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

Job description

Will you join us? We're looking for a Partnerships and Funding Manager…

If you’re a committed and creative team player who believes in empowering people to take action—and you’re excited by the idea of joining a team reshaping how we value food—this role could be a brilliant fit for you.

We are looking for a Partnerships and Funding Manager who will lead our partnership development and funding strategy for REfUSE.

About us

REfUSE is an award-winning social enterprise based in Chester le Street, working towards a healthier, more sustainable food system. We intercept around 8 tonnes of food per month that would otherwise go to waste and turn it into healthy, accessible meals, served on a “Pay as You Feel” basis at our volunteer-run community cafe. With a community of over 150 volunteers, we run regular restaurant nights, sell Waste Not Box food hampers, and run education and engagement projects including our Eat Smart programme which engages primary school pupils in the causes of and solutions to food waste in their schools. We are raising awareness, inspiring, and empowering people towards community-led transformation of our food system in the North-East. Our vision is to reveal the true value of things, places and people that are unjustly wasted or overlooked.

About our partnerships work

The fourth objective of our five‑year strategy is to promote the benefits of partnership working. Our partnerships work at many levels: from support organisations who use our cafe space for meetings or events, to referral agencies who signpost their users to come and volunteer with us or make use of the cafe, to sitting on the advisory board of Food Durham, to participation on wider networks such as County Durham’s Healthy Food Alliance. We also have ad-hoc interactions with many other stakeholders for example with Chartwells who hold the school waste catering contract for Durham County Council. 

About our funding

We have an annual turnover of around £300,000. As a CIC, REfUSE depends on a mix of earned income, grant income and donations. Earned income is secured through its cafe, the sale of grocery boxes, rental of office and cafe space, restaurant nights and catering. Our donations comprise a mixture of regular and one-off payments. Our grants range from one-off grants (£500) to multi-year grants. Our largest funders are currently Greggs Foundation, Kavli Trust and Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Role description

As a key member of the Coordination Team and reporting to our Directors) you will oversee REfUSE’s funding strategy and relationships with key funders including pursuing new funding where need is identified and with the support of the Finance and Resources Manager oversee the spending of funds in line with applications. Working closely with our Directors and the rest of the Coordination team you will develop and maintain relationships with delivery partners and external stakeholders. Through these partnerships you will help influence policy and practice in the food sector locally, regionally and nationally.

One of our key outputs allied to a grant from Kavli is to develop guidance, procedures and policy around food waste and food provision in schools and the post holder working with the Eat Smart and Education Champion will allocate some of their time to ensuring that positive change is made in this area by working in partnership with relevant stakeholders. 

All REfUSE staff team members must work as part of the REfUSE staff team, attending team meetings, working in partnership with other staff members where necessary, and contributing to the development of REfUSE to meet its financial, environmental and social objectives.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about the work of REfUSE and the wider food, waste and social environment. You will be enthusiastic, able to inspire others, communicate well, and bring strong organisation to your work. Although part of the Coordination team and the wider REfUSE team you will need to be largely self-directed, confident in managing your own workload and staying effective under pressure.

Job Specification:

We’re looking for a part-time engaging leader (30 hours) who will:

• Member of Coordination Team

• Lead strategic plan and monitoring its implementation

• Coordinate all funding bids for the organisation to deliver projects and cover core costs

• Work with other staff members to develop robust monitoring and evaluation processes to support reporting on project delivery and to demonstrate our impact

• Oversee all project progress reporting to funders

• Liaise with Finances and Resources Manager to oversee the spending of funds in line with applications

• Support the development of partnerships with other organisations, local authority and private sector to facilitate REfUSE’s aims

• Chair team meetings as required

• Coordinate the delivery of new projects and ideas and delivering specific projects as required

• Manage the Eat Smart and Education Champion to ensure the specific requirements of our young persons programme are met. 

• Research new possible project activities and funding and income earning opportunities

• Represent REfUSE at internal and external events including giving presentations or running workshops

• Attend regular REfUSE staff team meetings and work in partnership with volunteers and other staff members.

• Undertake any other tasks or duties that may reasonably be required

Person Specification

Essential: To be amazing you will have the following attributes & experience....

• Passionate about grass-roots environmental and social change and have a good understanding of sustainability

• Knowledge of the local and national funding landscape

• Experience of contributing to partnership working at local and regional level

• Proven experience of successful funding applications

• Budget planning and spending experience

• Experience of monitoring and reporting on grant expenditure and outcomes

• Positive attitude and ability to solve problems under pressure

• Able to work in a self-directed manner and as part of a team, where the ability to develop and build good working relationships is key. 

• Strong project management skills

• Very strong organisational, administrative and time-management skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Good IT skills (shared documents, spreadsheets, Zoom/Teams, social media and emails)

• Full, clean driving licence

• Available to work some flexible hours including evenings and weekends

Desirable: It would be great if you have...

• Interest in, and awareness of, food waste on a local and global level

• Delivery of engaging presentations and/or workshops

• Experience of taking the initiative to approach new potential partners

• Track record of turning  strategic ideas into project proposals with budgets

• Experience of working with corporate and regular donors and establishing service level agreements.

• Experience of working with volunteers

• Effective line manager

• Access to own transport

Pay and Benefits

• Part-time role: 4 days per week
• Annual Leave: 28 days (inc. bank holidays, additional days based on length of service)
• Salary: £24,219 actual salary (£30,274 pro rata) plus 3% employer’s pension contribution (REfUSE is not in a position to negotiate on salaries and benefits)
• Employment term: Permanent
• REfUSE Partnerships and Funding Manager - Job Information Pack

Application information

This is an exciting role so if you are considering applying, why not contact us to have a chat or arrange a time to visit us at REfUSE? If you require any further information, please contact Oliver or Karen, 07732 779893 or admin@refusedurham.org.uk (You can head to our website to check out all the current opportunities to 'Work with us')

If you would like to apply, please send us the following:

• A covering letter describing why you would like to work for REfUSE as the Partnerships and Funding Manager, your relevant experience and how you meet the job specification above (1 A4 page maximum)

• An up-to-date CV (2 A4 pages maximum)

• Contact details for 2 referees

• Your availability for the interview on the dates specified below and any adjustments you may need so we can support you in coming to the interview.

• Where you heard about this job

Send your email to admin@refusedurham.org.uk with an email subject of ‘Your Name - Partnerships and Funding Manager’ before the deadline date.

Key Information

• The deadline for all applications is 17:00 on Sun 3rd May - Applications received after the deadline or without the required documents will not be considered.
• Interviews will take place in person on Tues 19th May (PM) or Thurs 21st May at REfUSE (143c Front Street, Chester le Street, County Durham, DH3 3AU)
• Start Date - July 2026 

 

• We will endeavour to contact all applicants promptly to inform them of the status of their application. For the successful candidate, we will contact their two referees before making a provisional job offer. We will then carry out pre-employment checks (including a Medical Health Questionnaire, Right to Work Check, and an Enhanced DBS Check). We will review this information on a case by case basis to ensure that, with any reasonable adjustments, you can meet the requirements of the role.
• REfUSE is an office-based organisation, but that should not preclude people from applying for roles if they need an element of working remotely. REfUSE will try to accommodate such needs where appropriate to the role.

Please mention Roots to Work when applying for these jobs