Area Operations Manager

We are Made in Hackney
Made in Hackney started life in 2012 as a community cookery school working across London with the mission of tackling the climate crisis, health inequalities and bringing communities together using the power of plants. We provide diverse culinary education, inspiration and support networks needed to ensure no one is left behind in the transition to a plant-centred, planet-friendly diet.

When you join Made In Hackney – you become part of a pivotal movement where a new type of food culture is being formed with care, compassion and justice at its core.

We are seeking a highly motivated and strategically minded individual to become our Operations Manager. You will have experience of working in a senior role in the areas of operations, HR and governance. You will help the charity comply with health and safety requirements, safeguarding best practice and data protection and lead in developing organisational policies. 

You will have a passion and flair for improving operational processes and efficiency, administering CRMs, and monitoring and evaluation to ensure we operate in the most effective way. You will not shy away from problem solving operational challenges and thrive in supporting the core team (of 10 staff) to ensure the smooth running and ongoing development of the organisation. We appreciate you may not have all the experience outlined in each category below but if you excel in a few key areas please still apply.

The experience of working for Made in Hackney is varied, unique and rewarding. There is plenty of room for the successful candidate to be creative and bring new ideas for developing services.

Responsibilities include:

HR & Training

• Lead the organisation’s HR function, keeping abreast of latest guidance in employment law and HR legislation and act as the lead liaison with Croner external HR support;
• Ensure employment practice is legally compliant and fair (including management of recruitment, selection and onboarding, flexible working, diversity & equal opportunity, disciplinary/grievance, termination), with a focus on being a fully inclusive employer;
• Oversee monthly staff salary payment and coordinate with external payroll provider; 
• Oversee arrangement and monitoring of staff training and lead on implementing staff wellbeing initiatives eg. socials, team building days etc;
• Coordinate regular team meetings and arrange meeting venues where necessary, to ensure effective communication and mutual support.
• Oversee any organisational structure reviews and ensuring a system is in place for staff to receive regular and motivational feedback, and feel supported and able to perform their role;
• Review, update and create risk assessments and organisational policies on a regular basis to incorporate latest government guidance and legislation (eg. Health & Safety, Safeguarding) and ensuring they are reviewed by the Board on a regular basis;
• Lead on organisation’s DBS process, supporting core team to keep an overview of outstanding DBS checks needed in their project teams;
• Act as MIH’s Safeguarding Lead – conducting regular reviews of safeguarding policy and procedures, overseeing safeguarding training for staff and volunteers and completing regular refresher training to comply with best practice;
• Data Protection Lead - ensuring Data Protection Policy is updated and adhered to by everyone in the organisation, regularly updating and responding to any data breaches;

Salesforce Admin

• To be the main point of contact for technical support and training needs for core users, and to develop the Salesforce platform to improve organisational efficiency, relationship management and income generation. Training will be provided to support this role.
• Act as the system administrator and manage admin functions including assigning new users, creating reports, dashboards, surveys and application forms etc;
• Onboard and train new users, and grow level of expertise among the core team;
• Implement custom features when new work streams/programmes are set up and as organisational needs grow;
• Oversee support partnership with external technical support and training provider.
• Support the Fundraising Manager and Community Programmes Manager with the creation of reports and dashboards in salesforce to present programme outcomes for funder and trustee reports and the MIH Annual Report;
• App Integration – use apps such as Mailchimp and 123 Form Builder (survey software) and integrate with Salesforce

Governance and Strategy

• Participate in team meetings and contribute to Leadership Team meetings where appropriate.
• Contribute to strategic discussions on the future path of the organisation.
• Lead support to Board of Trustees assisting Chair with trustee meeting, keeping Charity Commission website updated, and assisting with trustee recruitment, induction and training, and board reviews etc;
• Act as the lead staff team representative on Resource & Remuneration board sub-committee
   

Venue Management 

MIH has a part time Venue Manager who is responsible for the general upkeep and maintenance of the ‘Liberty Hall’ kitchen venue. The Operations Manager will oversee them and support on key areas of venue management in the following ways:

• Manage relationship with venue partner ‘Clapton Commons’ to ensure key services of venue are running smoothly and represent MIH in oversight committee meetings; 
• Ensure venue and office equipment is safe to use and repaired/replaced/PAT tested in a timely manner;
• Ensure venue meets latest Health & Safety requirements, Fire Safety Standards and is fully accessible;
• Support acquisition of new kitchen equipment when required, such as ovens, hobs etc either from a donated source or purchased from a supplier;
   

Finance

• Organise quarterly budget meetings between core delivery team and Finance Manager to go through budget and expenditure; 
• Ensure finance team understands the requirements and deadlines of board meetings and provide reminders to them for preparing the required financial reporting.