About Second Harvest of Silicon Valley
Founded in 1974, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley is one of the largest food banks in the nation and a trusted nonprofit leader in ending local hunger. The organization provides nutritious food through an extensive network of community partners at distribution sites across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
In one of the nation's most expensive regions, the high cost of living leaves many households struggling to afford basic necessities. Today, 1 in 6 people in Silicon Valley turns to Second Harvest for food. In addition to providing nutritious food, the organization connects people to federal nutrition programs and other resources, provides nutrition education, and advocates for policies that help end hunger. Together with the community, Second Harvest is working to create a hunger-free Silicon Valley where everyone has access to the nutritious food they need to thrive.
How They Do It
Second Harvest powers the charitable food network in Silicon Valley. Through food purchasing, large-scale food donations and a robust grocery rescue program, the organization sources, stores and distributes nutritious food across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, working with nearly 400 community partners to help ensure neighbors have reliable access to food.
The majority of the food Second Harvest provides is fresh, nutritious produce, distributed primarily through farmer's market-style distributions led by Second Harvest and its partners. These distributions also include dairy, protein and other staple foods.
With a staff of 270 full-time employees and the support of 32,000 volunteers annually, Second Harvest is powered by deep community engagement. Nearly 95% of its funding comes from the community, including strong support from individual donors.
This is a transformational moment for Second Harvest. As the organization prepares to open its new approximately 215,000-square-foot central hub in San Jose in 2027, it is preparing for the people, systems and infrastructure needed to meet the growing need across Silicon Valley. The new Central Hub will expand capacity by 30%, strengthen emergency response capabilities and create a more integrated, efficient operation designed to serve the community for decades to come.
The Community
Silicon Valley is a place of extraordinary innovation and wealth, yet that prosperity exists alongside one of the highest costs of living in the nation. For many residents, basic necessities are increasingly out of reach, forcing ongoing tradeoffs between food and expenses like rent, utilities and transportation.
At the same time, the region is defined by a strong culture of community support, where individuals, Silicon Valley companies and local organizations come together to ensure neighbors have access to the food they need.
Spanning Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, Second Harvest serves a large, dynamic and diverse region—reaching neighbors across both urban and rural communities. Grounded in deep partnerships and shaped by the experiences of the people it serves, the organization works to ensure everyone has consistent access to the nutritious food they need to thrive.
Learn more about how Second Harvest is responding to the incredible amount of need in Silicon Valley at www.shfb.org.
The Opportunity
This is an exciting opportunity to build a newly created leadership function at one of the nation's largest and most innovative food banks. As Second Harvest continues to evolve its operations to meet growing community needs, the organization is investing in more sophisticated facilities, energy infrastructure, and maintenance systems to support its long-term strategy.
Reporting to the COO, the Director of Energy Management & Facilities will lead the strategic oversight of the organization's facilities, energy management, and maintenance programs, while partnering closely with the Senior Manager of Facilities to ensure excellence in day-to-day operations. This role will oversee a 200,000+ square foot LEED-certified refrigerated warehouse and play a key role in implementing a new computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), strengthening preventive maintenance programs, and driving a culture of continuous improvement.
The Director will lead one of the organization's most significant infrastructure initiatives. Second Harvest is developing an innovative campus that will include a microgrid, large-scale battery storage, backup generation, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and an expanding fleet of electric trucks and trailers. The Director will help optimize these systems through a custom energy management platform designed to improve efficiency, balance electrical loads, and enhance long-term operational resilience.
Additionally, the Director will build and develop a high-performing team, cultivate strong relationships across the organization, and partner effectively with internal stakeholders and external vendors. The next Director will bring a thoughtful, analytical approach to problem-solving, a commitment to continuous improvement, and the ability to translate operational excellence into measurable results. This leader will also be a coach and mentor and effectively manage labor relations within a unionized environment.
This is an opportunity to shape a newly established function while helping ensure the organization has the facilities and infrastructure needed to advance its mission for years to come.
Candidate Profile
We recognize that there is a spectrum of lived and professional experience that will set candidates up for success in this role. While no one candidate will have every experience outlined in the position description, ideal candidates will display the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics:
Strategic Facilities & Energy Leadership
Demonstrates the ability to develop and execute a long-term vision for facilities, energy management, and infrastructure that supports organizational growth and operational excellence. Brings a systems-thinking approach to balancing reliability, sustainability, scalability, and cost while ensuring facilities enable, rather than constrain, the organization's mission.
Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
Leads complex facilities and maintenance operations with a focus on reliability, efficiency, and performance. Champions preventive and predictive maintenance strategies, leverages data and performance metrics to drive decision-making, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement through process optimization and technology adoption.
Financial, Risk & Infrastructure Stewardship
Oversees capital planning, asset lifecycle management, and facility investments with a strong understanding of financial stewardship and long-term infrastructure planning. Ensures compliance with safety and regulatory requirements, proactively manages operational risk, and maintains resilient systems that protect business continuity.
Collaborative Leadership & Relationship Management
Builds trusted partnerships across the organization and effectively collaborates with operations, finance, procurement, and external technical partners to achieve shared objectives. Establishes clear expectations, holds teams and vendors accountable for performance, and creates alignment across diverse stakeholders to deliver results.
People Leadership & Team Development
Leads, coaches, and develops high-performing teams in a union environment while building the organizational capability needed to support increasingly sophisticated facilities and energy systems. Creates an environment of accountability, engagement, and continuous learning, while strengthening leadership capacity and preparing the organization for future growth.
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this position is $162,000 - $220,000 and is commensurate with skills and experience.
This on-site role requires regular presence in warehouse and transportation environments, including refrigerated and frozen areas, and periodic travel between distribution sites, partner agencies, and community locations, with some evening and weekend work as necessary.
Second Harvest of Silicon Valley offers an outstanding, generous health benefits program, 4–5 weeks of Flexible Time Off (vacation and sick), eleven paid holidays, and a retirement plan.
Contact
DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Alicia Salerno and Alex Corvin. Express interest in this role by filling out our Talent Profile or emailing the search team directly at [email protected]. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.
DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
Second Harvest is committed to being an equal opportunity employer which values diversity. All applicants are encouraged to apply. Applicants will be selected based on specific, role-related skills and qualifications.
About DSG | Koya
DSG | Koya, a DSG Global company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, DSG | Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. DSG | Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.
DSG Global is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.
Learn more about DSG | Koya via the firm's website.