Food bank jobs in bristol, city of bristol

This role will be leading and developing the Volunteering and Employability functions for FSSW, alongside providing operational safeguarding support to the Safeguarding Team. The core volunteer program supports the running of the organisation as a whole every day and is embedded across all departments in Bristol and Plymouth. The Employability team runs a NEET Employability programme in our South Bristol warehouse 3 days a week, with administrative duties full time. This part of FSSW is expanding and your role will oversee the pilot and launch of another Employability programme in Plymouth.

In this role you will:

1.Be the senior management overseeing and supporting the running of our employability and volunteering functions across Bristol and Plymouth.

2. Support the organisation as the Operational Safeguarding Lead, working alongside the Strategic lead to oversee incidents and support the training and development of staff.

3. Lead on project development across both volunteering and employability as we grow our offer and launch a number of major organisational developments. This will include but is not limited to; policy, strategy, role and process development.

4. Build and work with our volunteer, employability and warehouse teams to ensure that they have the skills, knowledge, support and training opportunities needed to manage the volunteer workforce and deliver the employability programs across the charity.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Line Management:

· Line management of Volunteer Manager based at Bedminster and St Jude’s in Bristol and the Volunteer team at Sisna Park in Plymouth

· Line management of two Employability Programme Leads based at both Bedminster and Inner-city Bristol office and future Plymouth based Employability staff

· Recruit and contract for any staffing gaps in the Volunteer and Employability Teams based on skills and expertise required

Volunteer Recruitment, Retention & Development:

· Oversee the volunteer managers who run the day-to-day of the volunteer programme

· Oversee the Volunteer teams to create a recruitment and retention plan to build a reliable voluntary workforce

· Support in any required monitoring and evaluation of the volunteering function

· Work with the Fundraising, Volunteer and Partnerships teams to develop corporate volunteering across Bristol and Plymouth, which generates a flow of committed corporate volunteers and income

· Support the development of the enrichment and pastoral aspect of the volunteer journey provided by the volunteer teams

· Develop community and broad stakeholder partnerships to support the volunteer functions across Bristol and Plymouth

· Oversee development of and then lead on reviews for relevant volunteer policies, processes and any necessary training

· Work with the wider leadership team on the volunteering function as we grow our offer alongside the major organisational developments

Employability Programme Management & Development:

· Overseeing the day-to-day management of the Employability Programme

· Working with the relevant Bristol teams on a review and consolidation of Employability and future development opportunities.

· Support in the development of future partnerships and opportunities to expand the work and impact of Employability

· Working with the Plymouth team on the development and launch of an Employability program

· Working with the fundraising team on aspects of funding bids, monitoring and future development.

· Working with the wider leadership team on program expansion alongside the organisational major developments

Safeguarding:

· Take the lead on organisational safeguarding:

o Overseeing incidents and supporting staff to complete actions

o Ensuring incident reports completed

o Completing monitoring and reporting as required

· Facilitate internal safeguarding training

· Report into the strategic safeguarding lead on any high-level incidents

· Attend the Safeguarding Sub Committee meeting

Communications and Reporting:

· Work with the Head of Communications and CEO to design an ongoing internal communications plan to ensure staff and volunteers are up to date with plans, development and activities

· In collaboration with the Communications Team, ensure there is continuous engagement with external audiences

· With the Communications Team build a schedule of promotional activity

· Work with other Fareshare network partners  share and learn best practice across the network

· Support the fundraising team to develop future funding proposals and reports

· Collate reports from each team to submit to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and/or Board of Trustees covering all Volunteer and Employability activities, plans and developments

Systems, Policies & Processes:

· Working with the Volunteer Managers, CEO and Wider Senior Leadership Team (WSLT) to develop/update the Volunteer and Farechance Handbooks and other key documentation

· Lead the review and development of policies, processes and procedures specific to Volunteering and Employability

· Support consistent practices and procedures across the south west as well as sharing best practice

· Lead on the FSSW relationship with FareShare UK (FSUK) regarding volunteering, employability, and safeguarding, including policies, best practice, innovations, and systems

· Support the development of the FSSW Corporate Volunteering Policy

· Support the implementation of new systems for the recruitment, rota and monitoring of both programmes

· Identify, monitor, and action specific needs and risks of two programmes, regularly updating the risk register; sign-off risk assessments to ensure safety in the workplace

· Lead on and support the development of a MEL (monitoring, evaluating and learning) framework of primary data collected from IT systems to measure, analyse and report on impact

Person Specification

It is not expected that a successful candidate will necessarily have all the following criteria. FareShare South West is committed to helping individuals develop professionally and personally, and your application is encouraged.

Essential

· High level of organisational and time management skills allowing for managing multiple priorities

· Demonstrable experience of leading a team

· Knowledge and experience of safeguarding vulnerable adults

· Knowledge and experience of working with young people

· Knowledge and experience of volunteer programmes

· Experience of recruitment, either volunteers and/or employees

· Experience or knowledge of developing outreach programmes to increase our diversity, social impact, and community engagement

· Ability to produce high-quality written reports

· Ability to monitor and evaluate project development

· Ability to oversee departmental budgets 

· Ability to travel between Bristol and Plymouth

· Excellent communication (verbal and written) and interpersonal skills

· Ability to build effective relationships at all levels, externally and internally

· Good IT skills

Desirable

· Experience of writing strategies and accompanying workplans around programme development working with a variety of demographics

· Experience of working in a management or mid-senior management role

· Experience of process development around on-boarding

· High level budgeting and financial monitoring skills

The purpose of the Employability Programme Facilitator role is to deliver FSSW’s FareChance programme, including employability learning and practical logistics sessions alongside support and collaboration with the Employability lead. The FareChance programme works with young people aged between 18 – 25 who experience additional barriers to accessing education, training or employment.  The young people are supported to learn new skills, build confidence and realise their full potential. Farechance provides a unique combination of two parts: the first is working alongside other volunteers and staff learning key warehouse and logistics skills, getting firsthand practical experience; the second is tailored employability sessions in small groups with 1-1 specialist support.

The facilitator will lead on running the employability and logistics sessions, with co-facilitation from volunteers or the employability lead where needed. This role will provide 1-1 support for young people where required and provide signposting and referrals to other specialist services. The successful candidate will be passionate about supporting people to thrive and be sensitive to the inequality and power imbalance faced by young people today. They will have experience of supporting young people to achieve their goals and can bring these skills to deliver FareChance. This role will coach as well as co-ordinate the programme whilst supporting the growth of an innovative, supportive, and caring employability pathway for people to overcome barriers and move closer to the future they deserve.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Programme Delivery

· Lead the delivery of the FareChance Programme on site with the Vale Lane warehouse team, working flexibly to ensure success

• • Running sessions with four to ten young people three times a week
  • Lead facilitating Employability Sessions e.g. CV, Job Search, Interview Practice
  • Working with the Operations Teams in facilitating Logistics/Warehouse sessions

· Provide tailored motivational coaching/mentoring to:

• • Onboard and engage participants throughout
  • Provide advice and guidance and support young people with suitable interventions and accessing resources into training/volunteering/work placements
  • Provide 1-1 support sessions for those with higher needs

· Work with the Employability Lead to build an individualised plan and set of goals for each young person

· Support young people to engage with internships within FSSW

· Identify specific needs and risks and creating assessments for young people if required

· Ensure young people access other specialist support where required

· Work alongside the Employability Lead and the safeguarding team around any incidents or safeguarding concerns

· Work with the young people around coproduction opportunities that impact on the delivery, development and evaluation of the programme

· Support the Employability Lead to recruit for the programme

· Support the Employability Lead to design next step plans for the young people

External partnerships and relationship building

· Work alongside the employability lead to engage referrers

· On occasion attend events or appointments to support recruitment/represent FSSW

· Attend a range of career away days as part of the FareChance programme

· On occasion work alongside the Employability Lead to broaden ‘Next Step’ relationships

Reporting and Administration

· Create records and maintain processes in line with FSSW policies and procedures, both using online data bases and hard copy record systems

· Maintain quality records of all interventions with project participants and that such data is stored within the requirements of the Data Protection Act

General

· Respond to any enquiries/communications via telephone, email, in person or via inhouse IT/systems

· Be an excellent ambassador for FSSW

· Undertake administrative duties as required to support the effective functioning of FSSW

· Work within FSSW’s policies and procedures and adhere to legal frameworks.

Person Specification

It is not expected that a successful candidate will necessarily have all the following criteria. FareShare South West is committed to helping individuals develop professionally and personally, and your application is encouraged.  

Essential Criteria

· Knowledge and experience of delivering 1:1 motivational mentoring, coaching or support work

· Knowledge of barriers to Education, Training and Employment (ETE)

· Experience of facilitating training, education and/or youth programmes

· Experience of working with a diverse range of young people

· Experience of working successfully within groups/teams

· Knowledge and experience of support needs, risks and safeguarding

· Excellent interpersonal and listening skills

· Commitment to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion

· Ability to work flexibly, respond positively to project changes and meet challenging targets

· Good verbal and written communication skills

· Good IT skills

· Strong organisational skills including planning, prioritising and time management

Desirable

· Successful experience of supporting people back into work or training

· Understanding and/or experience of a logistics or warehouse environment

· Experience of working in an educational setting

· Mentoring or coaching qualification

· Experience of monitoring, evaluation and report writing

· Influencing, motivational and negotiating skills

· Lived experience of barriers to ETE

About our Organisation

The Soil Association, formed in 1946, is the only UK charity which works across the spectrum of human health, the environment and animal welfare. That’s because we cannot tackle these issues in isolation.

We campaign for change, we support farming innovation, we serve healthy food in communities, we support and grow the organic market, and we protect forests. We couldn't do any of this without our supporters, partners, donors and dedicated staff. We make a difference in the world where it’s needed the most.

About the Opportunity

An exciting opportunity to join a team of driven and professional fundraisers who share a broad range of fundraising experiences. The fundraising team operate in a fast-paced environment, fundraising for innovative projects and activities that seek to transform the way we eat, farm and care for our natural world.

We are looking for an experienced fundraising manager to join our established and well performing Trusts and Foundations team. The role will generate funds across our Farming and Land Use, Healthy Sustainable Foods and Policy work; managing accounts, building relationships and working to ambitious income targets.

The fundraising directorate are a close-knit team who enjoy coming together to celebrate successes, identify opportunities and explore new approaches. The team can explore and experience the impact of Soil Association’s work through working closely with expert colleagues, lunch and learn webinars and project visits.

About You

You will have significant experience of trusts and foundations fundraising including securing grants of up to 6 figures, matching opportunities to organisational need and pro-actively managing funder relationships.

You will be skilled in prospect research, opportunity scanning, using tools to record and monitor fundraising applications, and writing compelling applications and impact driven reports.

You will be passionate about the natural environment (whether that’s through an interest in wildlife or knowledge about food and farming) and be empathetic towards the Soil Association’s vision for regeneration.

You will thrive in a team environment and be committed to continued professional learning and development.

If you have any queries about your suitability for the role or would like to have an informal conversation, please get in touch.

Our Benefits

We offer a range of financial and lifestyle benefits to all our employees, including:

• 27 days annual holiday increasing to 30 days with length of service plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time)

• Pension scheme with ethical investment options and employer contribution increasing with length of service

• Free membership of the Soil Association and discounts on organic produce

• Volunteer days to give back to the local community or support green initiatives

• Family friendly policies and flexible working

• Cycle to work scheme

• Sociable and engaging workplace of professionals that share a passion for healthy, sustainable lifestyle and produce

Hours

Full time - 35 hours per week (part time hours will be considered)

Permanent

Location

Bristol with hybrid working (40% office based) – home working may be considered

Interviews

Interviews will take place on Friday the 20th June 2025

The Supporter Relationship Manager is responsible for all individual donor support processes, systems, strategies and individual giving fundraising appeals, which ensure we have excellent relationships with our donors to retain and grow our individual giving income.

Powerful narratives, storytelling and engagement with donors is crucial to ensure that our funding need and impact is shared with supporters. 

The Supporter Relationship Manager will work with the Head of Fundraising and Deputy CEO to grow our major donor, regular giving, appeal and legacy income alongside sustaining our irregular giving and Gift Aid income.  The Supporter Relationship Manager will line manage the Fundraising Assistant (FA), which is a new entry-level fundraising role responsible for the development and day-to-day administration of our community fundraising income stream for individuals and our corporate community.

Person Specification Essential knowledge, skills and experience:

• Three years+ experience of working in a supporter care fundraising role.
• Understanding of fundraising principles, relationship marketing and supporter care.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• High level copy writing skills.
• Experience of working with communications staff to support multi-channel fundraising campaigns.
• Ability to work on your own initiative.Well-organised and able to manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines and targets.
• Good working knowledge of CRM databases and how to use them to steward supporters.
• Good knowledge of current data protection/GDPR regulation.
• Able to develop, initiate and maintain systems and procedures.
• IT literate with a working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications including Excel to sort and segment supporter data.
• A clear commitment to the ethos and strategic plans of FareShare South West, and able to positively contribute towards its achievement.