Find your place in the field of good food

Our goal is to connect good people with good food. We advertise sustainable food jobs and training opportunities to help jobseekers and employers find each other.

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

Job description

ABOUT CITY HARVEST

City Harvest is London’s original food redistribution charity on a mission to rescue food, people, and the planet! Our HQ is in Acton Central, with satellite food rescue sites in east and south London. Our mission is to alleviate food poverty across the capital and reduce industry food waste and its harmful effects on the planet. We currently rescue and deliver enough free food for over 1.3 million meals a month to London communities. Our work environment is dynamic and exciting. We operate from a modern office, attached to our food rescue warehouse where all the action happens. We provide a supportive working environment, and opportunities to grow and learn while making a real difference.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Volunteers are the lifeblood of City Harvest - they are they packers, stackers, sorters and porters, working tirelessly to ensure the efficient turnaround of rescued food to those in need across London. The City Harvest Volunteer Programme has grown enormously over the last 12 months and now we’re happy to say that it requires another pair of capable hands to help ensure cover across all areas of operation.

Reporting into the Senior Volunteer Coordinator, you will work closely with the Volunteer Team and will support the efficient running of our Community and Corporate Volunteer Programmes. The Volunteer Coordinator will be responsible for supervising and engaging with our Community and Corporate volunteers by coordinating their daily activities according to the needs of the Warehouse, while ensuring they feel valued and are supported in their role.  You will also be a vital part of our community outreach and engagement programme, help us celebrate volunteering, nominating volunteers for recognition and organising events to celebrate success and major achievements.  This role will also be part of the team who offer advice and information to volunteers and external organisations through face-to-face, telephone and email contact and to be a vital part of our promotion of volunteering opportunities at City Harvest and reaching out to new volunteers.  This role is a key part of our development of deeper relationships with Corporate partners, an understanding of the importance of progression of these relationships will be a significant part of your success.  

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

All of the below deliverables will be shared with the other Volunteer Coordinators and a close relationship will need to be established between the two of them to distribute responsibilities equally and fairly and to ensure an effective and seamless way of working.

Community Volunteer Responsibilities:

• Monitor community volunteer numbers on a daily and weekly basis, ensuring effective planning and communication with other teams to fill any gaps in cover.
• Set up workstations and coordinate daily tasks of community volunteers, ensuring effective communication, support, and guidance with a hands-on approach.
• Build effective relationships to understand individual needs are met and make necessary adjustments in the work setting accordingly.
• Support the development of volunteers with briefings and tailored training that will help them fulfil their roles effectively.

Corporate Volunteer Responsibilities:

• Work closely with the Corporate Partnerships Manager, Food Team, and wider Volunteering team to ensure awareness and adherence to corporate volunteer requirements and expectations.
• Work closely with the Warehouse and Transport Teams to prioritise daily tasks efficiently and coordinate our volunteers appropriately.
• Induct, train and support corporate volunteers as and when required.
• Act as first point of contact for all corporate volunteers throughout the day, ensuring good level of contact, high engagement levels and sufficient and adequate guidance is provided to volunteers, ensuring they enjoy an excellent experience with City Harvest!

Relationship Management:

• Act as a coordinator between the Warehouse, Volunteering, and Food teams.
• Attend Food, Volunteering and Warehouse Team meetings as and when required, ensuring awareness of deliveries and setting priorities accordingly.
• Ensure high levels of engagement among volunteers by supporting and motivating them, recognising their achievements and celebrating their work.
• Support the delivery of our Volunteer Team Strategy, to ensure the continued success of the City Harvest Volunteer Programme.
• Support the delivery of the Annual City Harvest Volunteer Week and any other engagement and celebration activities and strategies across the year.
• Act as a Volunteering Champion both within City Harvest and beyond, looking for ways to recognise and reward the City Harvest volunteers.

ABOUT YOU

You must be a self-starter and will have experience in complying with relevant equality and diversity policies, promoting a healthy working environment where all individuals are valued and always respected. In addition, you must always comply with relevant H&S rules and regulations, seeking to minimise and eliminate hazards in the workplace. Compliance with relevant data protection policies, ensuring General Data Protection Regulations are considered when making plans and decisions is key in this role. You be experienced working as part of a team, undertaking additional responsibilities or tasks necessary for the successful completion of your duties as a Volunteer Coordinator, as required by the organisation.

DESIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• Previous experience in a similar role and/or in a similar setting managing or working with volunteers, including being a volunteer, is a must.
• Food Hygiene Level 2 is essential (you could have it completed or could be working towards it we can supply training).
• Knowledge of the social impact charity workings would be beneficial for the role.
• Strong time-management and organisational skills with the ability to manage a variety of tasks are essential for this role.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to build healthy work relationships.
• Ability to cope with high work volumes and perform well under pressure is key.
• An essential requirement for the role is to be inspiring, motivating, and energising style which will engage and encourage others.
• Problem-solving skills and positive, proactive "can-do" attitude.
• Strong IT skills (Outlook, Word and Excel) with the ability to keep accurate records are essential for this role.  

QUALITIES REQUIRED FOR SUCCESS AT CITY HARVEST

• Charitable
• Compassionate
• Community-focused
• Aspiring
• Trustworthy
• Collaborative team player  

JOB DETAILS

• Job Type: Permanent, full-time (subject to successful probation in the role)
• Hours of Work: 8am – 4pm (with a 30-minute unpaid lunch break)
• Place of Work: Unit 8, Acton Park Industrial Estate, London, W3 7QE (some occasional weekend work may be required).

City Harvest London is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace. We believe in treating all employees, volunteers, candidates, and stakeholders with fairness and respect. We value the unique perspectives and experiences that individuals from different backgrounds bring to our organisation, and we strive to foster an environment that promotes equal opportunities for all.

We adhere to the Equality Act 2010 and our policy is to be fair and consistent in all aspects of our organisation. Our recruitment and selection processes are designed to select candidates based on their abilities and merits to perform the tasks required. All applications received will be dealt with confidentially and subject to our company's recruitment and selection processes. Employment is subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks and eligibility to live and work in the UK.

At City Harvest London, we embrace equality as part of our ways of working because we believe it is the right thing to do for our people, our community, and our success. We do not discriminate in employment based on race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, disability, age, marital status, medical history, parental status, or genetic information.

Application information

Application procedure: To apply, please email your CV with cover letter to jobs@cityharvest.org.uk

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