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.

Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Job description

Job Title:                          Birmingham Project Officer

Salary:                              £28,000

Position Type:                  Full time / Fixed term (12 months)

Reports to:                       Scaling Manager

Based at:                          Remote, with travel to schools in Birmingham

Working Hours:               5 days a week, 9am-5pm (flexible)

Pension:                           School Food Matters pays pension contributions at 7% of pensionable earnings

Holiday:                            31 days including bank holidays that fall on working days. Holidays must be taken during the school holidays

This role requires occasional work outside of core hours (for example, if visiting a school breakfast club). It also requires travel to schools across Birmingham, so access to a car would be desirable. Training for delivery of the programme will be provided online and in person, and you will be expected to travel outside of Birmingham for some of these training sessions.

Background to School Food Matters

At School Food Matters we believe that school food can unlock a happier, healthier, more sustainable future for every child. We want a school food system that delivers for all children, so they can enjoy nutritious, delicious and sustainable school food and leave school with an informed and positive relationship with food. To achieve this, we campaign for a better school food system, bringing the voices of children, parents, and teachers to government policy, and deliver fully funded food education programmes in schools across the country.

Background to Nourish

Our Nourish programme supports schools to create a food environment that puts children and young people's nutrition first. The evidence-based, multi-component programme helps schools to develop action plans and policies to cover the food served across the whole school day. Nourish uses a collaborative whole school approach to food involving everyone across the school community to create lasting positive change.

Job purpose

• To deliver Nourish in 6-8 schools in Birmingham (primary, secondary and SEND settings)

Key tasks include

• Support with recruitment of schools to take part in Nourish
• Complete in person food audits in schools looking across the whole school day
• Support schools to create and deliver a food improvement plan (action plan)
• Develop and deliver workshops in schools to staff, parents and students based on their action plan (e.g. assemblies, cooking sessions, school food standards training, packed lunch advice, food ed/sensory tasting sessions)
• Support schools to write a school food policy
• Build relationships and work closely with teachers, teaching assistants, chefs, kitchen teams and senior leaders in schools to improve the food on offer to students
• Collect data and maintain accurate records relating to the project
• Work closely with our Evaluation team to complete all monitoring and evaluation
• Work in collaboration with other Birmingham school food partners
• Share learnings with other SFM regional Project Officers
• Gather content for our Comms team (website and social media platforms)
• Keep Scaling Manager fully updated on progress
• Keep up to date with safeguarding requirements and reporting procedures
• Maintaining the ethos of the charity and positively promoting our work at all times
• You will also be expected to undertake any other tasks relevant to the affairs of SFM that may arise from time to time.  Therefore, being flexible and approaching the job with an open and positive mindset is essential.

Person specification

Essential

• Registered nutritionist or advanced understanding of nutritional guidelines and health promotion
• Good interpersonal skills, with experience of building relationships
• Confident engaging with a variety of audiences (students, headteachers, school staff and parents), including communications via email, virtual and face to face meetings with the ability to deliver workshops & presentations
• Excellent administrative and organisational skills with great attention to detail
• Excellent IT skills including excel, word and email
• Able to work independently and remote
• Self-motivated and optimistic with a can-do attitude
• Ability to work in a team and seek help when needed

Desirable

• Experience of engaging and working with schools and/or communities
• Experience of working for a charity or not for profit organisation
• Knowledge in food education and children’s health
• Access to car

Application information

Once you have thoroughly read this job description and had a careful look at our website including our charter, please complete the application form here. The electronic form can be saved but you may also find it helpful to use the word document here as a template.

Applications must be submitted by midnight on Sunday 30 November 2025 with interviews held online on Friday 12 December 2025.

Please note: 

School Food Matters is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all employees to share this commitment. If you are offered employment, you will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service record check.

  School Food Matters is a London Living Wage employer and is committed to creating an inclusive work environment, where our team members are supported in expressing themselves and delivering their best work. So, however you identify and whatever background you bring with you, please apply if the role is one that would make you excited about coming into work every day.

School Food Matters is only able to employ people who are entitled to work in the UK and cannot assist with work permit or immigration issues.

Please mention Roots to Work when applying for these jobs