Commercial Officer-ProduceFareShare

FareShare

Job Description –Commercial Officer (Produce) – Food Team

Reporting to: Commercial Manager, Food Team

Location: London or Sheffield (Currently Remote)

Contract: Permanent

Hours:35 hours- Full Time

Salary: £29,400 - £30,950 (We normally offer a starting salary at the start of the range)

About FareShare

FareShare is the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors, made up of 18 independent organisations. Together, we take good quality surplus food from right across the food industry and get it to nearly 9,500 frontline charities and community groups.

The food we redistribute is nutritious and good to eat. It reaches charities across the UK, including school breakfast clubs, older people’s lunch clubs, homeless shelters, and community cafes. Every week we provide enough food to create almost a million meals for vulnerable people.

Every year, more than three million tonnes of food go to waste in the UK, enough for 7 billion meals. Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis is driving millions in to food insecurity. FareShare has a plan to help tackle the cost of living crisis using England’s surplus food.

We are fortunate to benefit from the support of major retailers, the media, sports ambassadors and a groundswell of public engagement. As a result, there has never been a more exciting time to join an organisation at the heart of public consciousness.

FareShare’s Strategy & Vision

Vision: We have the vision of a UK where “No good food goes to waste”.

Mission: To use surplus, fit for consumption, food to feed those who are vulnerable in the UK by supporting front line charitable organisations that tackle the cause and not just the symptoms of food poverty.

Our Purpose: We are doers. We are a community. We change lives.

Our Values: Passion – for our cause and the challenge that lies ahead

Ambition – to go the extra mile and drive the change that must happen

Respect – for ourselves, each other, our volunteers, our partners and our beneficiaries

Collaboration – it’s only by working with others that we can be stronger

Focus – on providing the best service possible so that we deliver and achieve the most for our clients/customers.

The role

The Commercial Officer will focus on working with the fresh produce industry to provide increasing volumes of surplus foods to the charities and community groups we support across the country, the success you have, together with your colleagues in the Food Team, will be critical to maintaining our growth.

Your role will be to identify, develop and manage new and existing food partners. Supported by the Commercial Manager you will work with companies in the food industry, generating value for the partner whilst securing growing and sustainable volumes of surplus food for the FareShare Network.

You will also be required to work closely across departments in our food partners such as Supply Chain, CSR, Marketing, Operations etc. With support from the Commercial Manager, you will identify and understand opportunities at our food partners, putting the case for food redistribution through FareShare, implementing processes to develop sustainable supply to FareShare whilst creating mutual and shared value between our organisations. You will build your understanding of our food partners’ needs and work closely with FareShare colleagues in the UK office and from across the country to extract maximum value from the relationships.

As part of this role you will support any FareShare industry facing initiatives, including those specifically related to help overcome the barriers to food redistribution and increase the volumes of surplus foods which are redistributed. This may require you to work with food partners and other stakeholders to ensure appropriate identification of activities, and monitoring progress, benefits and evaluation.

You will work closely with FareShare colleagues in Fundraising, Marketing and Operations to provide the best service to our food partners, our network and the charities we deliver to.

Main areas of responsibility

Business development and Relationship management

• With support from the Commercial Manager undertake research to identify potential growth areas and new accounts
• Support the Commercial Manager in the development and execution of strategies for your food category.
• Approach and engage food companies that have the potential to divert surplus food to the FareShare network.
• Create and deliver engaging presentations for the acquisition and retention of food partners, effectively presenting the benefits of working with FareShare

• Research and engage relevant key personnel within food businesses working across functions of the key food industry partners, like Logistics, Supply Chain, Operations and Sustainability, to build a good understanding of operations and negotiate effective outcomes for FareShare
• Identify patterns where food surpluses have occurred before and are likely to occur again and work with the partner to develop systems and business processes which are appropriate for that partner and which will ensure they are managed in the most environmentally, socially and financially efficient way.
• Use our food data and other stats to identify trends to food partner supply and to effectively manage food partners, identifying appropriate milestones and opportunities to prompt lapsed or infrequent partners.

Account Support

• Support the Commercial Manager in the development and execution of strategies appropriate to your food category
• Provide support to Senior Manager and Commercial Managers to manage projects within existing or developing key accounts, providing support and assistance to the development of those partnerships.
• Work closely with colleagues in Operations, especially the Supply Chain and Logistics team and the Regional Centres, to ensure smooth on-boarding of new suppliers, planning of food into the network and resolution of any relevant operational issues relating to your food category and partners.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues in Marketing Communications to provide relevant and compelling communications support to food partners and helping to monitor social media/food partner/industry comms relating to own accounts.
• Support the work of colleagues in the Fundraising and Volunteering teams to help leverage maximum benefit from our relationships with food partners, encouraging broader relationships with our food partners and an appreciation of the benefits of partnering with FareShare.

Person Specification

As an employer committed to Equal Opportunities, we will assess applications in line with these criteria that we consider either as being essential or desirable in this role.

Essential Experience:

• Experience of working in or alongside the food industry in account management or customer facing role
• Strong relationship skills, building and maintaining relationships across a range of levels and with both internal and external stakeholders
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; experience in presenting confidently to a range of stakeholders at varying levels
• Good organisational skills and the ability to prioritise multiple tasks whilst maintaining attention to detail
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Offices packages and a good level of numeracy and literacy.

Desirable:

• Experience of managing accounts in the FMCG, food, retail or other fast moving customer service orientated sector
• Track record of using selling and negotiation skills with professionalism and integrity to achieve desired outcomes & targets.
• Management of initiatives and projects such as new product launches, operational initiatives, promotional activity or similar
• Knowledge of and interest in Sustainable Development, Corporate Social Responsibility and experience of its application within the business environment.

Competencies and behaviours

• Demonstrable interest in, and understanding of food waste and surplus redistribution
• Motivation towards, and interest in, FareShare’s mission
• Problem solving ability, able to think laterally and creatively
• Highly motivated, comfortable working independently and using initiative as well as being an enthusiastic team player contributing to group tasks and team working