Foodbank session coordinator

Foodbank Session Coordinator

Hours: 18 hours per week, covering foodbank sessions as follows:

Tuesdays 1:45pm-5pm, Openshaw

Thursdays 9:45am-1pm, Harpurhey

Fridays 9:30am-1pm, Ardwick

Including 8 hours per week for planning, follow up, weekly team meetings, supervision and training (flexi work applies)

Starting salary:  From £12.99 per hour, pending internal pay review. 

Contract type: Fixed term  to 31 March 2026, subject to a 6 month probationary period. 108 hours annual leave.

Application Deadline: 11.59pm Sunday 23rd February 2025

Interviews: Interviews will be held in Central Manchester

Start date: 1^st April 2025, or before if possible

Responsible to: Operations Manager, overseen by the Board of Trustees.

Locations: This role will require a mix of home working, office working and travel around Central Manchester. Work related travel (excluding commuting) will be reimbursed. The main locations are

• Trinity Methodist church, 7 Ridgeway, Ancoats, M40 7FZ
• Harpurhey Neighbourhood Project, Harpurhey, Manchester M9 5UX
• St Clements Church, Openshaw, M11 1HF
• Brunswick Parish Church, Brunswick St, Manchester, M13 9SX

Manchester Central Foodbank 

At Manchester Central Foodbank we support people living in Manchester who are experiencing food poverty. Our work is referral based, so foodbank users have support alongside the immediate need for food. We offer a signposting service / referrals to other agencies, providing a listening ear as well as providing a 3 day emergency food parcel. The food parcels are personalised to suit the numbers, ages, and dietary requirements of the people in the household.

Role Summary

You will support the work of a busy Trussell Trust affiliated foodbank, based across Central, East and North Manchester. 

The primary responsibility of the foodbank session coordinator is to run 3 foodbank sessions per week. You will manage a team of volunteers and staff to distribute food parcels to foodbank users with referrals.

You will be  session based, with some office time. Some working from home is allowed with the agreement of your manager. 

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure that foodbank users are greeted and have the Foodbank process explained to them.
• Supervise, support, develop, and motivate a team of volunteers and staff.
• Lead on session and site development and partnership plans in collaboration with Operations Manager, Strategic Development Lead, and host organisations.
• Completing administrative tasks related to the Foodbank sessions which includes updating the Data Collection System.
• Effectively communicate and manage the voucher restrictions as decided by MCFB trustees with foodbank clients and referrers
• Working in partnership with the Operations Manager to develop the distribution sessions overall management.
• Liaise with the warehouse coordinator to ensure sufficient stock is available at each session.
• Oversee foodbank referrals to the session via the Data Collection System (DCS).
• Working with the volunteer coordinator to ensure there are enough volunteers to cover the session and populate gaps as required.
• Plan and communicate with any external agencies or visitors to the sessions.
• Ensure that the foodbank app is populated with accurate numbers or foodbank users, or stock check data each week.
• Organise any donations that are given at the session (weighed and counted).
• Oversee the fresh stock available for the sessions.
• Coordinate unloading and loading of stock from the van or storage rooms as appropriate.
• Take leadership and accountability for health and safety and food hygiene at each session.
• Leading the response to safeguarding concerns within foodbank sessions
• Be responsible for laptops, phone, and other equipment used in sessions.
• Ensure a distribution session space is set up to creating a welcoming, caring and friendly atmosphere for volunteers and foodbank users alike.
• Brief, oversee and delegate tasks to volunteers to ensure the smooth running of the Foodbank session.
• Maintaining and updating session handbook and paperwork
• Leading post-session debriefs and volunteer team meetings
• Manage the signposting advice and support to foodbank users at the session, including overseeing volunteers signposting responsibilities.
• Regularly report to the Manager on progress of the session.
• Advise the Manager of exceptional events, such as complaints, safeguarding concerns, pest control, accidents, external evaluations or risk to reputation.

The post-holder will be responsible for managing their own workload and time management, completing timesheets and reports for the board.

There may be other tasks requested from time to time for the benefit of the charity.

Person Specification

In your application, please provide examples of previous volunteering or work experience that demonstrate how you meet the following requirements:

Essential Skills and Experience

• Experience of working with volunteers
• Excellent organisational and time management skills in order to coordinate your own workload and schedule, effectively managing multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with other staff members, volunteers, referrers, and foodbank users.
• Ability to respond to unexpected situations in a busy service delivery environment.
• Ability to independently make and carry out decisions in line with MCFB policies and procedures.
• An enthusiasm for all aspects of work at Manchester Central Foodbank, and the flexibility and willingness to get involved with projects and tasks that may sit outside of your normal work
• Experience of working with service users in a community setting.
• Proficiency in IT, including email, spreadsheets, and Google Drive.
• A clear understanding of, and belief in the values and aims of, Manchester Central Foodbank and the Trussell Trust.

Desirable Skills and Experience

• Experience of volunteer management.
• Willingness to undertake professional development.

Essential Behaviours and competencies

• The ability to communicate and work with people with a range of backgrounds, views, and interests and build ongoing relationships and trust.
• Integrity and honesty
• Demonstrate a commitment to the values of Manchester Central Foodbank and the Trussell Trust.
• Empathy and confidence when working with people who are experiencing financial and/or personal hardship.
• Passionate about social justice and tackling food poverty.
• Ability to be hands-on and adaptable in changeable circumstances. 

Equality & Diversity in Recruitment

At Manchester Central Foodbank, we recognise the barriers to employment within the charity and community sector faced by many groups of people and the value that diverse experiences and backgrounds bring to our foodbank users, community members and organisation. 

As part of our commitment to diversity and equality of opportunity we actively encourage applications from under-represented groups such as parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people who are LGBT+, from diverse ethnic or racial backgrounds, with a disability, impairment, learning difference or long-term condition, with caring responsibilities, from different nations and regions, as well as any other under-represented group in our workforce. 

We also recognise the importance of understanding that those with lived experience of poverty can offer our foodbank users and organisation, and are therefore actively encouraging applications with people who identify with this group.

We would like to fully understand you as a person, not just your skills and experience. If you feel comfortable to do so please indicate within your “Application Statement” if you consider yourself to be a member of one of the above, or any other, under-represented groups.

How to Apply

To apply for this job, please send an email entitled “Foodbank Session Coordinator application” to: suzy@manchestercentral.foodbank.org.uk

Please attach two separate documents to the email in .doc or .pdf format:

1. An up to date CV outlining the volunteering employment, or personal experience , education and training you have that is relevant to this role. Particularly please outline the relevant tasks and responsibilities you undertook in previous roles and the skills and experience built/demonstrated.
2. A written “Application Statement”, of no more than 2 A4 pages, font size 12, explaining why you are interested in this role, how your personal values and passion aligns with the objectives of our projects and organisation, and how your previous experience and training demonstrates the “Essential” and “Desirable” skills and “Behaviours and Competencies” listed above.

The deadline for receipt of emails is 11.59pm Sunday 23rd February 2025.