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Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Kitchen Club Programme Manager

Parent Club
Hackney, London

Posted: 16 Dec 2024

Deadline: 10 Jan 2025

Compensation: £35,000 - £42,000 (pro rata), depending on experience

Living Wage employer

Paid Part-time Fixed term / contract

Job description

About Kitchen Club

Kitchen Club is where families with pre-school children work together to make a healthy lunch alongside activities to support children’s learning and development. We also signpost and refer-in to 40+ local organisations, from food banks to Family Hubs.

We aim to engage families who are socially isolated or vulnerable, and who may not feel comfortable in more formal settings, with a special focus on supporting families who live in temporary accommodation. 

Key outcomes:

• Nutrition
• The home learning environment
• Mental wellbeing
• Social connection
• Access to information & support

We use trauma informed principles to create welcoming spaces which are easier to access for parents with complex and difficult case histories. Sessions are informal but carefully planned so families can connect and learn together in a safe environment. We emphasise choice, collaboration and shared decision-making. Many of our staff and volunteers share lived experience of temporary accommodation and other challenges faced by the families we support.

About the role

We’re looking for someone special to lead our Kitchen Club programme. If you’re passionate about food, families and fairness, with the right skills and experience, then we’d love to hear from you!

With management responsibility for up to 8 part-time staff, this is a crucial role within our small but growing organisation, combining team leadership with hands-on support for session delivery, including helping with the washing up if that’s what is needed!

An important aspect of this job is working closely with the delivery team to understand and respond to individual and group needs. The Programme Manager is responsible for ensuring that families have access to the right kind of support, both within sessions, and from external organisations, from food banks to children’s centres.  

Since 2014, we’ve been working to make Kitchen Club more effective and establish a clear model for what ‘good’ looks like. The Kitchen Club Programme Manager will play a key role in continuing to drive improvement. We’re looking for someone who is ambitious about what can be achieved within our existing frameworks, but who is also able to contribute new ideas to enhance reach and impact, working closely with the Chief Executive to take our work to the next level.

Whoever joins our small but committed team will have the opportunity to make a vital difference for families who face significant and complex challenges.

Summary of key responsibilities

• Lead and support a diverse team of staff and volunteers to deliver high quality Kitchen Club sessions across up to 6 settings per week
• Ensure processes to recruit new families are effective, including outreach and referrals-in
• Liaise with senior contacts in key partner organisations
• Represent the Parent Club CIO, and the interests of Kitchen Club families, in policy and practice forums in Hackney and more widely
• Work with the Chief Executive and trustees to develop the 5-year strategic plan

About you

The successful candidate will have a proven track record as a manager, with the ability to lead a diverse team of thoughtful, reflective practitioners.

You may have a background in community work, early years, parenting support, psychological support services, or community food projects. Above all, you will be committed to delivering positive outcomes for disadvantaged families with young children.

We particularly encourage applications from people with knowledge and understanding of the diverse communities in Hackney and Haringey, and who speak languages spoken within them. Those with lived experience of bringing up children in challenging circumstances are also particularly welcome to apply.

Application information

Please visit the Kitchen Club website and download the Job Pack and Application Form.

If you are considering an application, and would like to have an informal discussion, please feel free to contact Chris Brown - kitchenclubinfo@gmail.com.

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