Operations Manager

Job Description

Are you passionate about creating meaningful change? Do you thrive in a role where you can make a tangible difference to people's lives every day? Join us as FEAST’s new Operations Manager and help drive our mission forward! You’ll be the engine behind our charity’s day-to-day success and oversee the operational heart of our organisation, ensuring that our services run smoothly, efficiently, and with maximum impact to our service users.

Please send your CV and covering letter to careers@feastwithus.org.uk by 5pm on Friday 27 September. We will be reviewing applications and starting interviews on a rolling basis from Monday 16 September. 

Role Title: \tOperations Manager 

Reporting to:  CEO 

Salary:\t £32 - £34k p/a (depending on experience) 

Contract: Permanent; 35 hrs per week (flexible hours available) 

Location:\t Hybrid (Various locations in Central and North London/home working) 

Overall Purpose of the Role: 

An experienced and dynamic operations manager who thrives on making a difference to join our senior leadership team and take responsibility for the effective delivery of FEAST operations; ensuring day-to-day business operations, services and programmes run smoothly and efficiently and have maximum impact.  

Reporting to the CEO, you will support with finance, strategy implementation, HR, and team leadership. 

The role is broad and includes leading or supporting across all core business functions; working collaboratively with the CEO and wider team to implement the FEAST vision, strategy and plans.  

Key Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Operational Leadership: Lead the daily operations of the charity, ensuring our programmes and services are resourced, supplied to and delivered effectively, and objectives and KPIs are met 
• Team Management: Inspire, lead and support a passionate team, ensuring they have the resources and guidance they need to excel 
• Process Optimisation: Identify opportunities for efficiency improvements across our systems and processes, helping us minimise manual effort and maximise our impact 
• Strategic Input: Collaborate with the CEO and senior team to develop and implement operational strategies that align with our vision and goals 
• Compliance and Risk Management: Ensure all operations comply with relevant regulations, safeguarding the charity's reputation and ensuring our long-term sustainability 
• Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain strong and effective relationships with key stakeholders, partners, and suppliers to enhance our operational effectiveness 
• Finance: Support the CEO with budgeting, financial management, and reporting 

Finance 

• Support the CEO with the creation and management of the annual budget, and development and implementation of appropriate financial controls and processes 
• Monitor and manage costs and expenses within agreed budgets 
• Produce monthly, quarterly and annual management reports, and ad hoc analysis 
• Update Xero finance system. Raise invoices, monitor receivables and chase payments as necessary 
• Monitor bank account and make approved payments 

HR 

• Support the CEO with the development and implementation of a people strategy, promote FEAST’s values and an inclusive culture that attracts, retains and motivates staff 
• Manage staff and contractor recruitment, contracts, onboarding, and training 
• Manage HR systems and processes 
• Develop performance management policies and processes and ensure effective implementation 
• Maintain the employee handbook containing all HR information, benefits, policies and processes 
• Manage student placements and internships, including through maintenance of the student placement framework, communications and induction 
• Maintain organisation chart, role profiles and work with the CEO to create a capability framework 
• Identify and implement wellbeing and access requirements within venues or remote working locations 
• Co-design, and coordinate staff and joint staff and trustee meetings, away days and events 
• Line manage direct reports including; objective setting, regular 1:1 meetings, performance reviews 
• Create and implement periodic employee surveys and implement improvement actions 

Relationship Management 

• Develop and manage strong and effective partner and stakeholder relationships, though regular interactions, relationship reviews and implementing improvement actions 
• Work with the wider team to develop and implement a standard approach for relationship management and reporting, supported by Beacon CRM 
• Agree and manage service level agreements with all service partners 

Operations 

• Work with the CEO to review and optimise FEAST’s operating model  
• Develop and maintain appropriate operations policies and processes 
• Work with the CEO and impact coordinator to develop and monitor appropriate KPIs and metrics to measure impact and performance 
• Manage the collection and storage of all data required for reporting 
• Produce monthly, quarterly and annual operations reports for the CEO and Board, including; updates, progress against delivery plans and milestones, KPIs, issues and risks and financial metrics 
• Work with the CEO and team to map business processes and implement efficiency improvements 
• Work with the team to refine and improve services based on monitoring and evaluation feedback 
• Capture and evaluate potential new FEAST services and manage implementation plans 
• Create and maintain service operations records, monitor performance and identify improvement plans 
• Identify food and non-food supply requirements across services, oversee purchasing and supply agreements with paid suppliers and surplus food providers, and manage supplier performance 
• Ensure all necessary insurances and licences are in place and updated regularly 
• Develop and implement a standard FEAST methodology for project management 
• Maintain risk and issue register and implement mitigation actions or escalate as appropriate 
• Manage FEAST van, including policy, documentation, processes, agreements, usage and maintenance 

Line management responsibilities: 

• Volunteer and Community Partnerships Co-ordinator (with 1 volunteer administrator) 
• Kitchen and Logistics Co-ordinator (with team of 4 chefs) 
• Healthy Eating Co-ordinator (with 1 healthy eating assistant) 

Skills, Experience & Knowledge: 

Essential: 

• Proven experience leading a range of operational functions in a small/medium business or charity: HR, finance, governance and risk, systems and data, procurement and logistics, relationship management 
• Developing, leading and inspiring a successful team 
• Ability to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders 
• Excellent writing and reporting skills 
• Strong financial acumen and ability to create, manage and report on budgets and plans 
• Proactive problem-solving; agility to respond to changing needs and priorities of growing organisation 
• Strong and collaborative project management skills 
• Ability to working to tight deadlines autonomously, juggle multiple tasks and projects effectively, and delegate appropriately 
• Ability to develop and manage effective relationships, particularly in dispersed and multi-functional teams, and with external stakeholders and partners 
• Highly experienced user of MS office tools 
• Developing appropriate and effective business policies  
• Mapping and optimising operational processes 
• Ability to challenge, influence and do things differently to achieve positive outcomes 
• High attention to detail to ensure quality of output 
• Passionate about creating meaningful change, and driving FEAST’s mission forward  

Desirable: 

• Commercial multi-site service operations experience, e.g. in foodservice, hospitality, healthcare 
• Successfully working as a member of a senior leadership team  
• Working with vulnerable groups and safeguarding processes 
• Working in the charity / voluntary and community sector, and knowledge of structures and systems 
• Data protection and compliance processes 
• HR, Finance, CRM, database and reporting tools, e.g. Breathe, Xero, Beacon, PowerBI and AirTable 
• HR policies and process development 
• Business development / sales 
• Understanding of EDI landscape and developing and embedding EDI strategies and initiatives 
• Impact monitoring and evaluation frameworks, systems and tools 
• Centring lived experiences of service users / beneficiaries within a charity, and co-design of services 
• Working in food poverty/insecurity, nutrition and/or sustainability fields 
• MS Office administrator 

FEAST With Us - Feeding and Empowering All Sustainably Together (FEAST)  

FEAST’s mission is to improve the nutrition, wellbeing, and health of people at risk of food insecurity. We work in 16 venues across London, partnering with charities and community organisations to deliver impactful services and programmes; in homeless hostels, mental health day centres, community and faith centres in Camden, Islington, Barnet, Westminster, Redbridge and Hackney.   

We tackle food insecurity by providing nutritious meals and nurturing community connections. Our community meals use donated surplus food. These are more than just a meal; they’re welcoming, inclusive, social spaces that bring people together and reduce loneliness. We also deliver meals to hostels and community centres for individuals experiencing food insecurity to collect.   

Our Healthy Eating on a Budget Programme empowers people by building nutrition knowledge, and developing practical cooking, food hygiene and budgeting skills. They build confidence to help people make healthier choices to achieve nutritional independence.   

FEAST is also committed to broader systemic change through nutrition research and collaborative food partnerships to ensure local have access to nutritious, affordable and sustainable food. 

We’re a small but ambitious charity, doubling in scale in the past two years. We’re a passionate, supportive and collaborative team of 14, supported by c300 volunteers, who care deeply about what we do.