Community Organiser role description
Role outline and purpose The Food bank Community Organiser is responsible for developing the food bank’s capacity to organise and campaign for change. You will do this by building the skills and confidence of food bank clients, volunteers and staff to campaign locally. Community Organisers build relationships in food banks to identify some of the issues driving poverty in the community and to bring people together to take action on those issues.
You will develop and lead a volunteer campaign team, including people with lived experience, to create a campaign strategy and lead on the delivery of the strategy to win change, while developing leaders in your food bank. This role is match-funded by Trussell as part of their Community Power Project, and you will be part of a network of Community Organisers around the UK doing this work, and building power in communities. You will be the link between Dover Foodbank and the Organising and Local Mobilisation team at Trussell, as we build a movement to end the need for food banks.
Responsibilities of Community Organiser:
· To build trusted relationships with food bank clients, holding 121 conversations and group activities to identify potential campaign issues and build their skills and capacity to campaign alongside you
· To develop and manage a team of volunteers, building and distributing leadership across the team, within the food bank or food banks, to work on local influencing and campaigning to reduce poverty and the need for food banks.
· To explore and understand the experiences that are bringing people to need the food bank’s support, working with food bank staff and volunteers, through listening activities and/or research.
· To map out and build relationships with the food bank’s partners, referral agencies and local anti-poverty organisations, and to engage them in identifying the local drivers of poverty.
· To identify a local issue driving poverty, build a campaign team and develop a strategy to build power and win change, working with food bank staff and volunteers.
· To deliver the local campaigning strategy working with food bank staff, volunteers and clients
· To work with the Organising and Local Mobilisation team in Trussell and engage with the training and support on offer, including work with other Community Organisers in the Trussell network
· To engage in Trussell’s central priority campaign activities, working with the food bank and local community to get involved in taking action on national campaigns , such as the Guarantee Our Essentials campaign
Person Specification
Essential skills and knowledge:
● Understanding of social justice movements, power building, and community-led change.
● Commitment to equity, accessibility, and anti-oppression in practice.
● Confident communicator, both orally and in writing, with excellent relationship-building skills.
Desirable technical skills and knowledge:
● Experience of campaigning or organising to achieve a change
● Experience working alongside people with lived experience of poverty
● Experience facilitating groups and organising engaging group activities
● Experience managing and working with volunteers
● Experience of community outreach in the local area
● Good project management skills, able to balance a range of priorities.
Behaviours and competencies:
● Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships and gain trust of people with lived experience of poverty and using food banks
● Confident in communicating and, able to seek and balance a range of views and stakeholders, influencing where required.
● Demonstrate a commitment to the values of the Trussell/local food bank.
Key Stakeholders
● Your local food banks, including the project manager, volunteers, and people they support.
● Local elected representatives
● Local organisations working to support people in poverty
● Trussell Area Managers, who support your food banks in their day-to-day work.
● The Trussell Organising and Local Mobilisation Manager, who will be your key point of contact in the OLM department and support you throughout.
● The wider Trussell Organising and Local Mobilisation (OLM) Team who will deliver training and relational support.
● Trussell Policy, Research and Impact teams
Pay: £15.00-£17.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
- Free parking
Work Location: In person
