Ensuring the delivery of The Trussell Trust’s vision to end the need for food banks in the UK by developing an in-depth understanding of Trussell Trust food banks in their area and using coaching and assist to build and hold productive relationships to:

• Develop and execute a strategic plan for reducing the need for food banks’ services locally.
• Work alongside local partners to increase public will for long-term solutions to end the need for food banks.
• Develop and manage strategic relationships with key stakeholders to assist evidenced-based policy change at a local level and feed into activity to drive policy and practice at UK wide and national levels.

The Financial Inclusion Manager is part of a team of Financial Inclusion Managers who will play a central role in helping us achieve our vision for an end for the need for food banks in the UK. This role will provide essential financial inclusion expertise and support to our area managers and the food bank network to reduce, prevent and eventually end the need for food banks in Scotland.

The Network Lead plays a central role in helping us achieve our vision to end the need for food banks in the UK. This is a varied, proactive and fast-paced role that involves representing the Trussell Trust on policy and public affairs in the region/nation, the leadership of a dynamic team of area managers that supports the network of food banks in the region/nation to deliver emergency food, and the coordination of projects and partnerships to support the food banks in our network to reduce the need for their services locally.

Role responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Manage the delivery in the region/nation of food bank operations and key strategic projects that are part of the Trussell Trust’s five-year strategy to end the need for food banks.
• Projects and partnerships: Build partnerships and develop projects with organisations to develop and build services and systems that help end the need for food banks, including working with food banks to ensure that local churches (including church leaders) are connected to and have an understanding of the importance of ending the need for food banks in local communities.
• Policy and public affairs: Engage with a wide range of external bodies, including elected representatives, faith and community organisations, and research bodies.
• Team Leadership: Provide leadership, support and line management to the area managers.
• Risk Management: Ensure consistent quality assurance of food banks across the region, in line with guidance from the safeguarding and quality team at the Trussell Trust, and support area managers to deal with complaints and manage food banks with high risks.
• Cross-organisational working: Act as a liaison between the area team, the wider operations team, and other directorates, managing the flow of ideas and feedback to positive effect.

Person Specification

Technical skills and minimum knowledge:

• Confidently represent the Trussell Trust with a range of stakeholders, including elected representatives, and effectively manage the roll-out of the organisational strategy in the region/nation.
• Knowledge and experience of policy and public affairs, including a track record of successfully influencing politicians and key decision-makers to achieve strategic goals.
• Knowledge and experience of community development or local service provision.
• Experience of managing projects and partnerships, from inception to evaluation, to achieve strategic goals.
• Experience of team leadership. line management and supervision, including dealing with performance issues and using coaching skills.
• Competent and efficient use of IT, including the main Microsoft Office programs and database management.
• This role will require an appreciation and understanding of the significance of Christian faith within our food bank network, and the ability to build effective relationships in contexts where Christian faith plays a major part, and in which people of all faiths and none collaborate to make a difference together. Food banks in our network are typically governed by or run in partnership with local churches from across a wide range of denominations and traditions.

Behaviours and competencies:

• Demonstrate a commitment to the values of the Trussell Trust
• Demonstrates empathy for people from disadvantaged, marginalised or socially- excluded backgrounds
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, particularly listening skills.
• Role models inclusive behaviour, values and leadership
• Confident, resilient and self-motivated team player
• Well-organised and able to juggle competing priorities.

Key Stakeholders

• Area managers
• Network leads
• Head of Scotland
• Network services
• Pathfinder tea
• Financial inclusion team
• UK policy team
• Head of safeguarding and risk
• Public engagement directorate
• Local elected representatives, including MLAs, MSPs, Senedd members, MPs and councillors
• Representatives of local organisations and service providers

Our Values

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 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 ensuring the safety and protection of our employees from all forms of harm.

This is a varied, proactive and fast-paced role managing financial inclusion activities across Scotland. This includes the day-to-day coordination of projects and partnerships, as well as providing direct support on financial inclusion to food banks in Scotland. This role may be responsible for managing a Financial Inclusion manager in the future.

Scotland currently leads the UK in having a rights-based, progressive agenda to ending the need for food banks, but there is much to do to ensure political intentions become a reality. This role will provide essential financial inclusion expertise and support to our area managers and the food bank network to reduce, prevent and eventually end the need for food banks in Scotland.

This is a home-based role with extensive travel across Scotland and some to England, Northern Ireland and Wales