Community Grocery Manager

Start date: August 2022 (TBC)

Responsible to: Enterprise Director

Primary internal working relationships: MEC Finance Assistant, Regional  Manager,

Primary external working relationships: Members, suppliers, volunteers, statutory agencies, supporters, referral agencies.

Main purpose of the job:

The post-holder will manage the Community Grocery and provide the link to all the support services that we will be offering our members.

Specific duties and responsibilities:

• Managing the Community Grocery and owning every aspect of the project as if it was your own charity/business.
• Recruiting, scheduling, and managing and thanking a pool of volunteers to offer support every day.
• Building constant local connections with surplus food distributors to help contribute additional stock for the Grocery on top of the weekly delivery from the distribution centre.
• Ensuring the presentation of the Grocery is consistently excellent and warehouse is always organised.
• Taking responsibility for the Grocery’s inventory with regular stock takes.
• Ensuring we maintain a 5-star Food & Hygiene rating.
• Promoting the Grocery to our members and supporters through social media.
• Building connections and having ongoing contact with referral partners such as The Job Centre, Housing Association, churches, partner ministries, schools and food banks.
• Developing a strategy to offer support to our members where the need is most and look to introduce them to faith and invite them to the partner church. 
• Providing the physical link between members using the Grocery and the church’s support services.
• Ensuring all staff and volunteers are inducted and trained to deliver a customer-focused and safe working environment.
• Creating an environment where constant improvement is actively encouraged and recognised.
• Adhering to agreed financial targets and budgets.
• Adhering to all relevant health and safety and food safety requirements and the completion of relevant documentation.
• Being ‘the face’ of the Community Grocery and regularly interacting with members.
• Being an advocate of The Message Trust and helping to recruit donors to support the ministry.
• Entering fully into The Message Trust monthly prayer days and occasional evening prayer meetings.
• Responding straight away to all member requests through Facebook, Instagram, email and voicemails.
• Responsible for ensuring that all food displayed is presentable, within its recommendation resale dates and stored correctly.
• Controlling stock levels for opening each day and placing weekly orders with the Grocery’s distribution centre.
• Conducting monthly one-to-ones with your paid staff.
• Actively publicising the Grocery amongst the partner church for food donations, volunteers and large surplus food sources.
• Cashing up and taking the weekly totals to the bank.
• Stocking the shop to ensure shelves are consistently full and key lines are displayed in prominent locations.
• Co-ordinating collections of local food donations e.g. local supermarkets.
• Ensure everything adheres to the Community Grocery branding.
• Having a pastoral approach to all members which includes checking up on members that haven’t attended for a few weeks.

Person Specification:

Essential

• A highly committed Christian with a call from God to serve the most vulnerable
• The willingness to go many extra miles for the cause
• A passion to see disadvantaged people achieve their full potential
• A sharp business mind with an understanding of the need to be profitable
• An entrepreneurial approach to getting things done
• Having a solution-driven approach
• An ability to organise and administrate
• A leader who carries responsibility and takes initiative
• A team player who respects and supports the leadership of others.
• A commitment to excellence in all things, especially customer service and managing staff
• Professional attitude and appearance
• Ability to drive and with own transport
• The role entails lifting and carrying of food crates therefore the applicant would need to have a good degree of physical fitness.
• Able to articulate a clear vision for their role within the work of The Message, particularly with reference to their ability to function within the framework of its Mission, Vision, Ethos and Values. (Full copies of our Mission and Vision statement and our Ethos and Values statement are available on request or can be viewed online at www.message.org.uk)

Desirable

• Experience within the food and beverage industry
• Experience working alongside vulnerable families
• Confident in delivering any of the Church Partner support courses for members, e.g. CAP, cooking classes, English classes etc.

Notes:

All Message staff are set a personal fundraising target. We ask that the successful applicant has a minimum of £75 per month of regular financial support before commencing employment, increasing to £125 per month by the end of the three-month probation period and aims to add one supporter a month after that. Training and support will be given to help you achieve this.

Staff are also expected to organise and take part in, at least one fundraising or other sponsored event annually.

This job description is not exhaustive and amendments and additions may be required in line with future organisational changes.

The successful candidate for this post will be asked to apply for a DBS check at Enhanced level and the content of that check could affect ability of the Message to extend the offer of employment.                         

Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR): This post has been identified as having a GOR to be filled by a Christian under the provisions of the Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations 2003 Section 7.2.

Confidentiality:

Any information relating to people contacted by the Trust acquired in the course of duty must be treated in strictest confidence and must be discussed only within the confines of the work setting with the appropriate members of staff. Any information relating to staff acquired in the course of duty must be treated in the strictest confidence and must be discussed only with senior staff members or with the line manager