Food coordination assistant jobs
Job Title: Policy and Advocacy Manager
Position Type: Maternity Cover
Reports to: Founder/Chief Executive
Based at: School Food Matters, Blackfriars Settlement 9 Rushworth Street SE1 0RB
Salary: £40,500
Working Hours: 9am-5pm (flexible)
Pension: School Food Matters pays pension contributions at 7% of pensionable earnings
Holiday: 31 days including bank holidays
School Food Matters is closed between Christmas and New Year
Job Purpose
· To lead and shape School Food Matters’ policy and advocacy strategy, ensuring our voice influences national and local decision-making on school food and food education
· To design and deliver campaigns that support and advance SFM’s mission
· To line manage the Policy and Communications Assistant and Press and Communications Officer
Key Tasks
· Lead and provide strategic input to campaigns, convene groups and partnerships
· Represent SFM at external meetings and coalitions such as the School Food Review
· Monitor, analyse and interpret relevant research, policy developments and news, identifying implications or opportunities for SFM
· Oversee the strategic direction of SFM’s external affairs and communications, ensuring all policy, campaigns, and public messaging align with the charity’s mission and priorities
· Provide policy research and analysis to support the activities of the School Food Review
· Oversee meetings and governance for the School Food Alliance
· Provide policy and communications expertise for the Food Education Network workstreams
· Represent SFM at relevant policy consultations, meetings and conferences to influence and inform policy discussions, and deliver presentations as required
· Lead drafting of responses to government consultations
· Working closely with the Press and Communications Officer, provide insights to inform timely media responses to policy developments
· Ensure colleagues are regularly briefed on policy activities, priorities and messages, and run internal workshops to keep them up to date with the school food sector
· Provide strategic input to meeting content for the School Food Review, and support the Policy and Communications Assistant to organise meetings for workstreams
· Oversee the development web content, articles, blogs and newsletter content by the Press and Communications Officer and the Policy and Communications Assistant
· Keep up to date with safeguarding requirements and reporting procedures
· Maintain the ethos of the charity and positively promote our work at all times
· The Policy and Advocacy Manager will also undertake any other tasks relevant to the affairs of SFM that may arise from time to time. Therefore, being flexible and approaching the job with an open and positive mindset is essential!
Person Specification
Essential
· Experience of research and analysis, ideally in a policy environment
· General knowledge of issues around school food, children’s health and food education
· Comprehensive understanding of the UK’s political system
· Experience of coordinating policy/research-based projects
· Experience designing, coordinating and delivering campaigns
· Experience of working in coalitions
· Strong interpersonal skills and ability to maintain relationships with a range of individuals and organisations
· Confident and competent IT skills across Office suite of programmes
· Exceptional oral and written communication skills in fluent spoken and written English, with strong attention to detail and the ability to translate complex data and policies into accessible language and engaging stories and communication materials
· Strong understanding media landscape and social media platforms to oversee the communications activity of the organisation
· Ability to work independently, with high levels of self-motivation
· Good project management, time management and organisational skills and the ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines
· Energy, enthusiasm, creativity and tenacity
Desirable
· Strong knowledge of the public health, food and education policy landscape
· Experience managing others
· Experience managing projects
· Experience managing meetings
· Experience of working with Drupal CMS
· Experience of working within a network or coalition of campaigning organisations
· Established contacts with media outlets/journalists/bloggers
· Digital campaigning and social networking skills
· Experience writing news articles and blog posts with clear structure, purpose and an engaging narrative
· Experience managing or supervising team members to deliver communications projects effectively
We campaign for a better school food system. We support schools, local authorities and MATs to improve food in schools.



The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Abbey Community Centre is a vibrant, long-established community charity at the heart of Kilburn, North West London. Every day, we bring people together, reduce isolation and improve health and wellbeing through inclusive activities, services and community support.
We're now looking for an experienced Centre Operations Manager to play a key senior role in ensuring our busy community hub runs safely, smoothly and effectively for the thousands of people who use it each year.
About Abbey Community Centre
Abbey Community Centre works with people of all ages and backgrounds, with a particular focus on older residents and low-income families with young children. We deliver a wide range of activities, services and support including children’s stay-and-play sessions and drop-ins, fitness and wellbeing activities, befriending schemes, digital inclusion support, community meals, warm space provision, food support, volunteering opportunities and specialist outreach.
Alongside this community delivery, we manage a busy public building and a programme of room hire that helps generate income to sustain our work. With a small staff team, over 100 volunteers and many partner organisations, our operations need to be reliable, well-coordinated and people-centred.
The role and its impact
As Centre Operations Manager, you will be the organisation’s senior operational lead on the ground. Working closely with the CEO, you will hold delegated authority for the day-to-day running of the Centre — ensuring the building, people and systems all work together to support high-quality community activity.
This is a hands-on leadership role combining practical problem-solving with people management. You will line manage and help develop operational staff, oversee facilities and contractors, lead on health and safety and operational compliance, support volunteering, and ensure organisational systems and processes function reliably.
Your work will directly enable staff, volunteers and partners to deliver activities and services safely and confidently, and will help ensure Abbey remains a welcoming, accessible and well-run space for the local community.
What you’ll be working on
In this role, you will:
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Oversee daily building operations, maintenance and contractor management
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Lead on health & safety and related compliance, including risk assessments and training
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Line manage & develop operational staff and support a positive, consistent working culture
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Ensure operational policies and procedures are applied effectively in practice
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Support and coordinate volunteering within the centre
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Manage operational budgets and contracts within agreed limits
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Act as a senior member of the management team, deputising for the CEO on agreed matters
Key details
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Location: Abbey Community Centre, Kilburn (NW6 4BJ, London Borough of Camden)
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Hours: 24–28 hours per week (fixed hours agreed at appointment), worked over a minimum of four weekdays
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Core hours: 11.00am–4.00pm (flexibility outside these hours by agreement)
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Contract: Permanent, part-time
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Salary: £40,000–£42,000 per annum (based on a 35-hour full-time equivalent), pro rata for part-time hours
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Annual leave: 30 days pro-rata, rising to 35 days after 5 years’ service (plus bank holidays, pro-rata)
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Pension: NEST pension scheme (if eligible)
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Some evening and occasional weekend working is required
This role could be right for you if…
You are an experienced operational manager who enjoys combining leadership with practical delivery, thrives in a public-facing environment, and wants your work to make a visible difference to a local community. You don’t need to tick every box — we’re interested in your experience, judgement, approach and motivation.
Abbey Community Centre is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and we welcome applications from candidates from a wide range of backgrounds. Reasonable adjustments will be offered throughout the recruitment process.
To reduce poverty and isolation and improve health, wellbeing and connection through inclusive community activities, services and support.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
We are looking for a conscientious and skilled coordinator who understands how vital administrative tasks are to a well-functioning, smooth-running organisation. You are a big picture thinker with an eye for detail, someone who can support us in grounding our big ideas in reality, helping to ensure our work is clearly documented, replicable, compliant with relevant legislation, and that it contributes to making a big impact for the social sector.
You love to collaborate cross-functionally and have a knack for understanding and maintaining the ecosystem of a cohesive and impactful organisation. You’re looking to join a small, friendly, and respectful team with an outsized impact, where your ideas and contributions are valued and where you are trusted to work in a way that suits you.
About DataKind UK
DataKind UK is a small infrastructure charity with a vision of a strong, thriving third sector that embraces data science to become more impactful. Effective data use has the potential to transform an organisation's impact by improving decision-making, maximising operational efficiency, and ensuring service delivery is evidence-based. A lack of access to responsible data science skills and techniques in the third sector means it isn’t having the impact it could.
We provide a variety of free and contracted support services to help third sector organisations achieve their missions, encourage innovation, and improve decision making, problem solving, and practices.
Since 2013, more than 2,200 DataKind UK volunteers have supported over 300 charities—from large organisations like St John Ambulance and Action for Children to local food banks and campaigning charities—helping them better understand their users, evaluate what's working, streamline routine tasks, and ultimately better tackle society's biggest challenges.
You'll be part of a kind and collaborative five-person staff team that works closely with a talented community of volunteer data scientists. This is an exciting and unusual opportunity to shape how the third sector uses data. Join us!
Essential qualities
- Proactive, can-do attitude - if in doubt, we’ll figure it out!
- A highly organised, process-driven problem solver.
- You are aligned with DataKind UK’s core values: curious, responsible, collaborative.
- You are self-directed and goal-oriented, and like working independently or managing without direct authority.
- You thrive in an environment where every day is a bit different, and are happy working flexibly and adaptably. You can switch between big-picture and detail-oriented thinking.
- You are committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- You are a collaborative team player, and happy to jump in and help out when and where needed. You care more that good things happen than who gets the credit.
Essential skills
- Personable and skilled at relationship building and communicating with a variety of people - we work in a small, hybrid team, and with a wide variety of volunteers, charity partners, and other stakeholders.
- Skilled at collaborating with/managing people who are not your direct reports (e.g. colleagues, volunteers, trustees).
- Comfortable juggling multiple projects and priorities and making decisions about what to prioritise accordingly.
- Familiarity with digital software - currently we use Google suite for email, diary management and documents; Beacon CRM; Monday for project management; and Slack for team and volunteer communications. You may not have used those exact tools but you are comfortable with learning new tools and processes, to the point where you can clearly document processes and train others.
Desirable
- Experience of working and/or volunteering in the UK charity sector.
- Knowledge of charity governance / legislation.
- An interest in the use of data to support decision making in the third sector.
- Experience of working or collaborating with volunteers.
What we offer
- Working in a small, flexible, hybrid team where you are trusted to manage your time and your projects. If you need to switch your hours one week, or take time out of your working day to go to a dentist appointment, sit an exam, or for your child’s school play, go ahead! We are focused on outputs over time spent at your desk.
- 5% employer pension contribution.
- 11 days holiday (27 days pro rata).
- Employee Support plan including medical and dental assistance.
- We will provide you with a comprehensive onboarding plan, where we will identify any additional training needs to support you in your role and arrange for training at a time/place/pace that suits you.
Working hours and location
This is a part-time role (14 hours per week). You can do this across two or more days, depending on your preferred work pattern. Working hours are flexible, but we ask that at least 75% of your working time is within the hours of 10am and 6pm UK time, in order to facilitate team working and real-time collaboration.
This role will ideally be hybrid / London-based. We can currently provide London office space on Mondays (Victoria), Thursdays (Shoreditch) and Fridays (Victoria). (Please note we don’t currently have any other staff members in the office on a Friday.) We will occasionally hold team days in London - you will be given advance notice of these dates. We may be able to offer remote working for an exceptional candidate, but our preference would be for a hybrid schedule with at least one day in the office (Monday or Thursday) per week - please note this could be a shorter day, e.g. 9-3 to accommodate other commitments.
You must have the right to work in the UK.
How to apply
The deadline for receipt of your application is 9am, Monday 23 February. Applications received after this time will not be considered.
Please send us your CV and a cover letter of no more than two single-spaced pages to explain why this role appeals to you and how you meet the experience, skills, and qualities listed above using the STAR (Situation Task Action Result) approach. We would also like to know:
- What made you decide to apply for this role?
- How do you stay organised? Again, this can be an example from your work, study or personal life.
- Can you tell us about a time when you have had to step outside of your comfort zone or usual role, either in a job or an example from your life outside of work? What motivated you to get involved and what was the outcome?
All applications will be anonymised before shortlisting.
A note on use of generative AI
We know a lot of people use generative AI tools like Chat GPT to help them with job applications. We don’t encourage this, but if you do want to use it, we recommend asking it for suggestions on relevant things to include, get it to give you them in bullet points, then write the application yourself. We really want to hear from YOU, the human, in your authentic voice. It helps you to stand out, and helps us figure out if you're really and truly a good fit for the role. We do not use AI to assist us with reviewing and shortlisting applicants.
Equity & Diversity Monitoring
Please consider filling in the Equity & Diversity Monitoring Form linked in the Job Description attachment. This is entirely voluntary and anonymous and will not affect your application in any way.
We are committed to providing equal opportunities for everyone regardless of their background, and welcome applications regardless of age, sex, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, religion/belief, race, nationality, ethnicity, marital status, pregnancy, or disability.
The data you provide will be used to monitor whether we are receiving applications from quality candidates across the whole of society. If there are differences in application rates it will enable action to be taken to ensure that no group is treated unfairly.
We particularly encourage applications from groups which are underrepresented in data science, tech, and/or the third sector, including people of colour and people with disabilities. We can make reasonable adjustments throughout the application process (both with the application and interview) and on the job. If you have particular accessibility needs, please get in touch and let us know any requirements you may have at contact at datakind dot org dot uk.
We will treat the data you provide in your application in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Please send us your CV and a cover letter of no more than two single-spaced pages to explain why this role appeals to you and how you meet the experience, skills, and qualities listed above using the STAR (Situation Task Action Result) approach. We would also like to know:
What made you decide to apply for this role?
How do you stay organised? Again, this can be an example from your work, study or personal life.
Can you tell us about a time when you have had to step outside of your comfort zone or usual role, either in a job or an example from your life outside of work? What motivated you to get involved and what was the outcome?
Supporting third sector organisations to achieve their missions through increased use of data science.



Age UK Westminster is delighted to offer a new role within our successful Information and Advice Team, with a focus on supporting Westminster residents from Global Majorities, gaining skills and knowledge to develop your career in I&A.
The successful applicant will benefit from working within an experienced and friendly team. Full training, including completion of Level 3 Information and Advice certification, will be provided. If you are fluent in one of the following languages, Arabic, Somali or Bengali, and would like to work with us to enable our team to better support non-English speaking Westminster older residents to access our Information and advice service, this could be the role for you.
This is a real opportunity to build a career in Information and Advice. Join us to make a real difference to the older residents of Westminster.
Closing Date: 30th April
Please specify which language you can speak in addition to English (Arabic, Somali or Bengali).
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.