FAITHWORKS WESSEX

Job Description:
Poole Lifecentre Deputy Manager

Hours:

Salary:

20-24 hours per week (negotiable)

  £14.33 per hour equivalent to £27,571 PA (if full-time), plus 6% employer contribution

towards pension

Contract:           Permanent

Main location:   St James’ Church Centre, Church Street, Poole, BH15 1JU

Line Manager:   Poole Lifecentre Manager

About the Project

Faithworks’ Poole base is more than a Foodbank: it’s a “Lifecentre” supporting individuals and families
in crisis.  It offers a safe, welcoming space for both immediate aid and long-term solutions, helping
people regain stability and confidence.

Over half of our guests need just one food parcel to get through a short-term crisis, while one in five
require longer-term, “walk-alongside” support.

Services include:

•  Fresh, dairy, and tinned food (centrally stored at our large warehouse in Poole town centre),

plus satellite locations moving towards “local lifecentre” status.
•  Space for conversation to explore needs and existing support.
•  On-site access to debt advice, financial resilience teams, and partner agencies (e.g. Shelter,

Citizens Advice, LiveWell Dorset, Access Wellbeing, Parent Champions (SENDiass)).
•  Community activities such as shared meals, SMILE lone-parent groups, and links to local

church events.

As a Christian initiative, the Lifecentre operates with generosity, integrity, and grace, upholding
professionalism, safeguarding, and health & safety standards.

The Deputy Manager will assist in the day-to-day running of the Foodbank elements of the Life Centre,
managing relationships with clients, volunteers, partners, referrers, donors, and supporting churches.

Overall Purpose of the Role

The role includes:

•  Supporting the Life Centre Manager in implementing an annual plan
•  Ensuring operations align with Faithworks’ values, ethos and policies
•  Modelling a person-centred team culture in the Life Centre

Key Duties and Responsibilities

1.  With the Manager, create, exemplify and run a trauma-informed, grace-filled and whole-person

project, especially in the main Lifecentre and warehouse. Host the floor, engage with clients, triage
needs, and facilitate de-escalation and relationship building

2.  Manage the day-to-day operations of the Foodbank so that “guests” are supported as needed,

activities are competently carried out by volunteers, budgetary compliance is maintained; ensure
adequate stock levels and the smooth running of food distribution. Effectively organise desk
bookings, and office/building supplies

3.  Operationally, manage, inspire, train and support the team of volunteers (recruiting, where

necessary with the Manager) to ensure their needs are met, and the efficient operation of the
project continues.  Ensure effective lines of communication, and create a grace-filled, empowering
culture.

4.  Ensure that all activities are carried out in a safe and sustainable manner for staff, volunteers and

clients; implementing in a professional way, the safety and safeguarding procedures of Faithworks.
Work closely with the Manager to ensure the Foodbank is fully compliant with all Health and Safety
regulations at all times.

5.  Ensure all referrals are dealt with, prudently and accurately, and with awareness of confidentiality
and client sensibilities; ensure that referral agencies understand their responsibilities and receive
regular information as required.

6.  Oversee and develop partnership relationships in the Foodbank (including SMILE and Faithworks
CMA) to help guests find the support they need, welcoming and ensuring all partner agencies are
known by the local team and understand how they dovetail with the rest of the support.

7.  Develop and roll-out community activities in the Life Centre that will enhance support for guests.

8.  Encourage and exemplify a Christian ethos in the Foodbank that matches the FW values, offering
prayer to the guests and volunteers if desired, and linking guests to local Christian activities as
desired.

9.  Develop a working knowledge of all elements of the project, and deputise for the Manager in their

absence, whether that be annual leave or other periods of absence.

10. Maintain secure databases for volunteers, clients, agencies, recording information in line with data
protection regulations; with the Manager report to quarterly internal review meetings, and into FW-
wide information.

11. Working with the Manager, help promote the Foodbank to supporting churches and relevant
organisations, to the press, to the public, to local businesses and other charities, community
organisations and the Local Authority.

12. Working with the Manager develop positive relationships with those engaged in similar activities,
other local partners, supermarkets, statutory agencies, etc. to encourage increasing supply and
opportunities for development in the area.

13. Whilst prioritising a workload consistent with the requirements of the role, to undertake any other

duties commensurate with the role or as may reasonably be requested by the Manager.

Essential Skills and Experience

•  Understanding of the needs of those in crisis and experience responding with care and sensitivity
•  Proven ability to lead a team and deliver successful outcomes, including planning and prioritising

work

•  Excellent communication skills for internal team development

•  Experience working with volunteers or organising unpaid groups to achieve common goals
•  Ability to influence and build networks to support projects
•  Proficiency in MS Office applications, and able to travel across the area

Desirable Skills and Experience

•  Experience monitoring project performance against objectives
•  Experience of building external partnerships
•  Competence in social media collaboration
•  Health & Safety and/or First Aid training
•  Familiarity with the local voluntary and community sector

Personal Characteristics

•  Agreement with the values and Christian ethos of the Foodbank and Faithworks
•  Highly Emotionally Intelligent
•  Passion for helping those in need in the community
•  Outgoing, friendly, and efficient, with the ability to build rapport quickly
•  High integrity and ability to model this to volunteers, referrers, and clients
•  Self-starter with initiative and willingness to learn new skills
•  Flexible and committed to continuous improvement

Additional Requirements

•  Faithworks is a Christian based charity. As a Deputy Manager of this important project it is

expected that the post holder will share and model our core values. Therefore, an occupational
requirement exists for the post-holder to be a practising Christian in accordance with the Equality
Act 2010.

•  This role involves working with vulnerable adults and requires a criminal records check from the

Disclosure & Barring Service

Post title:

Nourish Manager

Contract:

Permanent (with 3 months’ probation)

Hours:

Salary:

30 hours per week

£16.01 per hour (equiv to £30.8k if full time) + 6% pension
contribution

Location:

Blandford United Reformed Church (URC)

Line Manager:

FW Senior Programmes Lead

What is this project about?

Faithworks’ Blandford base is a community larder and Foodbank called
“Nourish” supporting individuals and families in the DT11 postcode area to get
out of food insecurity. It offers a safe, welcoming space for both immediate aid and
long-term solutions, helping people regain stability and confidence.

Services include:

•  A Community Larder providing good quality, nutritious food to families and

individuals with very limited disposable income, at a significantly discounted
price.

•  A Foodbank providing crisis food supplies to those with short term hardship

•  Space for conversation to explore needs and existing support.

•  On-site access to debt advice, financial resilience teams, and partner agencies

(e.g. Faithworks CMA, REACH, Citizens Advice, You Trust).

•  Community activities such as community meals, cooking and money courses.

As a Christian initiative, Nourish operates with generosity, integrity, and grace,
upholding professionalism, safeguarding, and health & safety standards

Overall Purpose of job:

Ensure Nourish is a safe, collaborative, and inspiring environment aligned with
Faithworks’ values of being Welcoming, Alongside, Trusted, Empowering, and
Resourceful.  Ultimate success in this role is 3-fold:

•  Making sure every person who walks through the door is valued and supported in

the best possible way so that they leave with new hope

•  Developing a team of staff, volunteers and partners that all share our values and

thus create a place that is safe, welcoming, affirming and hope-filled

•  Promoting the larder, foodbank and other support, to be seen as a trusted
partner, and a place that people want to support financially, prayerfully and
practically

You’ll be someone who can relate brilliantly to not only our “guests”, but to staff and
volunteers and to partners from both churches and statutory organisations. You will
also be someone who is “always ready to give a reason for the [Christian] hope that
is within them”.

FW Nourish Manager JD – Updated Jan 2026

Duties and responsibilities

1.  Lead and manage the Nourish team, supporting, equipping and enabling them to
be the best they can be, including recruiting new team members where need
arises and budget allows.

2.  Develop a strong team culture through celebration, learning, listening and

empowering, reflecting Faithworks’ Christian values, sensitive to the needs of the
United Reformed Church as our hosts.

3.  Ensure that Nourish has sufficient and well-trained volunteers team to help all
aspects of the work (supporting the deputy who leads on this); running regular
volunteer get-togethers.

4.  Oversee the activities, working with team members to deliver practical help,

relational support and spiritual hope safely, according to what we have promoted,
stepping in to provide cover as required, ensuring briefings are in place etc.

5.  Promote, build and maintain “mission partnerships” with local churches, ensuring
good regular communications, identifying welcome spaces for guests who want
to connect with a local community and explore faith further (esp. in surrounding
villages); lead services or prayer meetings as needed.

6.  Promote our work and strengthen relationships with Partners, helping them

understand our work, ensuring clear referral routes into and out of our services,
and where required, developing new routes of help & hope for guests.  Special
focus on links with Town Council, and Dorset Council Food Network.

7.  Ensure the accurate and timely recording of all guest / client contacts on the
relevant systems so that all personal files are up to date and accurate.

8.  Work with the Senior Programmes Lead to identify our impact and then report on

the outcomes from the work, updating key partners (esp. churches), and
creatively communicating appropriate stories and insights on the work.

9.  Safe working: Ensure that all activities comply with Faithworks policies and

training.

10. With the Senior Programmes Lead, develop an annual strategy for this work, and
agree the budget and funding plan to deliver this; regularly review finances to
ensure sufficient funds; contribute to funding bids and campaigns as requested.

11. Develop future, innovative services in line with the needs of the “guests”,

available funding and the overall direction of Faithworks; link up with, share and
learn from other foodbanks (both FW and Trussell).

12. Work with the FW Comms team to build presence on social media and other

comms channels to encourage volunteering, funding and prayer.

13. Encourage, organise and offer prayer for guests where desired; seek ways to
offer opportunities for people to explore the Christian faith in association with
local church partners.

14. Contribute to the wider Faithworks leadership coalition, sharing good practice,

building strong connections between projects and teams etc.

Skills, competences and experience:

FW Nourish Manager JD – Updated Jan 2026

We’re looking for “character” and “chemistry”, as well as competence.

So, we’re looking for this range of skills:

1.  Managing a project:  Able to get things done, keep to a timetable, produce

tangible results, keep activities safe and organised. Able to achieve great results,
while also being teachable, learning and listening, and building a culture of
support;

2.  Emotional Intelligence: Discerns how people (church leaders, partners, staff and

volunteers) are wired up and finds ways to bring the best out of them;
understands how to lift the mood in a meeting and what an individual needs at a
given moment – not officious or easily angered;

3.  Managing Partnerships: able to build coalitions and find agreed steps forward;

able to resolve issues with tact and positivity; keen to learn from others;

4.  Influencing and Networking: Inspiring; able to “cast” a vision and help people get

on board without taking over; a great communicator verbally and in writing,
finding the right way to bring people into the network; can unite people from
different churches;

5.  Managing Staff: get the best out of a range of skills and temperaments; a coach,

supporter and leader; helps people do more than they thought possible;

6.  Managing Volunteers: Great with volunteers – able to see the difference with

managing staff; able to inspire, coach and encourage;

7.  Managing information: Able to create simple ways of demonstrating progress…

and communicate it; comfortable with working with financial info;

8.  Managing Risk: understands safeguarding and H&S: not afraid to raise and

escalate issues if activities are not safely run for all concerned;

9.  Prayerful: turns to prayer easily but with “gentleness and respect” to those in the

team;

10. Managing self: Able to juggle tasks, but also understands how to maintain a

balance in life, respecting own boundaries to avoid burn out;

Essential experience and skills:

•  Experience of leading a team to deliver a successful outcome, including clear

evidence of prioritising and planning the work that needs to be done;

•  Proven background in managing community or charity services, especially those

addressing food poverty, debt, housing, or social crisis;

•  Sound appreciation of the needs of those in crisis, and some experience of

responding to such needs with care and sensitivity;

•  Great communication skills both externally in order to inspire and develop
partnerships, and internally in order to get the best out of team members;

•  Demonstrated ability to build and maintain partnerships with community, church,

or statutory organisations;

FW Nourish Manager JD – Updated Jan 2026

•  Strong volunteer management experience—recruiting, developing, and

motivating volunteers;

•

ICT and PC skills in relation to MS Office programs;

•  Ability to travel;

Desirable experience and skills:

•  Experience of monitoring the performance of a piece of work to ensure that it can

be seen to be meeting the given objectives;

•  Evidence of Health & Safety and/or First Aid training/competence;

•  Knowledge of local voluntary and community sector;

•  Experience in PR/Comms, fundraising initiatives, or new service development;

Key personal characteristics required: -

•  Agreement with the values of Faithworks, FW Our Values;

•  Passionate about helping those in need in the community;

•  Outgoing personality, a friendly yet efficient style and the ability to establish a

rapid rapport with people;

•  Able to model a high standard of integrity to volunteers, referrers and clients;

•  A self-starter – can take initiative; but also a willingness to learn new skills as

systems and needs develop;

•  Flexible and always thinking about ways to improve the service;

•  Willingness to work flexible hours, including occasional weekends or evenings;

Faithworks is a Christian based charity. As a manager of this important project it is
expected that the post holder will share and model our core values. Therefore, an
occupational requirement exists for the post-holder to be a practising Christian in
accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

Please note that as this role will include working with vulnerable adults, anyone
applying for a role which involves a regulated activity and certain controlled activity
will require a criminal records check from the Disclosure & Barring Service.

FW Nourish Manager JD – Updated Jan 2026