Bonny Downs Community Association

Food Growing Project Worker

Job Description

Initial 12 month fixed term contract, extendable subject to funding

RESPONSIBLE TO:BDCA Director

RESPONSIBLE FOR:Volunteers as required.

WORKING WITH:All BDCA projects, staff and volunteers (particularly cafe staff), External partners including Local Authority, NHS Newham, Schools, Church groups, Voluntary organisations, Funders and residents.

MAIN AIM OF THE POST

The main aim of the post is “To use local food to help achieve a healthier, more active, vibrant and cohesive community in East Ham and surrounding areas.”

The post holder will be responsible for developing our food growing project. You will be the main point of contact on the site, planning and delivering food growing activities to schools, residents, volunteers and other local partners. You will also be required to deliver training and support capacity building around food growing to individuals and groups.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Garden: growing and maintenance

  • Be responsible for planting and growing plans in the garden, in consultation with volunteers and café manager.
  • Regular harvest of seasonal crops, and their distribution locally, including to the Well Community Café, the Bonny Downs Church Food Bank, and volunteers.
  • Maintain records of planting and harvests.
  • Maintain the beauty, health and safety of the garden site.

Volunteers

  • Leading volunteer tasks with a wide range of volunteers and partners, including Job Centre referrals,people who are homeless and vulnerably housed, elderly, youth offenders, college students with support needs, local residents, families.
  • Organise seasonal Steering Meetings with volunteers to plan work in the garden.
  • Support key volunteers who open the garden to the public on Saturdays.
  • Enthuse others about the value of local and organic food, to recognise the therapeutic benefits of working in the garden, and to encourage a sense of community amongst volunteers.

Training

  • In accordance with our funders and in partnership with Organiclea, to promote, recruit and deliver entry level horticulture courses (AQA accredited unit award scheme).
  • Signpost volunteers to further opportunities and services.

Outdoor classroom

  • Deliver Outdoor Classroom sessions for school groups, including a regular after school gardening club.
  • Liaise with schools to administer and promote the Outdoor Classroom.
  • In accordance with recent funding, to support the development of new wildlife features to the garden and maximise these as educational resources (green roof, bird-box cameras, habitat zones).

Community

  • Facilitate the use of the garden as a community resource e.g. to be used for events.
  • Liaise with local groups and participate in relevant networks (e.g. Newham Community Garden Network) to raise the profile of the project and maximise opportunities for partnership working.
  • Encourage and empower local people to take leading roles in the project and be active citizens
  • Treat all garden users with respect and understanding in accordance with our strong commitment to equal opportunities

Information Technology

  • Use our cloud based Upshot database to maintain an up-to-date database on project participants and events.
  • Communications - send seasonal newsletters to the project’s networks, maintain the project’s facebook page, and work with colleagues to produce BDCA marketing resources.

Public Relations

Bonny Downs Community Association attaches considerable importance to the public relations aspect of its work. It is therefore essential that at all times staff are helpful and willing to assist visitors and anyone enquiring about our services. In your role you will need to support the promotion of our food growing project, attending and supporting events when required

Equal Opportunities

Bonny Downs Community Association has a strong commitment to achieving equality of opportunity in both services to the community and the employment of people and expects all employees and volunteers to promote its policies in their work.

The equal opportunities policy applies to employment and advancement and all employees will be recruited, trained and promoted on the basis of abilities, job requirement and fitness for that work. No applicant or employee should receive less favourable treatment on the ground of race, co/our, nationality, ethnic or national origin, age, sex, sexuality, marital status, or disability, or be disadvantaged by conditions or requirements that cannot be shown to be justifiable.

Other Duties

It is the nature of the work of BDCA that tasks and responsibilities are, in many circumstances, unpredictable and varied. All staff are therefore expected to work in a flexible way when the occasion arises that tasks which are not specifically covered in their job description have to be undertaken as directed by the BDCA Director and Trustees.

Dec 2016