Volunteer Cooking Project Leader - Middlesbrough

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Job description

About the role

As a volunteer Cooking Project Leader you'll induct volunteers into the kitchen, facilitate the team, create recipe ideas, and lead on the preparation and cooking of the meal.

Responsibilities include:

Running cooking sessions, leading a team of volunteers to create a three-course meal in a limited timeframe.
Ensuring the team are following the food safety procedures set out in our kitchen handbook.
Inducting new volunteers into the kitchen.
Encouraging the whole team to have input into planning a tasty, healthy, and nutritionally balanced menu.
Communicating with other Cooking Project Leaders and your Project's Surplus Food Coordinator(s) to ensure the store of dry/tinned goods is kept tidy and well stocked.
Completing the weekly checklist in the kitchen handbook, and the weekly session report via the Project Leader portal.

You don't need to have any previous cooking experience - you just need to love food and motivating people!

About FoodCycle

Week in, week out we nourish the hungry and lonely in our communities with delicious meals and great conversation, using food which would otherwise go to waste.

FoodCycle aims to:

Connect communities
Support mental health and wellbeing
Nourish the hungry
Promote sustainability
Inspire change

A FoodCycle project is where the magic happens. Each Project is run on the ground by a team of 8 or more lead volunteers called Project Leaders, with each leader taking on a specific role to ensure the smooth running of their FoodCycle Project. These people are passionate, committed and want to make a positive change within their community. They take ownership and make decisions about the day-to-day running of their Project.

Skills you'll learn

Teamwork: you'll work as part of a team to prepare a delicious meal and serve it to our guests.
Leadership and delegation: we'll train you up to lead cooking sessions and induct new volunteers.
Cooking: you'll learn how to cater for large numbers of guests and how to make nutritionally balanced meals.
Problem solving: you won't always know your ingredients ahead of time, so you will need to get creative to produce delicious 3 course meals.
Relationship building: you'll be building lasting relationships with your guests and volunteers, ensuring they come back each week.

What to expect from FoodCycle

Regular visits, support, and advice from your Regional Manager.
Expenses covered in line with our volunteer policy.
Accredited Level 2 Food Safety qualification provided by FoodCycle.
An annual training conference to equip you for your role.
A variety of other training opportunities provided throughout the year, including safeguarding and first aid.
The opportunity to take on additional tasks/responsibilities within your Project Leader team.
Impressive skills to add to your CV and a reference if/when you need it.
The opportunity to meet a large network of like-minded people.
A fun, creative volunteer experience with ownership over a community led project.

What's expected from me

We hope that Project Leaders stay with us for a minimum of 6 months, to enable them to get the most out of the role.

As Cooking Project Leader, you will be expected to:

Attend regular Project Leader meetings to discuss as a team how things are going.
Lead a minimum of one session per month.
Follow all FoodCycle policies and procedures, including reporting any accidents and incidents.
Complete Level 2 Food Safety, Food Allergens, and safeguarding training.
Complete an enhanced DBS check (required for all roles involving 'regulated activity').
Recognise, respond to, and report any safeguarding issues or concerns. Note: you must not be barred from working with children and adults who may be vulnerable and at risk of abuse or neglect.
Complete the session Project report on our website after leading a session.

Time commitment

The suggested minimum time commitment for the Cooking Project Leader role is 8 hours a month.

To apply

Visit to complete a Project Leader application form.