Community chef jobs

Who we are
Chefs in Schools is a young, ambitious charity that’s rapidly growing. Our mission is to improve kids’ health, through improving school food & food education. We focus our efforts in areas of high socio-economic deprivation, where more than a third of children are entitled to free school meals, and diet-related disease is driving further inequality. We support and train school kitchen teams to serve the best, freshest and tastiest food possible, alongside meaningful food education. We share learning and resources, aiming  to inspire and enable others to follow our lead. We’re backed by some of the biggest names in food and have ambitious targets to ensure every child has access to incredible school food and food education, setting them up for life with the skills and knowledge to feed themselves well.

 About you and the role

This role is responsible for the delivery and continuous improvement of the Chefs in Schools Transformation Programme across London, the South East and East of England. The Transformation Programme is our flagship year-long initiative, designed to support school kitchen teams and senior leadership teams in serving the best, freshest, and most nutritious food possible. Through this programme, we transform school lunches, upskill kitchen staff, and integrate food education into the heart of the school culture, ensuring that high-quality, scratch-cooked meals become the standard for every pupil. 

As a Chef Trainer, you will act as a pivotal, hands-on ambassador for this mission, supporting kitchen teams, school leadership and the wider school community to embed a high quality, sustainable school food culture in schools. You will support development of the programme’s pipeline and join a brilliant, passionate and experienced team of Chef Trainers, with the opportunity to connect, share and learn from one another.

A key component of this role involves being based in schools for a few weeks at a time, working directly on-site to implement the programme and upskill kitchen teams. You will travel to different locations across London, South East and East of England, supporting schools to build high-quality, sustainable food cultures. 

The responsibilities, skills and experience listed below are intended to give you an idea of what we need for this role. If you don’t meet every requirement but feel you would be able to work with us to deliver the majority of them, we urge you to apply anyway. We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and for us the most important ‘experience’ is passion for our mission. 

We want to get to know you at the interview and understand we can do this best if you’re at ease. We’re an inclusive employer and work hard to create a welcoming working environment for everyone, including appointing a neurodiversity champion to help us  identify how we can make our work environment work for everyone. If you need adjustments to the interview process please let us know.

As we work with children and young people, an offer of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and DBS clearance, in line with our safeguarding policy.
 

Key responsibilities:

Programme Delivery & Training:

• Inspire, train and cook with chefs, cooks and kitchen teams in the preparation of fresh, nutritious food to meet specified standards, imparting your skills and passion for fresh, quality food and building capability across client schools in line with the Chefs in Schools model. 

• Deliver and oversee Transformation Programme delivery in schools within the region, ensuring high quality outcomes aligned to programme objectives and proposals, including check-ins to support proposal and pipeline development.

• Work closely with Head Chefs, Headteachers and School Business Managers to provide fair assessment of culinary ability for existing and new Head Chefs including skills tests.

• Support with recommended kitchen structures at Transformation schools using the Kitchen Brigade system.

• Advise, train and guide Head Chefs, Kitchen Teams and School Business Managers to improve uptake, menu development and School Food Standards compliance.

• Advise on reputable, quality and cost-effective suppliers to support schools to reduce cost per meal per child without sacrificing food quality. Including light-touch auditing and development of procurement suppliers in the region. 

• Encourage schools to monitor, control and reduce kitchen, service and food waste.

• Train kitchen staff to follow up-to-date Health and Safety and hygiene policies and procedures, alongside latest EHO, Food Standards Agency and Allergen guidance.

• Work with the Senior Programme Manager to develop training materials that support the charity’s wider work, ensuring training plans reflect the latest relevant guidance including EHO, Food Standards Agency and Allergen guidance.

• Support schools to develop a whole-school food culture through food education with pupils, aligned to School Food Standards, and the creation of scratch-cooked, delicious and nutritious school food.

Transformation Programme Development:

• Support programme objectives in partnership and alignment with the Senior Programme Manager.

• Visit potential new school clients to assess kitchens and kitchen teams (check-ins), working with the Senior Programme Manager to support proposal and pipeline development as required.

• Support the onboarding of new schools based on the outcome of check-ins conducted and proposals.

• Support in maintaining, improving and running the programme, and Innovations, School Chef Educator and Membership programme needs as required.

Administration & Measurement:

• Support with monitoring and capturing of programme KPIs of Transformation schools, measuring success against Chefs in Schools benchmarking and keeping the Senior Programme Manager updated on any variances.

• Support with case study development working in partnership with the Comms and Fundraising team.

• Report any complaints or serious incidents to the Senior Programme Manager and follow relevant actions related to Chefs in Schools Escalation and Tracking processes.

Essential Skills & Experience:

• You have interest and belief in our mission to improve kids’ health through improving food and food education in schools.

• You have significant professional experience as a chef (minimum of 5 years), ideally with a background in schools, high-volume catering or institutional cooking.

• You have experience training or mentoring kitchen staff, including building culinary capability and culture change.

• You are confident in assessing culinary skills and advising on kitchen structure, menus and supplier choices.

• You are organised, methodical and able to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously.

• You are a strong communicator able to build trusting relationships with different types of stakeholders.

• You have a sound understanding of Health and Safety, Food Hygiene, Allergen regulations and School Food Standards.

Desirable skills & experience:

• Experience working in a school or educational setting.

• Familiarity with the Kitchen Brigade system or equivalent kitchen management structures.

• Experience working with or for a charity or social enterprise.

• Comfortable with data capture, reporting and keeping accurate records.

• A full UK driving licence.

Benefits

You would be joining a friendly, supportive team who works hard but believe in a healthy work/life balance. We were voted one of CODE Hospitality’s happiest places to work in 2024. We seek a diverse range of perspectives, skills, experience and knowledge. Joining a small, collaborative team means you’ll be able to contribute to and draw on various projects and strategic insights.

We offer 33 days of holiday per year including bank holidays, 3 additional office closure days over the Christmas period as well as wellbeing days over the summer school holidays.  We also have a Cycle to Work scheme, hybrid working, enhanced parental leave, and free access to the CODE app for discounted restaurants & hospitality venues. We are committed to developing our team and will support you with relevant training opportunities including £250 towards elective training and development of your choice.

We also offer Bupa Dental Insurance, Income Protection Insurance, as well as access to the Aviva Smart Health Platform which offers health benefits including free rapid access online GP appointments, free counselling and wellbeing support.

Application process

In line with our commitment to ensuring a fair and unbiased recruitment process, we invite candidates to answer a series of questions related to their day-to-day job. Please follow this link to answer the questions and submit your application along with your CV.

We recommend that you develop your answers offline and copy them in when you’re ready to ensure you don’t lose your work if interrupted.

Your answers will go through our sifting process: all answers will be anonymised, randomised and then reviewed by a panel of reviewers. A long list of candidates will then additionally have their CVs reviewed. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an in-person interview and skills test on 27th or 28th August. Candidates may also be invited to attend a second shorter in-person interview on 4th September at our office in Brixton, London.

Salary: £38,000 FTE 
Contract: Permanent 
Working pattern: Full-time; 39 hours p/w 
Location: HMP Brixton, HMP Downview, HMP Send, The Clink Cafe in Herne Hill and the South East 
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

ABOUT THE CLINK CHARITY

The Clink Charity, founded in 2009, aims to prevent and reduce reoffending through training, rehabilitation, and support. We deliver hospitality and horticulture training behind the prison walls and in the community, by creating an environment where our students are supported to gain the skills, confidence and qualifications they need to rebuild their lives.

Since that time, we have trained approximately 5,000 people in prison and delivered 2,600 City & Guilds qualifications in a variety of hospitality and food courses.

What makes The Clink unique is our post-release support and mentoring programme that rehabilitates an offender back into society through assistance with health and mental health issues, housing, employment, family connections and friendships.

The charity operates an award-winning fine dining restaurant open to the public in HMP Brixton, training kitchens in the prison estate, horticulture projects at HMP Send and HMP Earlestoke, a commercial bakery in Brixton and a bespoke delivery service, Catered by Clink.

Additionally, Clink Events is our social enterprise catering business with food produced by the women in HMP Downview and also and additional kitchen at Herne Hill and then served by alumini on front of house ats some of the best venues in London including the Guildhall, the Science Museum, Cutty Sark, Kew Gardens and the Camden Roundhouse.  . In 2024, across 218 events, The Clink fed 36,000 people.

More information can be found on our website and social media channels.

JOB PURPOSE

The Reintegration and Employment Lead (Prisons & Through the Gate) is responsible for leading the delivery of high-quality reintegration and employment support across multiple prison establishments and into the community, as well as across our youth projects.

This is a visible operational leadership role, working across a portfolio of prisons to ensure individuals are supported to leave custody with realistic employment opportunities, coordinated Through the Gate support and the practical tools they need to secure and sustain meaningful employment post-release.

The role also supports our youth café projects in South London and Guildford, working alongside Chef Trainers and Youth Support Workers to ensure that young people at risk of offending are supported to progress into further education, employment or training following graduation from the programme.

You will lead and develop a geographically dispersed team of Support and Employment Workers, building strong relationships with prison governors, prison staff, probation, employers and community partners to ensure a consistent, high-quality service across all locations. By providing effective leadership, driving continuous improvement and maintaining the highest professional standards, you will help people build positive futures through education, training and employment, contributing to reduced offending and reoffending and safer communities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Operational Leadership 

· Provide visible operational leadership across multiple prison establishments and community locations, ensuring a consistent, high-quality employment and reintegration service.

· Lead, motivate and develop a geographically dispersed team of Support and Employment Workers delivering support both within prisons, post-release and across our youth projects.

· Create a positive, collaborative and high-performing team culture through coaching,

supervision, mentoring and regular one-to-one support.

· Manage workloads, resources and priorities across multiple sites to ensure services remain responsive to operational needs.

· Conduct regular quality assurance, case reviews and performance discussions to maintain high standards of practice.

· Report to the Head of Training and Impact and the wider SLT on the delivery and impact of the Reintegration and Employment team, ensuring they are kept informed of performance, outcomes and the impact of interventions.

Through the Gate Delivery 

· Lead the delivery of an effective Through the Gate service, ensuring seamless continuity of employment support from custody into the community.

· Work closely with prison teams to embed employment planning throughout an individual's custodial journey.

· Ensure every participant has a realistic and personalised employment plan that continues beyond release.

· Oversee effective release planning and handover arrangements so individuals are connected with employers, probation, mentors and community services immediately following release.

· Identify and help remove barriers to employment, including housing, benefits, transport, digital inclusion, health and wellbeing.

Youth Project Delivery 

· Lead the delivery of high-quality support and progression pathways for young people participating in our youth café projects in South London and Guildford.

· Work closely with Chef Trainers and Youth Support Workers to ensure each young person receives coordinated support throughout their programme and is prepared for progression following graduation.

· Ensure every participant has a realistic and personalised progression plan, focused on further education, employment or training and reflecting their individual aspirations, skills and circumstances.

· Oversee effective transition arrangements at the end of the programme, connecting young people with employers, education and training providers, mentors and other appropriate community support.

· Identify and help address barriers to successful progression, working with colleagues and external partners to ensure young people can access the practical and personal support they need.

· Monitor progression and sustained outcomes following graduation, ensuring the impact of the youth programmes is captured and opportunities for improvement are identified.

Employer and Partnership Development

· Build and maintain strong relationships with employers to secure meaningful employment opportunities for prison leavers and young people progressing from our youth programmes.

· Develop productive partnerships with HMPPS, Probation, prison governors, prison employment leads, local authorities, education and training providers and voluntary sector organisations.

· Represent the organisation confidently across prison establishments and community settings, adapting delivery to local operational requirements while maintaining consistent service standards.

· Promote the benefits of inclusive employment and encourage employers to create opportunities for people who may face barriers to entering the workplace.

Performance and Service Improvement 

· Monitor and manage performance against contractual KPIs, organisational objectives and progression and employment outcome targets.

· Analyse performance data to identify trends, improve delivery and maximise sustained progression and employment outcomes.

· Prepare accurate reports for senior managers, commissioners and funders as required. Identify opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement, sharing best practice across all areas of service delivery.

· Ensure participant records and case management systems are maintained accurately and in a timely manner.

Safeguarding, Risk and Compliance 

· Ensure full compliance with HMPPS requirements, safeguarding procedures, organisational policies and relevant legislation across both custodial and community settings.

· Ensure that safeguarding practice reflects the different needs and requirements ofadults and children, with particular regard to the enhanced safeguarding responsibilities associated with working with young people under the age of 18.

· Ensure appropriate safeguarding arrangements are embedded within the youth projects, working closely with Support Workers and other colleagues to identify concerns, manage risk and escalate or refer safeguarding issues appropriately.

· Promote a culture of professional accountability, confidentiality, appropriate professional boundaries and safe working practices across all areas of service delivery.

· Identify, assess and manage operational and safeguarding risks, escalating concerns promptly and appropriately.

· Ensure the safe handling of sensitive information in accordance with UK GDPR, data protection requirements and organisational policies.

· Maintain an up-to-date understanding of prison security procedures and ensure these are consistently applied across all establishments.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Experience 

· Significant experience of supporting prison leavers, young people at risk of offending, or individuals facing complex barriers to achieve positive and sustainable employment, education or training outcomes.

· Demonstrable experience of delivering or managing Through the Gate, reintegration, employability, youth or similarly complex support programmes.

· Proven experience of successfully leading and developing geographically dispersed or multisite teams.

· Experience of working across multiple prison establishments or similarly complex operational environments.

· Experience of working effectively with young people with complex or multiple needs, including those at risk of offending or disengagement from education, employment or training.

· Experience of building effective partnerships with HMPPS, Probation, employers, education and training providers, local authorities and community organisations.

· Experience of managing services against contractual KPIs, performance targets and outcome measures.

· Experience of using performance data to improve operational delivery and achieve measurable outcomes.

· Experience of quality assurance, case management oversight and continuous service improvement.

Knowledge 

· Strong understanding of the criminal justice system, reintegration and resettlement.

· Good understanding of the challenges faced by individuals transitioning from custody into employment and the barriers that can prevent successful resettlement.

· Good understanding of the challenges faced by young people at risk of offending or disengagement, and the support required to enable successful progression into education, employment or training.

· Strong understanding of safeguarding, risk management and professional boundaries, including the different safeguarding requirements associated with working with adults and children under the age of 18.

· Understanding of employer engagement, inclusive recruitment practices and the barriers faced by people who may be disadvantaged in the labour market.

· Awareness of employment, education and training pathways and relevant labour market opportunities. 

Skills and Competencies 

· An inspiring and supportive leader who motivates others to deliver excellent outcomes.

· Outstanding interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage confidently with prison staff, young people, employers, commissioners and partner agencies.

· Excellent coaching and people management skills.

· Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple locations and areas of service delivery.

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt communication appropriately for different audiences.

· Strong analytical and problem-solving ability, using evidence and sound judgement to make informed decisions.

· Confident in the use of Microsoft Office and electronic case management systems.

· Able to work independently while managing a complex and varied operational workload.

Personal Qualities 

· Passionate about reintegration and creating opportunities for people to make lasting positive change.

· Committed to improving outcomes for prison leavers, young people at risk of offending and others who have experienced disadvantage.

· Able to build trust and rapport while maintaining clear and appropriate professional boundaries.

· Highly professional, resilient and personally accountable.

· Calm and adaptable when working in challenging and changing operational environments.

· Collaborative, approachable and committed to supporting colleagues to succeed.

· Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in both employment and service delivery.

Additional Requirements 

· This is a highly visible operational leadership role requiring regular travel between prison establishments across the Home Counties, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, as well as our youth projects in South London and Guildford.

· The successful candidate will be expected to spend a significant proportion of their working week on site, either within prison establishments or at our youth projects, building relationships with local teams, supporting staff, engaging with employers and partners, and maintaining a strong operational presence across the service.

· The post holder must be able to meet the security clearance requirements necessary to work within HM Prison establishments.

· A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle is desirable, or the ability to travel efficiently between locations.

REPORTING LINES AND MANAGEMENT EXPECTATIONS

You will report directly to the Head of Training and Impact, THE Executive Leadership Team, but also work closely with Operations team in the prisons and related Clink project leads in the community.

GENERAL CLINK CHARITY INFORMATION

All staff are expected to:

· Comply with all current legislation

· Comply with all prison operational policies

· Comply with The Clink Staff Handbook

· Undertake such other duties within the scope of the post as may be requested by your Manager

Special Requirements:

· You must pass prison security vetting process to be able to draw keys.

· Must have a valid driving license.

Benefits:

· 28 day holiday plus bank holidays

· Company pension scheme

· Free meals on duty when based in a restaurant or visiting for business

HOW TO APPLY

If you would like to apply for this post, please send your CV and a supporting statement (maximum 2 sides of A4) to Lizann Barnwell at our HR Consultants Solution22 via this job posting.

In your supporting statement you should ensure that you try to address the desirable criteria set out in the person specification for the role. Make sure you give evidence which shows how you meet the criteria, not just telling us that you did it.

Interviews will be arranged on a rolling basis for this role, so early applications are encouraged. The deadline for applications is Monday 31 August at 0900.

We do not send individual acknowledgment of applications due to the high volume we receive, and we will only contact candidates who are shortlisted for an interview. If you do not hear from us within two weeks of the closing date, your application has not been successful on this occasion.

If you would like an informal chat about this role, we can offer a call with a member of The Clink Team. Even if you feel you do not meet some of the criteria listed above, we would still welcome applications from passionate candidates who are keen to make a difference.

Appointment process

Applicants who have demonstrated that they meet the desirable criteria set out in the person specification will be contacted and interviews arranged on a rolling basis.

Interview

If you are shortlisted for interview, you will be invited to a selection process. A panel of two or more, including the recruiting manager conducts all interviews. If there are any special arrangements associated with the selection process e.g. tests or presentations, you will be informed accordingly.

Interview outcome

If you are invited to attend an interview, you will be informed either verbally or in writing of the outcome. The successful candidate will have the decision confirmed in writing as an offer of employment. Unsuccessful candidates will be offered the opportunity for feedback.

References

If you are successful in your application, you are asked to provide us with thedetails of two referees. We only contact referees with your permission after an offer of employment has been made. All offers of employment are conditional upon the receipt of references that are satisfactory to The Clink Charity, verification of right to work in the UK and where applicable, verification of qualifications and Disclosure and Barring Service (where required).

Personal information

The personal information that you have supplied will only be used for recruitment and selection purposes. You should refer to the Privacy Notice on our website, which sets out how The Clink Charity will deal with the personal and sensitive datayou have provided in your application form and supporting information.

 EDI

We welcome all applicants and are keen to enhance our team to reflect the diversity of the UK and the communities we serve. We would like to encourage applications from disabled people, those from LGBTQIA+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and those experiencing other forms of marginalisation, as they are underrepresented at this level. In addition, as this role works directly with people in prison and those at risk of offending, those with lived experience are encouraged to apply.

Accessible recruitment

The Clink Charity is committed to making our recruitment process and workplace accessible to all. If you are an applicant with a disability and/or have any specific needs or adjustments that you would like us to consider, at application, interview, or appointment stage, please make us aware in your application.

Who we are

Chefs in Schools is a young, ambitious charity that’s rapidly growing. Our mission is to improve kids' health, through improving school food & food education.

We focus our efforts in areas of high socio-economic deprivation, where more than a third of children are entitled to free school meals, and diet-related disease is driving further inequality.

We support and train school kitchen teams to serve the best, freshest and tastiest food possible, alongside meaningful food education. We share learning and resources, aiming to inspire and enable others to follow our lead.

We’re backed by some of the biggest names in food and have ambitious targets to ensure every child has access to incredible school food and food education, setting them up for life with the skills and knowledge to feed themselves well.

About you and the role

As our Digital Manager, you will be the strategic anchor, quality guardian, and operational driving force behind our online presence. You will fully own the performance of our two primary websites: the main Chefs in Schools (CIS) platform and the complex, public-facing School Food Project (SFP) national resource and coalition hub. You will be directly accountable for driving traffic, mastering SEO, maintaining exceptional content quality, and ensuring a seamless, highly secure user experience against clear, measurable targets.

This is a leadership role that bridges technical execution and creative strategy. You will act as the crucial, confident link between our external technical agencies (who build and maintain the infrastructure of the sites) and our internal content creators and programme teams. Crucially, you will be an empowering manager, leading a dedicated digital sub-team of 1-2 direct reports, supporting them to manage day-to-day content workflows, e-learning administration, and community moderation.

We are looking for someone solutions-focused, collaborative, and deeply analytical who takes pride in helping a high-profile, mission-driven organization run at its absolute best.

Key responsibilities:

1. Website Ownership & Performance Management

• Own the overarching strategy and performance of our two flagship websites (CIS and SFP), optimizing UX and UI for user journeys, design, and maximum accessibility standards across both sites.

• Own and maintain a forward-looking, prioritized digital platform roadmap, striking a strategic balance between long-term feature development and agile, day-to-day reactive requests

• Ensure both platforms—particularly the highly visible, national School Food Project website—maintain the highest standards of data security, uptime, quality assurance, and accessibility, proactively managing risks associated with public scrutiny.

• Take end-to-end ownership of web analytics and data integrity—from configuring custom event tracking to reporting on performance—utilizing Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for quantitative metrics and Microsoft Clarity for behavioral insights.

• Set, monitor, and report against clear performance targets spanning web traffic, user engagement, resource downloads, and search rankings.

• Lead content and platform feature reviews through a risk mitigation lens—ensuring strict compliance with safeguarding, privacy, and coalition guidelines—while running targeted A/B tests to optimize user experience.

• Lead on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy to maximize organic reach and connect school leaders, chefs, and partners to our resources.

• Establish and manage digital incident response protocols, defining clear workflows for first responders, triage steps, and escalation pathways in the event of site outages, technical bugs, or security breaches.

2. Agency & Supplier Management

• Act as the primary, confident technical interface with our external web development agencies and tech suppliers, holding them accountable to high-quality delivery.

• Translate internal program, comms, and membership goals into clear technical design briefs, managing timelines and tracking project budgets.

• Coordinate rigorous testing of new features, bug logging, and site maintenance to guarantee absolute platform stability before public deployments.

3. Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Line manage, mentor, and support 1-2 direct reports (including roles focused on systems, community moderation, and resource uploads).

• Work closely with the Communications team, External Relations team and Programme Leads to align digital development with broader organization campaigns and resource rollouts.

• Oversee the content calendar and governance for both sites, ensuring all published assets strictly adhere to brand tone of voice and quality standards, working closely with the senior social media officer, engagement team to ensure cross org planning .

4. Data, CRM & Systems Integration

• Oversee the data integrity and smooth technical flow between our website frontends, e-learning platform (LMS), and internal CRM systems.

• Ensure all digital systems, data tracking, user permissions, and marketing platforms comply fully with GDPR and organizational data protection policies.

• Construct and present scannable dashboards and reports (using Google Analytics and CRM data) for the Senior Leadership Team and stakeholders to demonstrate impact.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Digital Product & Platform Leadership: Proven experience managing digital products, websites, or online platforms—ideally at a Manager level within a charity, agency, or fast-paced setting.

• Complex Systems Integration: Strong confidence managing (or partnering with a technical agency to manage) integrated digital environments where the CMS, CRM, and LMS operate as a unified platform. You must be comfortable understanding and troubleshooting multi-layered user access permissions (e.g., tailored journeys for different school types and member tiers).

• Foundational literacy in HTML and CSS to troubleshoot layout issues, understand site structure, and effectively translate technical requirements to developers.

• Agency & Project Management: Confident experience collaborating with, briefing, and managing external technical partners, developers, or freelance technical staff to deliver complex features on time and on budget.

• People Management: Demonstrable experience managing, mentoring, and developing direct reports, fostering a supportive and high-performing team environment.

• Data Fluency & Quality Control: Ability to analyze, clean, and visualize data (using Google Analytics, CRM reporting, or spreadsheets) to monitor site performance, ensure data integrity across system integrations, and drive user experience improvements.

• Communication & Collaboration: Outstanding written and verbal communication skills; able to translate complex "technical speak" for non-expert internal staff, write brand-aligned content, and build strong cross-team relationships.

• Mission Alignment: A deep personal commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, alongside a genuine interest in our mission to transform child health through school food.

Desirable Skills and Experience

• Familiarity with online community/forum moderation and user engagement strategies.

• Prior experience working within the wider charity sector.

Benefits

You would be joining a friendly, supportive team who works hard but believe in a healthy work/life balance. We were voted one of CODE Hospitality’s happiest places to work in 2024. We seek a diverse range of perspectives, skills, experience and knowledge. Joining a small, collaborative team means you’ll be able to contribute to and draw on various projects and strategic insights.

We offer 33 days of holiday per year including bank holidays, 3 additional office closure days over the Christmas period as well as wellbeing days over the summer school holidays.  We also have a Cycle to Work scheme, hybrid working, enhanced parental leave, and free access to the CODE app for discounted restaurants & hospitality venues. We are committed to developing our team and will support you with relevant training opportunities including £250 towards elective training and development of your choice.

We also offer Bupa Dental Insurance, Income Protection Insurance, as well as access to the Aviva Smart Health Platform which offers health benefits including free rapid access online GP appointments, free counselling and wellbeing support.

Application process

In line with our commitment to ensuring a fair and unbiased recruitment process, we invite candidates to answer a series of questions related to their day-to-day job. Please follow this link to answer the questions and submit your application along with your CV.

We recommend that you develop your answers offline and copy them in when you’re ready to ensure you don’t lose your work if interrupted.

Your answers will go through our sifting process: all answers will be anonymised, randomised and then reviewed by a panel of reviewers. A long list of candidates will then additionally have their CVs reviewed. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a 30 mins online interview. Successful candidates will be invited to attend a second, in-person interview at our office in Brixton, London.

Expected duration of this application process: 4-6 weeks

In line with our commitment to ensuring a fair and unbiased recruitment process, we will invite candidates to interview based on their answers to a series of questions related to their day-to-day job.

First Interview will take place the w/c 14th September

Who we are:

Chefs in Schools is a young, ambitious charity that's rapidly growing. Our mission is to improve kids health, through improving school food & food education. We focus our efforts in areas of high socio-economic deprivation, where more than a third of children are entitled to free school meals, and diet-related disease is driving further inequality.

We support and train school kitchen teams to serve the best, freshest and tastiest food possible, alongside meaningful food education. We share learning and resources, aiming to inspire and enable others to follow our lead.

We're backed by some of the biggest names in food and have ambitious targets to ensure every child has access to incredible school food and food education, setting them up for life with the skills and knowledge to feed themselves well.

About you and the role

The School Food Project is an ambitious coalition-led initiative dedicated to transforming the school food system. To achieve this, we are deploying three distinct school engagement models: Beacon schools (intensive, in-person, deep-impact sites), Explorer schools (hybrid training and peer learning), and Discovery schools (online only support).

We are seeking an exceptional School Food Project Coordinator to serve as the operational engine room and central connective tissue of this project. Reporting directly to the Programme Manager for the School Food Project, this role will be responsible for ownership of all school-level coordination.

As the primary point of contact for all participating schools, you will bridge the gap between the school and the individual coalition’s delivery leads. You will be responsible for nurturing school relationships, maintaining seamless communication across all delivery partners, and ensuring that vital monitoring, evaluation, and impact data flows smoothly from the schools to our evaluation team.

The responsibilities, skills and experience listed below are intended to give you an idea of what we need for this role. If you don't meet every requirement but feel you would be able to work with us to deliver the majority of them, we urge you to apply anyway. We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and for us the most important 'experience' is passion for our mission. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds, especially those from underrepresented communities, to apply.

We want to get to know you at the interview and understand we can do this best if you're at ease. We're an inclusive employer and work hard to create a welcoming working environment for everyone, including appointing a neurodiversity champion to help us identify how we can make our work environment work for everyone. If you need adjustments to the interview process please let us know.

As we work with children & young people, an offer of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and DBS clearance, in line with our safeguarding policy.

Key responsibilities

School Coordination & Relationship Management

• Responsible for being the day-to-day first point of contact for all Beacon, Explore, and Discovery schools, ensuring they feel supported, informed, and valued.

• Responsible for the induction and onboarding of schools across the Project.

• Conduct regular, proactive site visits to schools, to build strong, empathetic relationships with school leadership, kitchen staff, and project leads. Initially across London and the North West, scaling nationally year on year.

• Use school visits to monitor delivery quality, identify localised operational challenges, and escalate potential issues to the Programme Manager before they impact delivery.

Coalition & Stakeholder Liaison

• Serve as the central touchpoint and coordinator between the delivery leads of each program across the different organisations within our coalition.

• Ensure that all partner organisations are kept fully up to date with real-time, accurate on-the-ground information and feedback from the participating schools.

• Help facilitate communication loops, ensuring action items involving schools are clearly communicated and executed by the relevant coalition partners.

Data Capture & Impact Reporting

• Take ownership of ensuring that required data points, surveys, and metrics are accurately captured within each school according to project timelines, including conducting school audits for Beacon schools where required.

• Package, organise, and report school-level data back to the Monitoring and Evaluation team to help track project success and iterate delivery models.

Insight & Communication Support

• Keep an eye out for exceptional success stories, milestone achievements, and inspiring moments during school visits.

• Act as a conduit for the internal Communications team by passing along these notes, updates, and on-the-ground insights to celebrate the project's impact.

Essential skills & experience

• Exceptional Project Coordination: A proven track record of managing moving parts, timelines, and logistics across multiple sites or projects simultaneously.

• Superb Relationship-Building: Outstanding interpersonal skills with the ability to quickly build rapport, trust, and influence with a diverse range of stakeholders, from school cooks and headteachers to coalition partners.

• Clear, Proactive Communication: Ability to summarise complex feedback from the ground into clear, concise, and actionable updates for senior leadership and external partners.

• Data Diligence: Strong organisational skills with a sharp eye for detail, ensuring data is collected systematically and accurately in line with M&E requirements.

• IT, Software, and Tech Literacy: Proficiency with office software (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365), and familiarity with CRM systems or project management tools.

• Adaptability & Autonomy: Highly self-motivated and comfortable working independently in a hybrid/remote structure, managing your own schedule and priorities effectively.

• Flexibility to Travel: Willingness and ability to travel frequently and extensively across England, specifically prioritising regular visits to school clusters.

Desirable skills & experience

• Sector Familiarity: Prior experience working within, or closely alongside, the UK education sector, schools, charities, or food system initiatives.

• Coalition Experience: Experience working within a multi-partner, consortium, or coalition framework where diplomacy and cross-organisational collaboration are key.

• Problem Solving Skills: Proactive problem-solving skills or the ability to manage and resolve on-the-ground operational challenges.

• Data Protection and GDPR Awareness: An understanding of GDPR compliance.

• A valid UK Driving Licence

Benefits

You would be joining a friendly, supportive team who works hard but believe in a healthy work/life balance. We were voted one of CODE Hospitality's happiest places to work in 2024. We seek a diverse range of perspectives, skills, experience and knowledge. Joining a small, collaborative team means you'll be able to contribute to and draw on various projects and strategic insights.

We offer 33 days of holiday per year including bank holidays, 3 additional office closure days over the Christmas period as well as wellbeing days over the summer school holidays. We also have a Cycle to Work scheme, hybrid working, enhanced parental leave, and free access to the CODE app for discounted restaurants & hospitality venues. We are committed to developing our team and will support you with relevant training opportunities including £250 towards elective training and development of your choice.

We also offer Bupa Dental Insurance, Income Protection Insurance, as well as access to the Aviva Smart Health Platform which offers health benefits including free rapid access online GP appointments, free counselling and wellbeing support.

Application process

In line with our commitment to ensuring a fair and unbiased recruitment process, we invite candidates to answer a series of questions related to their day-to-day job. Please follow this link to answer the questions and submit your application along with your CV.

Each question has a 250-word limit. We recommend that you develop your answers offline and copy them in when you're ready, to make sure you don't lose your work if interrupted.

All communication about your application, other than a verbal job offer, will be sent through the Applied platform - please check your Applied account regularly (as well as your spam folder) for updates.

Your answers will go through our sifting process: all answers are anonymised, randomised and then reviewed by a panel of reviewers. A longlist of candidates will then additionally have their CVs reviewed. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a 30 minute online interview. Successful candidates will be invited to attend a second, in-person interview at our office in Brixton, London.

Expected duration of this application process: 4-6 weeks

Round one interviews online: Tuesday 25th August

Round two interviews in-person: Wednesday 2nd September

As a Support Worker at Ace of Clubs drop-in day centre supporting people who are homeless and facing adversity, you will play a key role in supporting individuals who may be navigating chaotic lifestyles, trauma, and multiple disadvantages. You will provide practical and emotional support, help people access essential services, and work to empower them to move towards independence.

Your role will involve working directly with service users, managing case records, liaising with partner agencies, and contributing to the smooth running of our busy centre. Ultimately, you will support people to overcome barriers, develop essential skills, and build confidence in navigating life challenges and providing advocacy where needed.  In particular, you will be on duty as Support Worker during our busy, daily lunchtime service - responding to the needs of a variety of guests – on a busy day we can reach 150 – 200 guests visiting our service.

In addition, Ace of Clubs works with a wide range of volunteers and partners on a daily basis including food partners, health partners, corporate, individual and client volunteers.  Your role will also be required to support the team in the smooth functioning of these areas, for example liaising with partners on site, showing around volunteers or feeding back any issues during lunch service.

You will also support with the operations and building’s co-ordination, including carrying out weekly health and safety checks as required, i.e. fire alarm checks, legionella checks etc., meeting onsite contractors, counting and logging cash takings, responding and filtering the central email account and making food and supplies orders. You will be provided with comprehensive training in these areas.

Application Instructions

• For your application you need to submit:
- A covering letter (no longer than 1.5 sides of A4) which clearly states how your experience demonstrates your Skills, Competencies and Personal Attributes specified in the Personal Specification. If you do not have direct experience in the charity sector, please consider the skills and experience you have gained in other work, volunteer, studying or extra-curricular activities.
- A CV (no more than 2 pages) that includes Contact Details, Education, Employment, Volunteering/Extra-Curricular (as relevant), 2 x Reference contacts (Employment and Character Reference required).