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Job Description

Director of Operations (School Breakfast Service Delivery)

Reporting to: CEO as part of the Senior Leadership team.

Direct Reports: Executive Assistant, Head of Innovation and Operations, Head of Engagement, Support Manager, Business Development Lead (Scotland), Business Development Lead (England/Wales).

Location: Home Based. The post will require some irregular travel throughout the UK with expenses paid in line with our Travel Expenses Policy.

Contract Length: Permanent.

Contract Type: Ideally full-time, 35 hours per week, although part time / flexible hours will be considered. The role may require occasional evening and weekend work.

Salary: £70,000 – £82,500 depending on experience.

Background

Magic Breakfast is a registered charity providing healthy breakfasts to children and young people in the UK who arrive at school too hungry to learn, and expert support to their schools. Over 200,000 children and young people are on roll at Primary, Secondary, ASL / Special Educational Needs Schools and Pupil Referral Units that the charity works with, in disadvantaged areas of Scotland and England. Providing breakfast ensures that children start their school day with the energy and nutrition they need to be able to make the most of their morning lessons. Magic Breakfast also undertakes research, and campaigns for long-term solutions to end hunger as a barrier to learning.

Job Purpose

The Director of Operations will bring commercial experience and strategic leadership to Magic Breakfast’s national school breakfast service delivery. Given high levels of need, this role will be crucial in helping us further increase our scale and impact through innovation, efficiency, and public sector contracts.

With clear and inclusive communication, you will coach and empower your team to lead and implement our plans, creating a step change in the reach and impact we have for hungry pupils, their families, schools, and communities. You will be responsible for ensuring the quality and sustainability of our services at scale with the flexibility and innovation required to deliver impact for children and young people.

You will work closely with the CEO and other members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to develop and drive forward Magic Breakfast’s long-term plans and mission to end child morning hunger now and for good.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Execution

  • Provide leadership and direction to formulate plans that enable, grow, and improve Magic Breakfast’s school breakfast provision particularly in the areas of:
    • Scalability and impact of school breakfast provision across England, Scotland and Wales
    • Operational efficiency and quality of service to schools and partners
    • Pupil uptake, with a focus on children and young people being most at risk of morning hunger
    • School and parental awareness and understanding of the impact of – stigma and barrier free school breakfasts
    • Enhancing school breakfast provision through support of corporate partners via volunteering and donated food/delivery.
  • Manage a regionally dispersed team, ensuring appropriate resources, plans and support are in place to successfully deliver against Magic Breakfast’s mission and strategy.
  • Oversee and be accountable for Magic Breakfast’s supply chain, including negotiation and monitoring of contracts with suppliers, partners, funders, and commissioners to support the charity’s objectives, its financial sustainability and stability, and operational needs.
  • Understand and respond to the charity’s operating environment and needs of schools, commissioners, funders to inform strategic decisions.
  • Work with the Director of Policy and Engagement to leverage Magic Breakfast’s experience as a service provider to enhance advocacy efforts that are tailored to local/devolved contexts of breakfast provision.
  • Work with the Director of Fundraising and Development to leverage strategic partnerships and unlock long-term support.

Team Leadership and Development

  • Coach, lead, mentor, and develop staff to build a high-performing team in line with Magic Breakfast’s values and People Strategy.
  • In line with our people-centric approach, work with the People and Culture team to ensure staff are managed, motivated, and developed to provide the highest standards of support to schools, children, and partners.
  • Identify and prepare leaders within the charity to enable the charity’s growth and success.
  • Promote an understanding of commercial principles within the team to enhance decision-making.

Process and Performance Improvement

  • Identify and initiate opportunities to innovate, test, and evaluate new approaches to tackling child morning hunger and consequent attainment gap.
  • Analyse current processes and workflows to identify areas for improvement and implement changes to enhance efficiency.
  • Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure operational performance and drive continuous improvement.
  • Ensure products or services meet quality standards and regulatory requirements.
  • Conduct cost-benefit analyses to support decision-making and ensure financial viability of operations.
  • Identify and evaluate potential risks to develop mitigation strategies that minimise impact on operations.
  • Work with the Finance and Technology team to evaluate and implement new systems, technologies, and digital transformation initiatives to improve commercial performance.

Collaborative Leadership

  • Provide leadership and direction to the charity in line with its values, taking an active role in setting, delivering, and evaluating progress against Magic Breakfast’s strategy, goals, and charitable purpose.
  • Uphold an open culture that encourages curiosity, continuous improvement, optimism, and a steadfast commitment to social impact.
  • Provide commercial insights and analysis to support collaborative and strategic planning and decision-making.
  • Work with SLT colleagues and the Board of trustees to ensure effective risk management, business continuity planning, and governance of the charity.
  • Identify and where appropriate lead on partnerships and collaborations that further Magic Breakfast’s mission and purpose.
  • Contribute to ensuring the SLT is a productive, high performing, aligned, and accountable team.
  • Inform and hold responsibility for budgeting, financial planning and management across the Service Delivery team with understanding and oversight of the charity’s overall budget and accounts.
  • Take responsibility for the implementation of Magic Breakfast’s policies and practice in relation to safeguarding, risk management, health and safety and data protection across all services.
  • Assemble and oversee a diversely skilled team, supporting and managing them in line with Magic Breakfast’s policies and procedures.
  • Deputise for the CEO as required.
  • To be a spokesperson and represent the charity as requested.

General

  • Contribute to team meetings, sharing best practice and supporting team members where necessary.
  • Help to maintain a positive working environment; keeping the vision and values of Magic Breakfast at the heart of everything we do.
  • Work collaboratively across the organisation more widely to build good working relations across the organisation and provide ad-hoc support to other teams and members of staff.
  • Adhere to all Magic Breakfast policies and procedures.
  • Ensure that all activity is compliant with current legislation, data protection and safeguarding requirements.
  • Participate in occasional work-related events at external venues and perform support related activities as required and undertake occasional work outside of regular office hours and UK travel.
  • Undertake any other duties commensurate with the role.