Job Details:
Foodbank session worker

Job Description

Hours: 12 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 4 week period for other work related activities

Starting salary:  £12.60 per hour 

Contract type: Fixed term from 1^st April 2025  to 31 March 2026, subject to a 6 month probationary period. 72 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

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 that foodbank clients 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 Worker is to support the Foodbank Session Coordinator to deliver 3 foodbank sessions per week. You will work alongside a team of volunteers and staff to distribute food parcels to foodbank clients with referrals, provide a range of other service provision, and create a supportive and welcoming environment.

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

Key Responsibilities

• Greet foodbank clients and explain the Foodbank process.
• Work alongside, support, and motivate a team of volunteers.
• Completing administrative tasks related to the Foodbank sessions which includes updating the Data Collection System.
• Oversee foodbank referrals to the session via the Data Collection System.
• Populate the foodbank app with accurate numbers or foodbank clients, 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.
• Help with unloading and loading of stock from the van or storage rooms as appropriate.
• Be responsible for laptop/phone.
• Set up distribution session space 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.
• Support the foodbank session coordinator to maintain and update the session handbook,and other relevant paperwork
• Contribute to the debrief log and  post-session debriefs
• Advise the Manager of exceptional events, such as complaints, safeguarding concerns, pest control, accidents, external evaluations or risk to reputation.
• Work in line with MCFB risk assessments, health and safety, safeguarding and other policies
• Deputise for the foodbank session coordinator as necessary

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.
• Well organised with good time management skills.
• Punctual and reliable.
• 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

• 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.
• A readiness 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 Worker application” to: [email protected]

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.