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 Purpose

We are looking for an ambitious and highly organised Head of Operations to help lead and grow Food Behind Bars during an exciting stage of development.

This is a senior role within the organisation, working closely with the Chief Executive to oversee the delivery of our projects and support the wider operations of the charity. You will play a central role in ensuring our initiatives run smoothly, achieve meaningful impact and continue to grow.

A key part of the role will involve managing two of our major projects. At HMP Spring Hill, you will oversee the delivery of a flagship project focused on improving prison food through food production, kitchen training and food education. You will work closely with our Food Educator and prison staff to ensure the programme runs successfully and develops over time. You will manage the refurbishment of a walled kitchen garden, overseeing infrastructure repair, new polytunnels and the build of a farm-to-fork training kitchen. 

You will also help oversee a new initiative at HMP Peterborough, where we are establishing an in-house prison bakery and delivering our Prison Food Education Programme. This will involve coordinating partners, supporting programme delivery and helping shape the long-term development of the project. You will oversee the establishment of the bakery, the recruitment of staff and implementation of a new training programme.

Alongside project oversight, you will support the day-to-day operations of the charity. This will include staff and project management, supporting fundraising and partnerships, helping develop new initiatives and strengthening our monitoring and evaluation work.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a small but ambitious organisation and play a central role in shaping its future. We are looking for someone who is passionate about food, social impact and building innovative projects that improve the lives of people in prison.

 

Responsibilities:

Project management

• Oversee the delivery of key Food Behind Bars projects, ensuring they are well-managed, impactful and aligned with the organisation’s mission.

• Project manage the HMP Spring Hill initiative, supporting the development of the walled garden, food education programme and wider project activities.

• Spend regular time at HMP Spring Hill (approximately one day per week) to support project delivery and maintain strong relationships with prison staff.

• Support the development and delivery of the HMP Peterborough project, including the establishment of an in-house bakery and delivery of the Prison Food Education Programme.

• Spend regular time at HMP Peterborough (approximately one day per week) to support project delivery and maintain strong relationships with prison staff.

• Coordinate project timelines, budgets, partnerships and reporting requirements.

• Work closely with project staff, freelancers and volunteers to ensure programmes run smoothly.

Organisational operations

• Support the Chief Executive in the day-to-day management of the organisation.

• Contribute to organisational planning and the development of new projects and ideas.

• Help develop systems and processes that support the charity as it grows.

• Support staff management and help foster a positive, collaborative team culture.

• Assist with internal operations including scheduling, coordination and organisational planning.

• Fundraising and partnerships

• Support the development of funding proposals and grant applications.

• Contribute to reporting for funders and partners.

• Help build and maintain relationships with prisons, funders and partner organisations.

• Assist with identifying and developing opportunities for new projects and collaborations.

• Liaise with the Head of Food Education as needed.

Monitoring and impact

• Support the monitoring and evaluation of Food Behind Bars’ projects.

• Help track project outcomes, gather feedback and document learning.

• Contribute to reports that communicate the impact of our work to funders and stakeholders.

 

Requirements:

Essential

• Strong project management experience, ideally within the charity, public or social enterprise sector.

• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

• Strong communication skills and the ability to build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.

• Experience supporting or leading complex projects from planning through to delivery.

• Ability to work independently, take initiative and solve problems proactively.

• A collaborative and supportive approach to working with colleagues and partners.

• An interest in food, cooking, hospitality or food education.

• Commitment to the mission and values of Food Behind Bars.

 

Desirable

• Experience working in the criminal justice sector, education or food systems.

• Experience in food growing or farming.

• Experience managing staff, freelancers or project teams.

• Experience supporting fundraising or grant writing.

• Experience with monitoring and evaluation or impact measurement.

 

● This role will involve working both remotely and on-site at prison locations, particularly HMP Spring Hill and HMP Peterborough. The role will require regular travel to these sites.

● The successful candidate will have to go through Ministry of Justice security clearance before commencing employment.

● Subject to vetting clearance, the successful candidate will also attend induction training at the relevant prisons as well as Food Behind Bars’ internal training.

Application information

Please submit a CV and cover letter to judy@foodbehindbars.co.uk before midnight on Friday 17th April.

https://www.foodbehindbars.co.uk/blog/were-hiring-head-of-operations

Please mention Roots to Work when applying for these jobs