Based at:           Blackfriars Settlement, 9 Rushworth Street, London, SE1 0RB

Working Hours: 5 days a week, 9am-5pm (flexible)

Pension:            School Food Matters pays contributions at 7% of pensionable earnings

Holiday:             31 days including bank holidays that fall on working days

Contract:           Fixed term, 18 months

Background to School Food Matters

School Food Matters is a national charity delivering school food transformation and food education to children and young people across the country.  We believe that school food can unlock a happier, healthier, more sustainable future for every child. We want a school food system that delivers for all children, so they can enjoy nutritious, delicious and sustainable school food and leave school with an informed and positive relationship with food.


For nearly 20 years, we’ve worked alongside schools across England to improve school food and food education. Through our cooking, growing and school food transformation programmes, we’ve learned what schools need to create lasting change. We use our experience and evidence to shape local and national policy, bringing the voices of children, families and teachers to decision-makers.

Job Purpose

  • Lead School Food Matters' work to strengthen support for secondary schools during implementation of the new school food standards, developing and embedding an evidence-based approach to secondary school food improvement.

  • Develop, test and disseminate practical support, resources and guidance that help schools move beyond compliance to achieve meaningful improvements in meal uptake, student experience and food culture.

Key Responsibilities

  • Review and synthesise learning from School Food Matters' Nourish and food education programmes in secondary schools, including the School Food Project

  • Develop and refine School Food Matters' approach to supporting secondary schools across Nourish and food education programmes

  • Line-manage the Nourish Secondaries Project Officer, supporting them to deliver the programme in secondary schools in London

  • Facilitate learning sessions across School Food Matters' teams and embed learning into programme delivery

  • Convene learning sessions, workshops and communities of practice with partners working to improve secondary school food and food culture including Bite Back, Chefs in Schools and Sustain

  • Develop and manage the budget and distribution plan of the partner ‘learning and activities’ fund

  • Work with schools, young people, Multi Academy Trusts, local authorities and partners to identify practical implementation challenges and evidence-based solutions

  • Develop materials and practical support for secondary schools implementing the school food standards to be distributed to schools via the School Food Project Hub

  • Create resources that address common secondary school challenges, including meal uptake, student engagement, menu changes, dining environments and food culture

  • Work directly with secondary schools (through existing School Food Matters-funded work) to test and refine approaches and joint resource development

  • Develop written and digital case studies from schools and partners showcasing effective practice, including practical solutions

  • Share learning through webinars, events, online platforms and sector networks including the School Food Project Hub

  • Work closely with our Impact and Strategy Manager to complete all monitoring and evaluation

  • Maintain an excellent relationship with the Nutritional Wellbeing Foundation and support with written and verbal reports

  • Keep line manager updated on progress

  • Contribute to the smooth running of School Food Matters

  • Stay up to date with safeguarding requirements and reporting procedures

  • Maintain the ethos of the charity and positively promote our work at all times

  • The Secondary School Food Development Manager will also undertake any other tasks relevant to the affairs of School Food Matters that may arise from time to time. Therefore, being flexible and approaching the job with an open and positive mindset is essential!

Person specification

Essential

  • Proven experience of managing and delivering complex projects involving multiple organisations and workstreams

  • Experience of building and maintaining effective partnerships, coalitions or networks across organisations and sectors

  • Strong facilitation and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage a wide range of sectors including schools, funders, charities, local authorities and young people

  • Excellent written communication skills, including producing reports, guidance, case studies or resources for different audiences

  • Excellent administrative and organisational skills with great attention to detail and ability to manage deadlines

  • Ability to work independently, prioritise workload and take initiative

  • Strong interest in our mission to improve children and young people’s health through better food and food education in schools

  • A positive, collaborative and solution-focused approach

Desirable

  • Experience of working directly with schools, particularly secondary schools

  • Experience of working for a charity, public or education sectors

  • Knowledge of school food, food education, public health, youth engagement or related fields

  • Understanding of the secondary school system, academy trusts and/or local authority education settings

Applying for this job

Once you have thoroughly read this job description and had a careful look at our website including our charter, please complete the application form to the right. The form cannot be saved so you may find it helpful to use the word document here as a template.


Please complete your education and employment history in this form and attach it to the application.


Applications must be submitted by midnight on Wednesday 2 December 2026. Interviews will be held at our office w/c 14 December 2026.

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Thank you for your interest in School Food Matters.

Once you have thoroughly read the job description, had a careful look at our website and read these instructions, please complete this application form. All candidate information on this application form is treated confidentially and used for recruitment and selection purposes only. Shortlisting will be carried out solely based on information provided on this application form. We strongly advise you to get your application in early! Do not wait for the deadline. As a small charity we do not have capacity to process hundreds of applications so we will close the application window early once we have received 100.

CVs will NOT be considered, please do not attach one to the form.

Please note that personal details and equal opportunities monitoring data will be removed so the recruiting panel will see only your qualifications, career history and application answers. They will not see the names of the institutions you have studied at.

How to avoid common mistakes

We want you to write a successful job application, so we've listed some common reasons why applications are rejected:

General spelling mistakes – make sure to carefully check your application

Getting the name of our charity or project wrong

Spelling previous employers incorrectly

Not explaining long gaps in your employment history

Using too much jargon and overly complex language

Obvious use of AI - feel free to use AI if this works for you but be aware the AI applications are easy to spot and you will not stand out from the crowd. Make sure you personalise your answers so that we can get to know you better.

Other

If your application is successful, it will form part of your employment record. All unsuccessful applications will be destroyed approximately six months after the vacancy has been filled.

School Food Matters is a London Living Wage employer and is committed to creating an inclusive work environment, where our team members are supported in expressing themselves and delivering their best work. So, however you identify and whatever background you bring with you, please apply if the role is one that would make you excited to come into work every day. If you have any queries regarding your application, please contact Sarah on 0208 878 8333 or sarah@schoolfoodmatters.org

PERSONAL DETAILS

NOW TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

This is the most important part of the form and the part that will win you an interview.

Briefly tell us how your skills and experience meet EACH of the criteria in the person specification, and please give an example of how you have used each skill.

Work experience, study, volunteering and life experience all count. Maximum 2,700 characters (approx. 400 words).

Do show us how you meet the criteria in the job description.

1. Take each of the essential skills outlined in the person specification, one by one. 2. In a few sentences, give us an example of a time you used each skill.

For example: Required skill: Ability to juggle competing priorities

Responses that do not show off your skills “I’m able to juggle competing priorities.”

Responses that do show how you meet the criteria In my current role I’m often asked to complete routine tasks by my manager, but I have to respond immediately to questions from customers. I find keeping on top of the routine tasks gives me flexibility to deal with urgent queries as they come up.

OR I work as a volunteer in our local community kitchen. Each week we have limited time to stock-take, prepare and serve food and chat to regulars. Scheduling, sharing tasks and prioritising helps to get it all done.

OR I have a toddler at home and run my own online business. Planning ahead and blocking out regular time for work means I can keep on top of work priorities.

REFERENCES

Please give full name, job title, organisation, phone number, email address and in what capacity they are known to you. We will not contact referees until a job offer has been made.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

CONFIRMATION AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The information provided by you on this form may be processed for purposes permitted by the General Data Protection Regulation (2018). You have, on written request, the right of access to personal data held about you. The company treats personal data collected during the recruitment process in accordance with our Data Protection Policy.

School Food Matters is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all employees to share this commitment. If you are offered employment, you will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service record check.

School Food Matters is only able to employ people who are entitled to work in the UK and cannot assist with work permit or immigration issues. We are unable to help find accommodation in London.

If selected for interview, do you require any special arrangements to be made on account of a disability? Please tick the box if yes.
Please tick to declare that the information in this application form is true and complete and that you understand that if there is any misleading information or there are any omissions, this will be sufficient grounds for terminating your employment.

EQUALITIES MONITORING

At School Food Matters we are actively building a team that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve and work in, and that contributes a range of experiences, strengths and viewpoints to our work.

We aim to reflect this diversity in all departments and at all levels of seniority in our charity, right up to the board. As part of this commitment, we are requesting that all candidates complete an equalities monitoring form upon application. The person that receives the applications will not be part of the selection panel and the completed form will be held anonymously and separately from your application so is only used to help us track the progress of our work to increase the diversity of applicants to new posts.

What is your ethnic group?

Asian / Asian British
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
Other ethnic group
White
Prefer not to say
Which of the following describes your gender?
Do you consider yourself to be a trans person? (Trans is an umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as the sex they were assigned at birth.)
Which of the following best describes your sexual orientation?
What is your religion?
Do you consider yourself to have a disability?
What is your age group?