Find your place in the field of good food

Our goal is to connect good people with good food. We advertise sustainable food jobs and training opportunities to help jobseekers and employers find each other.

Job description

Job Title: Camden Food Partnership Coordinator  

Reporting to: FEAST Operations Manager   

Hours: 3-4 days per week (21-28 hrs), flexible days 

Holiday: 25 days pro rata + bank holidays  

Salary: £30,000 - £34,000 Annual Gross pro rata (depending on skills and experience) 

Location: Hybrid - remote and Camden (various locations) 

Contract: 7-month fixed-term contract with opportunity to move to a permanent role with FEAST (subject to funding) 

FEAST With Us - Feeding and Empowering All Sustainably Together (FEAST) 

FEAST started in 2015 as a weekly community meal at a hostel for homeless people, using surplus food that would otherwise be thrown away. Each meal is a collaboration whereby volunteers and people experiencing food insecurity cook and dine together as equals.     We support people with daily nutritious meals per week in multiple hostels for people experiencing homelessness, and 1-2 services per week in and delivered to community centres for anyone struggling with food poverty. We now work with 14 partner venues across London. 

FEAST is expanding its services including offering training on nutrition and practical experience in the kitchen for vulnerable people experiencing food poverty, to give opportunities to help people become independent from food aid services. In partnership with UCL we were awarded funding by the British Dietetic Association (BDA) General and Education Trust (GET) Fund to conduct an 18-month cross-sectional study assessing the nutritional status of homeless adults residing in temporary accommodation. This research is much needed to identify dietary health inequalities and solutions to support this disadvantaged population group who are known to experience food insecurity and likely malnutrition. 

Our Mission:  

• Improve the nutrition and health of those vulnerable to food poverty and insecurity 
• Reduce food and packaging waste 
• Build community & create opportunities to socialise 

Our Values:  

Inclusive; Collaborative; Empathetic; Empowering; Innovative  

Camden Food Partnership (CFP) Background 

FEAST work in partnership with the London Borough of Camden to coordinate the CFP - a network membership of 40 voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations providing free or low-cost food across the borough, and other cross-sector food organisations, including SMEs, food suppliers, retailers, growers, educators. They share best practice and collaborate on joint initiatives to improve food insecurity and work towards the Camden Food Mission – that by 2030 everyone eats well every day with nutritious, affordable and sustainable food. 

The CFP started as a crisis response during COVID 19 lockdown, bringing together a group of initiatives from Camden organisations working on food poverty, either as their sole and purposive mission or as a tangent from their charitable objectives. The aim for Camden Council was to lead it from VCS sector, and FEAST were awarded that role in October 2021.  

Main Responsibilities 

The CFP coordinator will lead the existing CFP network of VCS and other cross-sector food organisations in Camden Borough, chair the CFP steering group and oversee the delivery of CFP initiatives and action plan. 

Support CFP initiatives and innovation (40%) 

• Identify and support delivery of actions to tackle food poverty in Camden, developed in collaboration with the CFP steering group/members of the wider network and in line with CFP Guiding Principles  
• Identify funding opportunities to be shared with CFP members, support/lead applications where appropriate  
• Ensure meaningful resident participation in the CFP, e.g. co-development of actions 
• Support application for Camden to become a Sustainable Food Place  

Develop and oversee delivery of the CFP action plan (25%) 

• The Action Plan has been developed with the wider CFP network, and with support from the CFP steering group. It is an iterative document, responding to resident feedback and learning as the CFP develops. It is also informed by data and research, including from Time To Spare, the Camden and Islington Food Poverty Needs Assessment (2023) and ongoing CFP member organisation surveys 
• Maintain and communicate the action plan to CFP members and other related organisations supporting their work 
• Lead/ oversee the delivery of the action plan and activity of the CFP and benchmark efforts and outcomes against the action plan 

Coordinate the CFP network, meetings and membership (25%) 

• To proactively engage with, develop, and maintain effective working partnerships to support project delivery  
• Organise and chair CFP steering group meetings 
• Widen participation in the CFP  
• Attend regular Food Network meetings (as chair or cochair) 
• Attend, contribute to and support delivery of regular Tackling Food Poverty meetings (chaired by Camden’s Advice Network - CAN) 
• Collaborate with Camden’s Advice Network   
• Deliver joint CFP/ CAN wide alliance meetings 
• Deliver additional workshops/meetings as needed, to identify and progress actions to tackle food poverty in Camden. 

Communications (10%)  

• Increase the profile of the CFP and FEAST through monthly email bulletins (detailing opportunities to collaborate, access to funding, resources/sharing of best practice from elsewhere such as Sustain, other Food Poverty Alliances/Food Partnerships)  
• Oversee the CFP Rise-Up list and encourage usage across the CFP network 
• Maintain regular updates to the CFP website 
• Maintain regular updates for the FEAST team and Camden council. 

Additional roles and responsibilities may be added over time as required to deliver the role. 

Person Specification 

Essential:  

We are looking for the following skills, aptitude, experience and attitude; you may be stronger in some areas than others and FEAST will provide training to support personal development. Your experience should evidence your shared values with FEAST and a personal commitment to our mission to reduce food poverty amongst vulnerable people. You must be able to travel to and work from Camden for at least 50% of your working time. 

Skills & Experience: 

• Ability to communicate effectively and confidently on the phone, in online meetings and face-to-face, and develop positive relationships in diverse organisations 
• Ability to manage multiple different stakeholders with competing priorities 
• Excellent writing and reporting skills 
• Good organisational and time management skills 
• Able to manage a virtual team and resources to deliver initiatives and actions, using flexible leadership styles and tools 
• Proactive approach to problem-solving and agility to respond to challenges dynamically 
• Project management 
• People management; leading, collaborating with and learning from team members 
• Working to tight deadlines autonomously, and delegating tasks appropriately 
• Experience of working with vulnerable groups, the volunteer sector, and safeguarding processes 
• Data collection, management and analysis 
• Strong IT skills including MS Office 

Knowledge: 

• Fundraising  
• Community and volunteer sector structures and systems 
• Data protection and compliance processes 
• Food systems and food policy 
• Insight into food poverty/insecurity 

Personal Qualities: 

• Able to think on feet and adapt to change 
• Interpersonal approach, empathic and friendly demeanour 
• Professional and proactive ambassador for FEAST and its vision and values 
• Positive attitude and collaborative approach 
• Commitment to growing personal skills and skills of the team 
• Ability to travel to and work in Camden regularly (at least 50% of working time) 

Desirable Skills & Experience: 

• Experience of CRM (Salesforce), PowerBI and AirTable  
• Financial reporting skills and budget management 
• Business development experience 
• Safeguarding and valid DBS check (will be part of FEAST training) 
• Account management/experience working with corporate organisations and local authorities 

FEAST will provide formal induction and training to meet the needs of the successful applicant.  

Application information

To apply for this role, please send your CV and a covering letter to careers@feastwithus.org.uk by 30 September 2023. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis when received, and we aim for interviews to be held between 2 – 13 October.  

Please mention Roots to Work when applying for these jobs