Head of Food Systems - Remote

Salary: £48,428 plus benefits

We are delighted to be recruiting for an inspirational and impactful leader to be our new Head of Food Systems at Mary’s Meals International. Working as a key member of our Programme Development and Operations Leadership Team, you will have the opportunity to lead on the development of the Mary’s Meals Food Systems strategy and policies, driving innovation in this space to support the ongoing development of our global school feeding programmes.

Positive, innovative, with extensive experience of working with food systems in an international development or other context, you will thrive in a collaborative environment and will work in close collaboration across the Mary’s Meals global family. You will have responsibility for developing robust, cost effective and locally contextualised food systems, enabling us to keep our promise to each child we serve and to reach the next child waiting for Mary’s Meals.

Mary’s Meals is a global movement supported by people from all walks of life and we are focused on one goal – that every child receives a nutritious daily meal in a place of education. We continue to change the lives of over 2.4 million children, across 18 countries and you will have the opportunity to work closely with our Programmes teams within MMI and our in country programmatic teams to develop and implement country specific food systems, in line with our School Feeding Approach.

Key responsibilities:

• Identify and scope innovative opportunities at various scales (from community-level to programme-level), and lead in the implementation of food systems innovations.
• Monitor and evaluate food system innovations, including testing feasibility, assessing for the potential to scale and/or learning for cross-application in other programmes.
• Monitor our current food systems environment, identifying risks and opportunities associated with the global food system as they apply regionally and within each programme.
• in the food systems space, including other non-governmental organisations, with governments and suppliers.
• Work collaboratively with our procurement function to ensure procurement processes align to the needs of the food system strategy and troubleshoot our food supply chain issues, ensuring we keep our daily promise to each child.
• Build capacity within MMI and our programme countries in the food systems space.
• Act as subject matter expert in food systems, manage self-development and stay abreast of innovations.
• Work with the Programme Development team on reporting for grants.
• Develop clear annual work plans and budgets and monitor regularly.
• Oversee the delivery, monitoring and reporting of progress made against team and departmental strategies and plans.

A proven leader, you will bring significant relevant experience of leading on strategy development and implementation, within the food systems area. You will bring a collaborative, values-led approach, focussed on driving positive innovation and capacity building. Delivering on complex global projects involving many global stakeholders, bringing others with you, and inspiring those you work with, will be key to success. With exceptional communication skills, you will be confident in developing strong working relationships and communicating strategy and learnings in a culturally sensitive manner, across a wide geographic area. Experience of working in an NGO or within International Development would be great but not essential to succeed in this role.

This is a global role, and we are happy for you to work remotely. As part of your role, there will be a requirement for travel to countries where Mary’s Meals programmes operate, potentially up to 10 weeks per year.

We believe in the innate goodness of people, respect the dignity of every human being and family life and believe in good stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. In line with our values, Mary’s Meals is fully committed to a culture of safeguarding. Mary’s Meals is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work and we expect all the Mary's Meals family to share this commitment and work in the best interest of the communities we serve. Our safe recruitment practices ensure that only those that are committed to our high standards join our movement. This role undertakes regulated work with children, and you will be required to register with the Protected Vulnerable Group Scheme or local equivalent before undertaking your role.

This is an amazing role within our Programmes team, where your daily work has real impact. If you are looking for more from your role, then we would love to hear from you. Please click Apply and tell us why you would be a great Head of Food Systems.

Head of Food Systems JD
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Benefits

• 8% non-contributory pension contribution - after 3 months (for international candidates the 8% pension contribution will be paid as a part of salary)
• 34 days annual leave (including bank holidays), increasing by 1 day each completed calendar year, to a maximum of 39 days (+ option to buy another week)
• Flexible working
• Lifeworks Employee Assistance Programme, including perks and cash back opportunities
• Life assurance