricing strategies with producers in conjunction with feedback from buyers. 4. Coordinate development of production plans with producers/sellers.

DELIVERABLES

Business Development and Sales

• Develop and cultivate relationships with wholesale buyers; • Work with SJIFH board to establish sales objectives by forecasting and developing annual and seasonal sales quotas and by projecting expected sales volume and profit; • Develop and manage SJIFH contracts with institutions and wholesale buyers.

Program Management and Administration

• Maintain regular communication with community partners and stakeholders related to program contracts, projects, and agreements, as coordinated with the SJIFH Market Manager; • Identify ways to improve SJIFH operations and implement improvement strategies in consultation with the SJIFH Board of Directors; • Collect and analyze data relevant to food hub operations in weekly sales and work reports to the SJIFH board and the SJIFH Market Manager. Please note that further outcomes may be requested or some changes may be necessary as the project develops. 2

PO Box 1945, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 1-360-378-0095 – https://sjifh.com

BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS

The candidate is required to have: • 3-5 years in business, food , farming, social enterprise, or nonprofit fields, including experience in sales, marketing, outreach, and building consumer and partner relationships; • Demonstrated knowledge of business development, logistics, supply-chain management, and/or value- chain coordination; • Strong computer skills with the ability to learn and use inventory management software, such as Local Food Marketplace, and Microsoft Office; • Impeccable customer service skills.

Content of Proposal

The proposal should include: • Description of the candidate’s experience in the local food and farm sector (any and all experience from farm to fork, co-operative business, wholesale or restaurant experience);

• Description of the candidate’s experience working with a team and a supervisor;

• Examples of other contracts or projects undertaken by the candidate related to the local food and farm sector (specific to financing preferably) ;

• List of any other project-related experience;

• Description of a general plan of approach to project;

• References (two).

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

• Overall proposal suitability: proposed concepts must meet the scope and needs included herein and be presented in a clear and organized manner;

• Experience: proposals will be evaluated on the organization’s or individual’s experience as it pertains to the scope of this project;

• Previous work: applicants will be evaluated on examples of their work pertaining to the requirements of the project;

• Results of reference checks

Submission

Proposals must be submitted to [email protected] by 5pm on December 1, 2020.

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