Operations Manager

**Our Client**

Established in 2014. our client collects nutritious surplus food from manufacturers, suppliers and retailers and delivers, for free, to 350+ London charities feeding those who face food poverty.

They rescue food, people and planet by preventing food waste, providing life changing support to communities in every London borough through food and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from waste.

They enable food companies with surplus to have an immediate social impact with a free sustainable solution. Charity recipients include homeless, shelters, hostels, soup kitchens, mental health charities, projects supporting the elderly and socially isolatedand community kitchens, schools, family centres, children’s programmes and domestic abuse refuges.

Our Client tripled in size in 2020 to meet the demands of people facing food poverty, now distributing free food for more than 1 million meals a month. Each week, they distribute over 40 tonnes of food from its single warehouse in W3 with a fleet of 14 vansand a staff of 35 drivers and logistics staff.

Currently the main operation is based in West London and with a satellite operation in East London, focusing on one of the most deprived areas in London. Over the short term we will strengthening our operation to meet growing need in London.

**Main Areas of Responsibility**:
Operations and Team Management
- Collaborate with HOO and the management team to implement the current 5-year plan, ensuring that the fleet, the workforce, the food donated from partners and the hours of operations are optimised to serve the food recipient charities within the financialconstraints of the fundraising.
- Manage the recruitment and retention of staff and volunteers alongside HR issues and people management.
- Collaborate with HOO to oversee the management of food collection and distribution.
- Collaborate with HOO to source new food donation partners and manage existing food business accounts.
- Review and approve all external supplier invoices for the warehouse and the fleet.
- Regularly review the output of the charity’s operational systems (in FlowFinity, van trackers, fuel cards, dashcams, etc.), and oversee the preparation of monthly operations reports for submission to the Management Committee.
- Ensure all existing written operating procedures are communicated to all staff and volunteers and complied with.
- Ensure that all Food Recipients food-handling techniques are regularly audited.
- Ensure effective communication with both Food Donors and Recipients is maintained.
- Collaborate with HOO to organise any new warehouses or distribution centres as selected by the Trustees.
- Strengthen the organisation by creating and implementing succession, back-up arrangements and positive team.
- Manage all aspect of transport and fleet management. Food safety & Health and Safety
- Prescribe and enforce an appropriate level of food handling standards that secures the support of the food industry, enhances the clients reputation and reduces food wasted.
- Set in place a programme of internal and external checks and audits that will give the food donors the appropriate level of confidence that the client is able to be trusted with their products.
- Ensure that food donated is ultimately used for the appropriate purpose and is accounted for in full.
- Ensure a health and safety and due diligence is complaint to ensure we mitigate risk to protect the client volunteers, staff and visitors to its depot.
- Attend and contribute to the monthly H&S Committee meeting.

**Person Specification: Experience**
- Relevant experience of working in the food industry resulting in a good understanding of all the core areas around operations, food safety, health and safety.
- Relationship management and partnership working with senior stakeholders across multiple sectors.
- Extensive management experience that will get the best from direct reports and strengthen the overall management of the organisation.
- Experience of expense budgets and control of operational monthly costs.
- Extensive HR experience of recruiting and managing staff, including performance measures.
- Experience of managing warehouse operations including reconfiguration and optimisation processes.
- CPC Road Haulage qualification desirable.

**Skills, knowledge & abilities**
- Leadership and management skills - the ability to motivate and develop people to deliver high levels of performance.
- Problem-solving skills and the ability to make effective decisions 'on the spot’.
- Ability to work systematically to agreed guidelines in the absence of close supervision.
- Strong presentation/facilitation skills to promote awareness.
- Good team working skills, including both the ability to delegate and to develop people with a positive approach.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to create good working partnerships with multiple stakeholders so that mutual benefit is achieved.
- Ability to recognise, assess and overcome obstacles in achieving targets.
- Strong communication skills in generating work guidelines.
- Ability to engage and resolve issues by investigating new ways of working and exploring alternative strategies.
- Ability to present clear, defined and manageable targets and boundaries to team and support in achieving these aims. Competencies and behaviours
- Drive, determination, reliance and commitment to make a major and long-term difference.
- Planning and prioritisation
- develop and implement clear plans with defined outcomes and resource management.
- Dealing with change - the ability to act quickly, decisively and positively to change.