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Job Title: Policy and Impact Officer
Location: Home working with some travel
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: 35 hours per week
Salary: £24,000pa
DBS/PVG: Not required
Job Family: 3
Line Manager: Head of Policy and Impact
Closing Date: 30th September 2025 We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications
Start Date: asap
Interview Dates: 23 October 2025
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications
Who we are
At Volunteering Matters, we believe people have the power to create change. Whether through volunteering by helping others and giving time, or through social action such as speaking up, campaigning, or leading change, everyone can make a difference. We bring people together to build stronger communities across England, Scotland and Wales, making sure everyone has the chance to get involved and create real change.
What we do
We help people of all ages and backgrounds get involved in volunteering and social action. We focus on making sure that everyone, no matter their situation, has the chance to take part.
How we do this
We support people to share their time and skills to help others and tackle big challenges in their communities.
• We remove barriers to volunteering and social action, making it easier for people who don’t always get the chance to take part.
• We listen to and amplify voices that aren’t always heard, helping volunteers and communities influence change.
• We help volunteers beyond their first experience, offering training, support, and pathways to new opportunities.
• We connect businesses with communities, creating meaningful employee volunteering projects.
• We show the impact of volunteering and social action, proving how it changes lives for the better.
Our promise to volunteers
We are always looking for new ways for volunteers to make a difference. We bring people together across generations and backgrounds to learn from each other and create change. At the same time, we make sure that all our volunteers are trained, supported, and valued, so they feel confident in what they do.
Role Purpose
The Policy and Impact Team sits at the heart of Volunteering Matters. We play a vital role in demonstrating the impact of our work connecting data, qualitative insight, and lived experience to the policy agendas shaping communities across the UK. Through storytelling, analysis, and evidence, we make sure volunteering is recognised as a driving force for social change.
We are a small, hands-on team. You will be involved in every aspect of our work from desk-based research and writing briefings to organising external meetings and working directly in communities alongside our volunteers. This variety allows you to connect national policy with local realities and help volunteers share their voices where it matters most.
You will help bring our five-year strategy to life by linking project outcomes to broader societal developments and showcasing the impact of volunteers and communities.
Key Duties Responsibilities
· Support the Head of Policy and Impact to coordinate Volunteering Matters’ policy and public affairs work.
· Support people involved with our volunteering projects to engage with local politicians, e.g. by organising visits to projects or meetings with volunteers.
· Monitor and respond to opportunities (e.g. relevant government consultations, All-Party Parliamentary Group inquiries or Select Committee inquiries) that are relevant to Volunteering Matters’ priorities.
· Support mapping and research exercises to inform our policy positioning. Writing summary reports as needed.
· Collaborate with the National Volunteer Engagement Manager to support the inclusion of volunteer and community voices in our policy and public affairs work.
· Assist with collecting impact and activity data from across the charity and work with the Data Analyst to undertake analysis.
· Support with routine collection of quarterly data from projects - ensuring responses are timely and accurate, providing guidance to project managers as needed.
· Work with project staff to help create impactful and engaging reports.
· Represent Volunteering Matters at charity and volunteering policy-related groups.
Essential Skills
· Understanding of UK political systems and policy-making processes across national, devolved, and local levels.
· Understanding of policy, public affairs, or influencing, ideally within the voluntary or community sector.
· Confident communicator, able to engage with policymakers, sector partners, and community representatives.
· Familiarity with both qualitative and quantitative data analysis to inform narrative reporting and strategic insight.
· Excellent writing skills, with the ability to craft clear, persuasive documents based on data and lived experience.
· Alignment with Volunteering Matters’ values and a commitment to amplifying community voice.
· Must adhere to the organisation’s Code of Conduct and uphold its values at all times.
· Proficient in Microsoft 365, particularly Outlook, Teams, Word, and Excel, with the ability to manage email communications and collaborate digitally.
· Able to work effectively both independently and as part of a team, managing time and priorities in a busy environment.
· For remote roles, candidates must be self-starters who can work with minimal supervision, stay organised, and remain motivated to meet deadlines and deliver quality outcomes.
· Attention to detail and a proactive approach to problem-solving and information sharing.
Experience Required
No specific experience is required.
Qualifications
Relevant skills and values alignment is more important for this role than specific qualifications.
Our Values & Way of Working
In all that we do we are guided by our values: Empowering, Inclusive, Compassionate, Positive & Straightforward.
Disability Confident & Reasonable Adjustments
We guarantee to interview anyone with a disability whose application meets the essential criteria for the role. Please provide evidence in your application, which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required in the Job Description under skill and experience. To be considered for a guaranteed interview or to discuss any reasonable adjustments during the process, please state this in your cover letter.
GDPR Statement
If you apply for a role with us, we will retain your contact details including your name, address, email address and phone number to help us manage your application for up to six months. We will not use your personal data for any other purpose or share it with any third party. You can contact us at any point to update your personal information or ask us to delete it from our records.
Policy on AI-Generated Applications
Applications are accepted on trust, and we expect all submissions to reflect the applicant’s own words, experiences, and motivations. While tools such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) may support the application process, applications should not be generated wholly by AI.
To Apply
Please send an updated, complete CV and cover letter via the Charity Job Apply button above. In your application clearly state which role you are applying for. In the cover letter please demonstrate how you would fulfil the role requirements, what previous relevant achievements you have (both in life and at work), what skills & experience you can offer, and what you believe you can contribute to Volunteering Matters.
Please note that all applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, we’re unable to progress applications that don’t meet this requirement.
If you have any questions about current vacancies, the recruitment process, or need support, our team is here to help. Whether you're a candidate looking for more information or with an HR query, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Registered Charity
101 - 500
We turn local knowledge into action by working with volunteers and partners across the UK to build stronger communities for all.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Role Summary
Join our team and help us improve public sector food across the UK with our School Plates and new Hospital Plates programmes. We're looking for a passionate and driven Chef Trainer to support schools and hospitals in delivering healthier and more sustainable menus.
The programmes continue to go from strength to strength. Through School Plates, we currently support over a third of all UK local authorities, catering for more than 12,000 schools and feeding over 1.25 million children daily. To date, we have been responsible for swapping over 50 million school meals from meat-based to meat-free or plant-based. We're now expanding our successful model into the health sector with our new Hospital Plates programme, bringing the same positive change to patient and staff menus.
Are you a skilled chef trainer with a passion for improving public food? Can you match our ambition? You'll be using your culinary expertise to train catering teams in both schools and hospitals, provide menu advice, and get involved with recipe development and culinary education. You will also run cooking workshops for pupils in secondary schools, inspiring the next generation to get excited about plant-based food. You will also build and manage relationships with our catering partners, helping them deliver delicious and sustainable meals. This is a UK-wide role and will require travel to different sites.
We’re looking for someone to join our team for 3 days a week but are open to applicants looking for flexible working hours, including, potentially, 4 days a week.
Job Details
Job Title: Chef Trainer - School Plates & Hospital Plates
Reporting to: Programme Manager, UK
Location: Remote (home-based with travel across UK)
Hours: 21-28 hours per week (0.6-0.8 FTE)
Salary: £32,000 per annum pro rata (based on 1.0 FTE)
Responsibilities
As our Chef Trainer & Programme Support, you'll be a key player in developing and delivering our School Plates and Hospital Plates programmes. You'll use your culinary expertise and passion for food system change to create resources, train professionals, and engage with our partners.
Key Responsibilities
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Recipe Development & Training: You'll co-lead the creation, testing, and development of new plant-based recipes for our school and hospital programmes, and lead on developing ‘grab-and-go’ and internationally inspired options for secondary schools. You'll also plan and deliver training sessions, including in-person and online workshops, and create e-learning courses for caterers.
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Programme Development & Support: Work closely with programme managers to develop and refine the strategy for our initiatives. This includes supporting pilot programmes, measuring their impact, and creating bespoke catering resources for our partners.
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Stakeholder Engagement & Communication: Represent our organisation at events and in meetings, providing expert catering advice and information on our programmes. Collaborate with our communications manager to create engaging content, including recipes and videos for our website, e-learning platform and social media.
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Education & Outreach: Partner with our education manager to plan and co-deliver secondary school cooking workshops. These sessions will teach pupils basic plant-based culinary skills that align with the National Curriculum as well as inspire the next generation to choose plant-forward options and learn about the impact of their food choices in a positive way.
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Inspire Catering Teams: Your role is to build and maintain relationships with catering partners, providing expert catering advice and practical recipe suggestions. You'll work with them directly on pilot programmes, offering bespoke support to inspire positive menu changes. You'll also provide essential administrative support for our programmes and help create and deliver presentations to promote our work to a wider audience.
Qualifications
Essential
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Experienced in planning and delivering cooking workshops to groups.
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Experience of working in a culinary setting and developing recipes with a strong interest in plant-based recipes.
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Excellent communication skills and be a confident and engaging educator.
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Flexible and agile approach, with a willingness to be a true team player and fill gaps as needed.
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Proactive with initiative and drive.
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Strong organisational skills.
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Attention to detail.
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Solution-focused and resilient.
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Confident in creating basic spreadsheets and slide decks.
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Ability to work well under pressure and manage time effectively in a fast-paced and small but fast-growing non-profit work environment.
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Ability to work well unsupervised with experience of working in remote teams with a reliable internet connection.
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Passionate about food systems change.
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Alignment with our vision and mission.
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Based in the UK and able to attend meetings, events, and training to represent the team and programme across the UK.
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Willing to travel across the UK for workshops and events.
Desirable
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Experience of working within school and/or hospital food.
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Experience of food photography and creating recipe content for social platforms or online courses.
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Experience of managing projects.
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Experience of liaising with local authorities, schools, or other public sector bodies.
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Experience in the field of nutrition, including an interest in plant-based nutrition.
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Experience of working in the food, health or environmental sector.
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Experience of using customer relationship management (CRM) systems (training will be provided).
Benefits of working with us
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Generous annual leave entitlement - 25 days per year, with an additional day granted at the start of each calendar up to a maximum of 30 days (plus bank holidays)
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A strong organisational focus on personal development, with a designated training budget.
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Provision of a work laptop.
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Flexible, trust-based working arrangements and home-office arrangements.
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Career development support
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Enhanced maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption pay
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Compassionate animal companion leave
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Employee Assistance Programme including counselling
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Access to 24/7 virtual GP Service
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Mindfulness support via a free Headspace account for you and up to 5 friends or family members
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Access to the Wisdom app with exclusive perks and discounts
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Membership to the OpenUp platform
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We are a workplace that encourages everyone to bring their whole selves to work. We are an inclusive workplace for our diverse employees around the world.
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And, last but not least, become part of a great team and work with us towards a world where everyone chooses delicious and healthy food that is good for all humans, animals, and our planet!
When?
Application deadline: 5th October 2025
Start date: November 2025
Application process and timeline
Please submit your application using our online form including your CV and cover letter. By submitting your application you agree that your personal data will be processed by and shared with our UK entity (ProVeg C.I.C.) and German entity (ProVeg e.V.).
The recruitment process consists of two rounds: 1): an online trial task; 2): an interview with the Programme Manager and Director.
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Application deadline: 5th October 2025
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Online trial task: sent to longlisted candidates by 10th October 5pm, to be completed by 12 October at 5pm
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Interviews: take place on 21st and 22nd October 2025
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Start date: November 2025
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Banana Link is a UK based NGO established in 1996. We have been advocating for a fair and sustainable banana industry for thirty years, based on environmental, social and economic sustainability. Our approach is underpinned by a firm commitment to defending workers’ rights, at the core of these rights is the right to a fair and decent income that affords a dignified life for men and women banana plantation workers. We work at a strategic level and through research, advocacy and dialogue with all actors along the chain to bring about change.
This role will support the management and delivery our current work stream on Living Wages in the African Banana Export Industry. Initial activities will be delivered in Ghana and Cameroon, in collaboration with our local and international trade union partners, local producing companies, and European retailers. Key project activities include:
- Facilitation of capacity building activities on Living Wages and Decent Work in Cameroon and Ghana, with company staff and trade union representatives.
- Communication and dialogue between all project partners and other industry stakeholders towards fair remuneration and decent work in the banana industry.
- Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on all project activities to funders Ghana, with company staff and trade union representatives.
- Communication and dialogue between all project partners and other industry stakeholders towards fair remuneration and decent work in the banana industry
- Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on all project activities to funders
The role will provide an important opportunity to work alongside Banana Link’s International Coordinator, and in collaboration with other key staff and partner organisations, on the important issues of Living Wages, Decent Work, Social Dialogue and Sustainability.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.