Location
London

Hours
0.8 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Salary
£26,208 per annum (pro rata)

About the Role
The Hornbeam Centre seeks an organised, self-motivated and ideally locally well-networked individual to coordinate and support the ongoing development of The Hornbeam Centre as a hub for Food & Community Resilience. This fixed-term position delivers The Hornbeam's role within the Extended Table Programme funded by the National Lottery. With over 30 years of community uplift based on principles of mutual aid and planetary care, The Hornbeam envisions an active, engaged, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable Waltham Forest where people are empowered to uplift each other through creative and collaborative community action.

The ideal candidate will understand the interplay between food, community, and climate resilience, bringing a creative, caring, and intersectional approach to further developing our community hub. The Extended Table programme addresses isolation, community breakdown, and poor diet—key contributors to poor mental and physical health, especially among marginalised groups—by connecting organisations, communities, and individuals across sectors and regions.

As a developing food hub, The Hornbeam promotes and shares best practices to foster socially fertile spaces across Waltham Forest, expanding and replicating successful models such as People’s Kitchen, People’s Kitchen on Wheels, and Solidarity Supermarket. The role builds on previous work co-establishing the local Food Partnership and connections to the Food Growers Network, bringing these elements together strategically to enable statutory, voluntary, community sector, residents, and local businesses to address sustainable food policy issues holistically and innovatively.

The Coordinator will co-lead the Waltham Forest Food Partnership with the London Borough of Waltham Forest (LBWF), collaborate with voluntary and community sector networks and public sector teams, and promote localised food sovereignty with emphasis on engaging marginalised groups. Responsibilities include engaging Extended Table partners and local food organisations to share learning and integrate service delivery with the Food Partnership Action Plan, delivering capacity-building workshops, providing fundraising support, and supporting marginalised community members to develop self-advocacy skills.

The Coordinator will oversee People’s Kitchen, People’s Kitchen on Wheels, and Solidarity Supermarket, supporting their development as community hubs, and will be responsible for project monitoring and evaluation as required by funders. Additional duties include fundraising support, ongoing project development with local partners, peer management and development within The Hornbeam’s horizontal organisational structure, and collaboration with the Volunteer Coordinator to expand volunteer capacity.

Experience
- Extensive experience in partnership development, movement building, and/or community organising
- Proven track record in delivering community development and working with multiple partners
- Experience in moving strategic ideas into operational delivery
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to work independently while engaging staff and stakeholders
- Extensive knowledge of safeguarding policies and practices
- Strong budget management skills
- Experience writing funding reports and using monitoring and evaluation methods such as SROI

About You
- Ability to engage and communicate clearly and effectively with local voluntary and community sector groups and council stakeholders
- Creative, caring, and intersectional approach to community resilience
- Committed to empowering marginalised voices and promoting inclusive community spaces

Desirable
- Knowledge of Waltham Forest’s diverse community and voluntary sector organisations
- Experience working with local authorities
- Experience managing and working with volunteers
- Understanding of food sovereignty principles and experience implementing related projects
- Awareness of the climate and ecological crisis and experience building resilience within community projects