Community Pantry Officer

We are seeking someone with a flexible can-do attitude to join a well-established, multi-award winning, National charity, working with our food team. We are a well established national charity who aim to provide affordable food recognising the cost of living crisis.

As a Community Pantry Support Officer within The Big Help Project, you'll pack, deliver and distribute food at our outlets. You’ll take a proactive approach dealing with running and overseeing our Food Clubs and Food Partnerships, ensuring high customer satisfaction levels. You’ll be providing a positive way of supporting those on low incomes, tackling poor diet and overcoming health inequalities through the provision of surplus food stock being sold at heavily subsided prices.

It will be fast, it will be challenging, it will be hard work but it will be an exciting opportunity to join a vibrant award-winning team. It’ll also set you on the right track for a rewarding career within our Big Help Food Team.

**Your Talents**

You will have at least one year’s experience of working within a customer facing role, relevant administrative knowledge and managing a small team.

Please view the person specification attached for further details.

**Duties and Responsibilities**:

- To assist with the day to day and overall operation of the Big Help Project food clubs.
- Operate relevant Food Clubs in conjunction with our Community Food Partners across the Liverpool City Region.
- Assist with the co-ordinated distribution of food stocks to food clubs and partner organisations within the Liverpool city region, ensuring safe vehicles and suitable equipment is provided along with delivering a timely and professional service.
- Support the management with the safe and coordinated storage of all food on sites. Ensuring all food is correctly weighed and recorded to meet requirements of partner organisations. Ensure staff maintain appropriate food standards including the chill zone & chill chain operation to ensure HACCAP is managed and maintained within our location and with our partner organisations.
- Ensure all records and documentation required for funding purposes and external evaluation are kept accurately and are up to date, and to produce any reports that are required.
- Promote all aspects of the Big Help Group with all existing and potential partners including churches, community groups, local businesses and partnering agencies.
- Help ensure that Health and Safety, Safeguarding and all other Big Help Project policies are followed.
- Comfortable working flexibly with staff and volunteers to ensure any challenges in maintaining service delivery across food operations are met during any transformational changes.
- Be responsible for ensuring all relevant policies and health and safety protocols pertaining to Big Help Project are adhered to by staff, including but not limited to COSHH and Manual Handling.
- Participate in any appropriate training and development opportunities and pursue relevant training and upskilling opportunities for staff members under your management.
- To undertake any other duties that may from time to be time that may be required and are commensurate with the role.
- To produce summary reports on the progress and ongoing strategies of Big Help Project for the Operations and Senior Management Team and/or Big Help Trustees as and when required.

**Personal Specification**

**Essential**
- Car owner with full driving licence.
- Comfortable with the aims of the Big Help Project.
- Willing and able to work the occasional evening and Saturday. Good communication skills. Able to communicate effectively with a wide cross-section of people including local people facing issues of poverty, local church ministers, suppliers, charitable and local government contacts and other professional networks.
- Self-motivated with an ability to organise own workload; taking the initiative to work independently with mínimal supervision and showing leadership within the Food team
- Proven ability in managing, organising and prioritising work schedules efficiently and within strict timescales
- Computer literate and able to use digital resources Proficient in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel
- An understanding of the poverty and disadvantage within our communities.
- An understanding of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice principles

**Desirable**
- PowerPoint, Explorer and Outlook.
- Knowledge of local networks and resources.
- Knowledge of different agencies working in Knowsley.
- An understanding of the concept and workings of a food unit
- Knowledge of the needs of an increasingly diverse clientele
- Working with individuals facing poverty and / or with dysfunctional and chaotic lifestyles.
- Effective networking with professionals from different disciplines.
- Developing successful community projects in areas of high multiple deprivation.
- Managing volunteers in service delivery.
- Experience of working with people from diff