Food Business Award Manager in London

Play a key role in delivering a Leicester specific food awards accreditation programme. Leicester's Food Plan and Whole Systems Approach to Healthy Weight is part of a wide range of projects to increase access to healthy food in the city. The food awards accreditation programme is aimed at supporting, incentivising, and promoting healthier and more sustainable food options across out-of-home food businesses such as cafes, restaurants and takeaways within the city. Join us and be pivotal to taking forward this award programme using your public health and food business expertise.

Main duties of the job include acting as point of contact for food businesses, providing direct practical support and consultancy to chefs and owners, advising on menu improvements, sustainable sourcing, etc. You will facilitate meetings, organise and chair theme groups, and support the development of marketing and promotion to encourage consumer trust and influence demand for healthier and sustainable food. Establishing appropriate governance, stakeholder engagement and communication, you will ensure there is robust management and regular reporting of progress, benefits, risks, issues, and dependencies.

You will develop and test inclusive criteria to accommodate diverse food businesses with varying resources, as well as produce guiding principles and tools to support positive engagement with food businesses. You will explore creative and innovative approaches to resolve problems related to the development of the food business accreditation programmes.

About us: As well as the satisfaction of helping to improve thousands of lives across Leicester, you can look forward to a work environment that encourages a healthy work/life balance. You will enjoy generous annual leave, membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme and the option of flexible working. We will also give you the chance to develop your skills and expertise with a variety of training and development opportunities. In addition, you can choose from several flexible benefits, including discounts on city buses and trains.

We are committed to recruiting a diverse and highly-talented workforce as we continue to build a council that is fitting and representative of our great city. That’s why we’ve designed our recruitment process to put you at your ease, make you feel welcome and bring the best out of you. We will do all we can to make our recruitment process as fair as possible.

Job responsibilities include acting as point of contact for food businesses, providing direct practical support and consultancy to chefs and owners, advising on menu improvements, sustainable sourcing, etc. You will facilitate meetings, organise and chair theme groups, and support the development of marketing and promotion to encourage consumer trust and influence demand for healthier and sustainable food. Establishing appropriate governance, stakeholder engagement and communication, you will ensure there is robust management and regular reporting of progress, benefits, risks, issues, and dependencies.

You will develop and test inclusive criteria to accommodate diverse food businesses with varying resources, as well as produce guiding principles and tools to support positive engagement with food businesses. You will explore creative and innovative approaches to resolve problems related to the development of the food business accreditation programme.

Person Specification: You will have substantial experience in the food or hospitality sector: working in or extensively with food businesses e.g. as a consultant, supplier, or within a business support role. You will have practical experience across food, health and sustainability agendas including a proven ability to advise on recipe improvements to provide healthier/more environmentally sustainable outcomes. Using strong communication skills, you will be able to build trust and collaborate with a diverse range of stakeholders, influence and negotiate agreements, actions, priorities, and desired outcomes, and deal successfully with conflict. You will be able to confidently market and promote key messages on food, health and sustainability through engaging presentations and conduct workshops, interviews and feedback sessions. Diplomatic, with knowledge of food businesses, you will be proactive and pragmatic within this complex environment.