Head of Operations

We are Made in Hackney

Made in Hackney started life in 2012 as a community cookery school working across London with the mission of tackling the climate crisis, health inequalities and bringing communities together using the power of plants. The impact of our work is varied, far-reaching and very real; changing hundreds of thousands of people’s lives for the better.  We provide diverse culinary education, inspiration and support networks needed to ensure no one is left behind in the transition to a plant-centred, planet-friendly diet.

When you join Made In Hackney – you become part of this pivotal movement, where a new type of food culture is being formed with care, compassion and justice at its core.

We are seeking a highly motivated and strategically minded individual to become our Head of Operations and a key member of the Senior Leadership Team. You will have experience working in a senior role in the areas of operations, HR and governance. You will help the charity comply with health and safety requirements, safeguarding best practice and data protection and lead in developing organisational policies. 

You will have a passion and flair for improving operational processes and efficiency, administering CRMs, and monitoring and evaluation to ensure we operate most effectively. You will not shy away from problem-solving operational challenges and thrive in supporting the core team (of 10 staff) to ensure the smooth running and ongoing development of the organisation. We appreciate you may not have all the experience outlined in each category below but if you excel in a few key areas please still apply.

The experience of working for Made in Hackney is varied, unique and rewarding. There is plenty of room for the successful candidate to be creative and bring new ideas for developing services.

Responsibilities include:

Leadership, Strategy and Governance

• Be an active member of the Made in Hackney Senior Leadership Team, working together to galvanise the organisation behind the strategic plan

• Contribute to strategic discussions on the future path of the organisation; providing oversight on key initiatives as required as a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

• Proactively participate in and/or lead team meetings to ensure effective communication and mutual support

• Provide lead support to the Board of Trustees, assisting the Chair with trustee meetings, keeping the Charity Commission website updated, and assisting with trustee recruitment, induction and training, board reviews etc;

• Act as the lead staff team representative on the Resource & Remuneration board sub-committee

HR & Training 

• Lead the organisation’s HR function ensuring  employment practice is legally compliant and fair, with a focus on being a fully inclusive employer;

• Keep abreast of the latest guidance in employment law and HR legislation, acting as the lead liaison with Croner external HR support;

• Act as MIH’s Lead for:
  Safeguarding - conducting regular reviews of safeguarding policy,  procedures and regular training for staff, trustees and volunteers and completing; 
  Data Protection - ensuring Data Protection Policy review and organisation-wide compliance and responding to any data incidents or breaches;
  Training - overseeing staff/volunteer/trustee training and lead on implementing staff wellbeing initiatives eg. socials, team building days etc;

• Oversee monthly staff salary payment and coordinate with external payroll provider; 

• Responsible for regular organisation-wide policy, procedure and risk assessment reviews

• Oversee any organisational structure reviews and ensure a system is in place for staff to receive regular and motivational feedback, and feel supported and able to perform their role;

Salesforce Admin
To be the main point of contact for core users' technical support and training needs, and to develop the Salesforce platform to improve organisational efficiency, relationship management and income generation. Intensive training will be provided to support this role.

• Act as the system administrator and manage admin functions including assigning new users, creating reports, dashboards, surveys, application forms etc;

• Onboard and train new users, and grow the level of expertise among the core team;

• Implement custom features when new work streams/programmes are set up and as organisational needs grow;

• Oversee support partnerships with external technical support and training providers.

• Support the Head of Fundraising & Communications and Community Programmes Manager with the creation of reports and dashboards in salesforce to present programme outcomes for funder and trustee reports and the MIH Annual Report;

• App Integration – use apps such as Mailchimp and 123 Form Builder (survey software) and integrate with Salesforce

Venue Management 
MIH has a part-time Venue Manager who is responsible for the general upkeep and maintenance of the ‘Liberty Hall’ kitchen venue. The Head of Operations  will oversee them and support key areas of venue management in the following ways:

• Manage relationship with venue partner ‘Clapton Commons’ to ensure key services of venue are running smoothly and represent MIH in oversight committee meetings; 

• Ensure venue and office equipment is safe to use and repaired/replaced/PAT tested on time;

• Ensure the venue meets the latest Health & Safety requirements, Fire Safety Standards and is fully accessible;

• Support acquisition of new kitchen equipment when required, such as ovens, hobs etc either from a donated source or purchased from a supplier;

Finance

• Organise quarterly budget meetings between the core delivery team and Finance Manager to review budget and expenditure; 

• Ensure the finance team understands the requirements and deadlines of board meetings and provide reminders to them for preparing the required financial reporting.

Line Management

• Line management responsibility for 3 direct reports, creating a supportive environment for growth and development