Our partner organisation, The Hornbeam, is recruiting a Coordinator for the newly created Waltham Forest Food Partnership, of which OrganicLea is a member. See below for job details, but please note this is not a role within the OrganicLea co-op.
Application deadline: 12 noon, Wednesday 5th July
Salary: £29,120 pro-rata based on 35 hours a week (Salary will increase by 1st October)
Mainly Based at: The Hornbeam, 458 Hoe Street, London E17 9AH
Working Hours: 28 hours per week, flexible days with preference for overlap with other staff on Thursdays
Annual Leave: 30 days per year (pro-rata), including bank holidays
Contract: Fixed term 12 month contract, with probability of extension subject to funding
About The Hornbeam
The Hornbeam is a community organisation based in Walthamstow, London, working with the community on projects around low cost, low-impact living. They are organised in a flat, non-hierarchical structure and are all on equal pay. They believe in principles of solidarity not charity.
About the role
The Hornbeam Centre, in collaboration with Organiclea and other partners, are facilitating the development of a Food Partnership for Waltham Forest.
A Food Partnership is a local alliance of partners working in the community food sector as well as local authority key stakeholders. It is part of Sustainable Food Places, a national network of partnerships that drive best practice on sustainable food. This Food Partnership is currently comprised of a Food Growers Network (FGN), which is facilitated by Organiclea, and a Food Resilience Network (FRN) which is facilitated by The Hornbeam Centre. The FRN is made up of organisations locally working in food redistribution & food aid who want to participate in the cross-borough collaboration.
This role is about facilitating the development of the Food Partnership alongside colleagues as well as supporting the coordination of the Food Resilience Network. The Food Partnership development work will involve liaising with local council members on the Food Strategy and their related action plans as well as coordinating the community sector’s action plan. You will be a strong communicator, setting up & maintaining clear communications channels for all stakeholders while supporting groups to actively engage at the Network level.
This work is part of an ongoing commission from the Waltham Forest Council to address food insecurity locally.
You will be part of a small and committed team, who support one another and make collective decisions about how to run the organisation alongside our volunteer directors.
This will initially be a 12 month role but for which we will collectively fund-raise to extend this contract.
Key Responsibilities:
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Project manage the development of the Waltham Forest Food Partnership
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Bring together all relevant stakeholders to ensure the Food Strategy & Action Plan are implemented
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Liaising between key stakeholders and developing a strategy for communication with them
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Organise & facilitate network meet-ups so that FRN & FGN members can collaborate and work together towards creating a sustainable local food system that works for everyone
Additional Responsibilities:
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Contribute to fundraising work for the organisation
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Take part in the decision-making involved in the running of a small organisation (e.g. the direction of the organisation’s work, some financial decisions)
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Take part in the peer support models we’re trialling to support each other as colleagues
About the person we are looking for:
We are looking for someone who is well organised and has experience with project management / coordination. This person will be comfortable working within a team but confident taking initiative to drive the development of the Food Partnership and working independently.
We are looking for someone with experience in the community food sector and preferably with some experience of organising with food partnerships.
We are looking for someone with strong values of mutual support, looking to do solidarity work (rather than ‘charity’ work).
We don’t expect anyone to meet all these criteria but please mention transferable skills from any paid or voluntary work you’ve done.
Essential skills:
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Experience in project management
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Experience in developing strategic plans to meet current and future needs
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Proactive approach to problem solving and turning ideas into action
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The ability to build rapport and establish trusting relationships with people at a grassroots level as well as people in senior positions in the local authority
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Ability to lead and facilitate meetings and workshops with the voluntary community sector
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An understanding of working in a small community organisation where responsibility for the overall running of the organisation is shared collectively among staff and directors
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Have solid IT skills and proficient use of Microsoft Office, especially Excel and Powerpoint
Desirable skills:
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Strong local knowledge of Waltham Forest with established networks
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Fundraising experience
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Commitment to social and environmental justice and community-led wellbeing initiatives
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An understanding of food policy issues and sustainable food systems
How to Apply:
