Programme Manager - School Food Review

Employment Type

Contract 1 year fixed term contract. 32 hours per week, can be worked flexibly.

Location Hybrid London, UK Flexible / hybrid with a minimum of one day per week in the Brixton office.

Seniority Mid-level

• Closing:11:59pm, 23rd Oct 2026 BST

The School Food Review is a coalition of organisations spanning charities, educational organisations, caterers, unions and academics, committed to working together to improve children’s health by reforming the school food system. The group’s work is coordinated by founder members School Food Matters, Food Foundation, Bite Back, Sustain and Chefs in Schools, and is supported by Impact on Urban Health.

The School Food Review has identified three areas of action required to deliver meaningful change – equitable access, fairer funding and quality assurance. Work across these three areas is delivered through focused working groups, drawing on members of the coalition. This includes public campaigning, advocacy and policy development.

The post will be hosted by Chefs in Schools; a charity that exists to improve children’s health and futures through better school food and meaningful food education.

We work alongside schools and catering teams to transform what children eat every day, particularly in communities facing the greatest barriers to good health. We combine practical support, training, operational expertise and sector influence to help schools serve fresh, nutritious food that children want to eat.

We’re backed by some of the biggest names in food and are ambitious about both impact and scale. We want every child, everywhere, to have access to excellent school food and a real food education. We are a values-led organisation - bold, honest, collaborative, innovative and focused on solutions.

The purpose of this role is to plan, coordinate and oversee the work of our coalition, the School Food Review, to ensure that we are maximising the potential of the skills and expertise we can draw on from members and driving meaningful impact. You will lead the School Food Review’s Operational Group ('Ops Group'), made up of personnel from key organisations funded to work on the School Food Review, to ensure that the coalition delivers on its mission.

Whilst employed by Chefs in Schools, your role will be focused within the coalition.

Day to day, you will project manage operational delivery across the School Food Review coalition, ensuring efficient and effective delivery against the agreed work plan, which you will be monitoring and developing in consultation with your colleagues in the Ops Group. You will ensure that the Governance Group and broader coalition membership are kept informed of progress, promptly flagging risks and identifying suitable mitigations.

You will have an understanding of the context that we operate in (education and food sectors) and a high-level understanding of the type of work that is being delivered (eg policy, campaigning and advocacy). You will have strong programme and project management expertise. Your expertise in this area will be combined with strong people skills, and the ability to manage effective partnerships with external organisations.

Experience of working with a coalition, or in partnership with multiple organisations, is crucial.

The responsibilities, skills and experience listed below are intended to give you an idea of what we need for this role. If you don’t meet every single requirement, but feel as though you would be able to work with us to deliver the majority of them, we would urge you to apply anyway. We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and for us the most important ‘experience’ is passion for our…