At the Whitehawk Foodbank, we are committed to building towards a future where there isn't a need for food banks in our local communities. We're doing this by supporting people to maximise their incomes, providing support and advice where needed, and campaigning for change in areas that directly affect food bank use.
As Campaigns Manager for the Whitehawk Foodbank, you will be responsible for growing and leading a
volunteer team to develop and deliver local influencing strategies through the Foodbank, organising the
local community to campaign for change. You will be the link between the Foodbank and the Organising
and Local Mobilisation (OLM) team at Trussell Trust as we build a movement to end the need for food
banks.
Specific Responsibilities:
• To develop and manage a team of volunteers including people with lived experience of
accessing a food bank. You will be building and distributing leadership across the team and
within the Foodbank to work on local influencing to reduce poverty and the need for food banks.
• To explore and understand the experiences that are driving people to need to access support
from the food bank, working with food bank staff and volunteers through listening activities and
research.
• To map out and build relationships with partners of the food bank, including referral agencies
and local anti-poverty organisations. To engage these partners 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 influencing campaign, working with food bank staff and volunteers.
• To work with the OLM team and engage with the training and support on offer, including work
with other local organisers in the Trussell Trust network.
• To engage in Trussell Trust’s central priority campaign activities, working with the food bank and
local community.
• To help build on and roll out a reporting strategy.
• To attend weekly staff meetings with the Foodbank team, St Cuthman’s team, and wider St
Peter’s Family of Churches teams.
• Represent and respond to media requests and to create campaign specific social media posts.
Person Specification:
Technical skills and minimum knowledge:
• Experience or interest in campaigning or organising to achieve a change.
• Experience or interest working with volunteers.
• Experience or interest of community outreach in the local area and working alongside other
organisations with shared goals.
• Good project management skills, time management and ability to balance a range of priorities.
Behaviours and competencies:
• 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 Trust and Whitehawk Foodbank.
Key Stakeholders:
• Whitehawk Foodbank - project manager, other foodbank staff, volunteer team, and those with lived
experience.
• Trussell Trust:
o Area Team
o Senior Organiser who will be your key point of contact in the OLM department
o The wider OLM Team who will deliver training and relational support
o Policy and Research department and Strategic Communications department.
• Local Organisations. Engaging with other local organisations to campaign on areas of common
interest.
• Local Authority including local councillors.
Our Values:
As a local team in Whitehawk, and part of the Trussell Trust, we operate with a rich foundation of
commitments to working in a particular way.
St Cuthman’s, Whitehawk
We have established three strategic values for our next season of work together — two which express the
strengths we already have (joy and togetherness), leveraging them gladly to further our goals; and one
which we are sharpening our focus on (time) in order to make the progress we need.
Joy — Joy is a superpower, forged in perseverance, giving resilience, creating unity, keeping our eyes on
the prize and the good news of progress towards it. Joy brings courage, focus and strength. We practice
gratitude at regular opportunities and celebrate small and big wins — even in the midst of discouragement
and moments that feel like failure.
Togetherness — We understand the importance of team, diversity and positivity in order for each team
member to thrive and achieve their goals, and in order to reach our shared vision. Togetherness isn’t simply
a nice experience along the way to our victories; it is how we achieve them.
Time — our work is urgent, complicated, and full of challenge. Time can often feel against us. We are
learning to make time for what matters. This means growing in focus, boundaries, courage and kind
communication; and it results in feeling more energised, clearer-minded and greater impact.
The Trussell Trust
The Trussell Trust is a charity that works to end the need for food banks. It is founded on and shaped by
Christian principles.
Our values of dignity, justice, compassion and community, are central to all that we do and therefore
supports our aim to be an organisation where the diversity of all employees is valued. We welcome people
of all faiths and none and those that are committed to these values.
We recognise that we have under-represented groups within our workforce. As part of our commitment to
diversity and equality of opportunity we are actively encouraging applications from under-represented
groups such as returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people who are
LGBT+, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, with a disability, impairment, learning difference or long-term condition, with caring responsibilities, from different nations and regions and those
with a lived experience of poverty as well as any other under-represented group in our workforce. We are
committed to ensuring the safety and protection of our employees from all forms of harm.