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This role is a unique and exciting opportunity for a passionate, hands-on Chef and Trainer to join our rapidly growing charity and support our mission to transform kids’ health through food in schools in a new region. This role will be critical in delivering our flagship programme Transformations and work directly with school kitchen teams across the North West and North East of England.
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 the North West and North 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 2–3 weeks at a time, working directly on-site to implement the programme. You will travel to different locations across the North West and North East, supporting schools to build high-quality, sustainable food cultures. During your first year, the focus will be specifically on the North West region, ranging from Manchester to the Wirral, where you will help establish Chefs in Schools’ reputation for positive change.
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 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 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 growing regional brand awareness, in partnership and alignment with the Senior Programme Manager.
● Visit potential new school clients to assess kitchens and kitchen teams (check-ins) within the region, 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.
● Comfortable with data capture, reporting and keeping accurate records.
● Familiarity with the Kitchen Brigade system or equivalent kitchen management structures.
● Experience working with or for a charity or social enterprise.
● 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.
Registered Charity
11 - 20
We’re on a mission to transform kids’ health through food – plate by plate, class by class, school by school.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
This role covers our Senior Social Media Officer’s maternity leave and takes full ownership of our social media strategy and execution across all platforms. This is a highly autonomous role requiring strategic thinking, creative leadership and strong analytical skills.
You’ll thrive in a fast-paced, varied working environment and be full of creative ideas. You’ll be as happy filming and editing engaging videos, as you are leading content planning or campaign delivery. You’ll be adept at making short, snappy videos for Instagram and longer form content for LinkedIn. You’ll have an eye for design and be confident on Canva.
You’ll be confident making independent decisions, managing multiple projects simultaneously and know how to unearth stories that bring our mission to life. A collaborative approach will be at the heart of how you work as you help position Chefs in Schools as an innovative changemaker in school food.
What else do you need to know?
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. 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:
● Develop and implement quarterly social media content planning aligned to organisational priorities, ensuring strategic forward-planning across all platforms
● Lead audience and sector-wide research to reach a diverse follower base through targeted content and share best practice across the charity
● Develop platform-specific strategies for underutilised channels, making data-driven recommendations about platform investment
● Create exciting, constantly evolving content across videos, graphics and copy that drives specific actions and conversions
● Maintain and develop brand consistency standards and content frameworks across all organisational social media channels
● Manage regular creative brainstorms to build a bank of content ideas and champion creative innovation
● Plan, pitch and deliver social media campaigns and organisational content programmes end-to-end, from concept through to launch and beyond — including production coordination, communications planning and stakeholder management
● Lead photoshoot planning and content production end-to-end, managing external agencies and professional photographers where required
● Plan and manage school visits strategically to maximise content output, coordinating permissions, logistics and team involvement and building ongoing relationships with school kitchen teams
● Develop briefs and guidance to empower wider team members to gather suitable content when needed
● Lead conversations on social channels, proactively sharing sector news with organisational commentary to position us as a thought leader, and build and maintain strategic relationships with relevant networks, schools, chefs, partners and influencers
● Plan, pitch and create strategic content to maximise partnerships, patrons and ambassadors, proactively identifying opportunities and ensuring prominent placement on our platforms
● Deliver analytics with strategic insights and recommendations, tracking meaningful KPIs including conversions, target audience growth and actions taken
● Use data to optimise strategy and prove return on investment, setting targets and deadlines for performance improvement based on insights
● Champion diversity, equality and inclusion in all social media content, and work collaboratively with the wider communications team sharing expertise on brand standards and best practice
Essential skills & experience:
• Demonstrable experience leading social media strategy and delivery across multiple platforms
• Proven ability to plan and deliver campaigns end-to-end with minimal oversight
• Strong creative skills with ability to produce engaging content across formats (video, graphics, copy)
• Strategic thinker who links social media activity to organisational goals
• Excellent attention to detail and commitment to quality standards
• Confident working autonomously and making independent judgements
• Experience using analytics to drive strategy and demonstrate impact
• Solutions-focused approach with proactive problem-solving skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with diverse stakeholders
• Commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion
• Belief in our mission to improve children’s health through better food and food education in schools
Desirable skills & experience:
• Experience in the charity or public sector
• Knowledge of school food, education or public health sectors
• Experience managing relationships with external agencies or freelancers
• Understanding of brand development and consistency frameworks
• Experience using social media scheduling and management tools
Benefits
You would be joining a friendly, supportive team who work 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.
Registered Charity
11 - 20
We’re on a mission to transform kids’ health through food – plate by plate, class by class, school by school.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Contract: Full-time, permanent
Hours: Full-time
Reports to: Chair; Board of Directors
Location: Hackney
Salary: £50,000-60,000 depending on experience.
Pension: HSoF participates in the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) pension scheme and contributes 3%.
Benefits: 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, free onsite lunches .
Probation period: Six months.
About Hackney School of Food
Hackney School of Food is an award-winning food education hub based in the grounds of Mandeville Primary School in Clapton, East London. Through our teaching kitchen and educational garden, we help children, families and communities build the skills, confidence and knowledge to grow, cook and eat good food.
Each year, we welcome more than 10,000 visits to our kitchen and garden, delivering curriculum programmes for schools alongside community cooking courses, gardening projects, holiday clubs, corporate volunteering and public events. Since becoming a Community Interest Company (CIC) in 2023, we have expanded our facilities, strengthened our governance and built a strong reputation as a leader in food education.
We're now looking for an exceptional Managing Director to build on these strong foundations and lead Hackney School of Food through its next phase of growth and impact.
About the role
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Managing Director (MD) will provide both strategic and operational leadership, ensuring the organisation delivers its mission while remaining financially resilient, well-governed and responsive to the needs of the communities it serves.
The Managing Director is responsible for all aspects of the organisation, including strategy, income generation, finance, governance, partnerships, programme delivery and people leadership. Working closely with a small, committed team and an engaged Board, they will build on strong foundations to grow Hackney School of Food's impact, reach and long-term sustainability.
This is a varied, hands-on leadership role for someone who enjoys balancing big-picture thinking with practical delivery. One day you may be developing a new partnership, meeting a prospective funder or working with the Board on future strategy; the next you could be supporting the team, welcoming visitors to the garden or solving day-to-day operational challenges.
Key priorities
In your first 12 months you will:
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Build on Hackney School of Food's strong foundations to deliver the next phase of our strategy and growth.
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Increase and diversify income through fundraising, partnerships and commercial opportunities to strengthen long-term sustainability.
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Lead, support and develop a small, ambitious team, fostering a positive and inclusive culture where people can thrive.
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Strengthen relationships with funders, partners and local businesses, helping Hackney School of Food deepen its impact.
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Work closely with the Board to embed strong governance, organisational systems and long-term planning for the future.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
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Provide overall leadership and strategic direction for Hackney School of Food, ensuring delivery of its mission, vision and long-term objectives.
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Lead the development and implementation of Hackney School of Food's annual business plan and organisational priorities.
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Work with the Board to evolve organisational strategy, identify opportunities, manage risks and support sustainable growth.
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Monitor, report on and respond to organisational performance against agreed objectives and impact measures.
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Champion Hackney School of Food externally, strengthening its profile and influence.
Financial sustainability and income generation
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Oversee organisational budgeting, financial planning, forecasting and cashflow management, working closely with the Treasurer and accountant.
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Lead income generation across the organisation, including trusts and foundations, corporate partnerships, sponsorship and earned income.
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Build and maintain strong relationships with funders, sponsors and strategic partners.
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Ensure all funding commitments are met, including grant reporting, monitoring and evaluation requirements.
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Identify new opportunities to diversify income and strengthen long-term financial sustainability.
Partnerships & External Relations
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Act as the main point of contact for HSoF’s key partners, LEAP Federation and Chefs in Schools to ensure the partnerships are effective and positive.
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Build and maintain strong relationships with other key stakeholders, including local authorities, funders and sponsors.
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Represent Hackney School of Food at meetings, events, and public forums.
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Champion the value of food education and contribute to wider local and national conversations.
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Ensure programmes remain responsive to community needs through ongoing engagement and consultation.
Governance and public benefit
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Ensure the organisation operates in line with its CIC objectives and delivers clear public benefit.
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Support the Board of Directors to fulfil its governance responsibilities through high-quality reporting, planning and decision-making.
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Prepare Board papers, reports and agendas, ensuring timely and accurate information is available to support effective governance.
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Oversee and report on organisational performance to the Board of Directors quarterly.
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Act as the primary link between the Board and the operational team.
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Maintain effective governance, delegated authority and accountability frameworks.
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Support the Board in meeting all statutory and regulatory obligations relating to the CIC.
People, Culture and safeguarding
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Provide leadership to a small core team (currently c.4 employees), directly managing staff and fostering a positive, inclusive culture.
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Provide oversight and support for a wider network of approx. 15 freelance contractors to ensure consistently high-quality delivery.
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Lead recruitment, induction, performance management and professional development in line with safer recruitment and equality principles.
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Ensure effective organisational structures, clear roles, and performance accountability.
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Oversee HR processes including appraisals, performance management, and professional development.
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Act as Designated Safeguarding Lead, embedding safeguarding throughout the organisation maintaining compliance with all relevant requirements.
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Develop organisational systems, policies and practices that support an inclusive, high-performing workplace.
Risk Management & Compliance
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Maintain and regularly review the organisational Risk Register and report key risks and mitigations to the Board.
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Oversee organisational policies, procedures and continuous improvement, ensuring policies and legal requirements are up to date, clearly communicated and embedded across the organisation.
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Ensure compliance with employment law, health and safety, safeguarding, GDPR and other relevant legislation.
Personal specification
Essential experience
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Senior leadership experience with responsibility for organisational performance and accountability.
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Experience securing income through fundraising, partnerships and/or commercial activity.
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Experience of financial leadership, including budget setting, forecasting and cashflow oversight.
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Experience working closely with a Board, Trustees or governing body to translate strategic vision into operational delivery.
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Experience building and managing successful partnerships with funders, businesses and community stakeholders.
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Experience in managing and motivating a team, creating a positive and inclusive workplace culture.
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Experience of governance, compliance and organisational risk management.
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Experience of safeguarding within an education, youth or community context.
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Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands, make sound decisions and remain resilient in a resource-constrained environment.
Essential skills and attributes
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Passion for Hackney School of Food's mission and the role of food education in improving health, wellbeing and community connection.
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Strategic thinker who is equally comfortable with hands-on operational leadership.
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Entrepreneurial, resourceful and committed to building long-term financial sustainability and identifying growth opportunities.
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Ability to lead a team through change with sensitivity, clarity and kindness.
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Strong communicator with excellent relationship-building skills.
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Confident decision-maker with a high level of personal accountability.
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Committed to equity, inclusion and community-led practice.
Desirable
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Experience working within a Community Interest Company (CIC), social enterprise or charity.
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Knowledge of Hackney, its communities and local stakeholder landscape.
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Experience of working in food education, community food, gardening, environmental education or a related field.
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Experience reviewing and managing contracts, service agreements or other legal documentation.
An inclusive workplace
We know that diverse teams make stronger organisations and are committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment and will consider all qualified applicants regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
We particularly encourage applications from people who are under-represented in our sector and in leadership roles, including people from the global majority and those whose lived experience brings valuable perspectives from the communities we serve. We also welcome applications from people who live in Hackney or East London.
How to apply
The deadline to apply is Monday 20 July at 9am. Please apply by filling out this application form.
You'll find the link to the application form on our Recruitment Pack which provides more information.
Stage 1: A one-hour online interview with the Senior Team and Board (24 July)
Stage 2: On-site interview at Hackney School of Food (30 July), including a short presentation.
We may also invite the preferred candidate to an informal meeting with the wider team and Board before making a final appointment.
The successful applicant will need to pass an enhanced DBS check and provide two suitable references.
We may close the application window earlier if we are inundated with applications, so please don't wait to apply.
If you have any questions about the role or your suitability, please feel free to get in touch with us. You will find a Recruitment pack and email address to contact via our website.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.