Community Projects Lead

We are looking for an experienced, passionate, and confident community engagement specialist to lead on and develop two of our key community programmes; GROW-COOK-SHARE and the Grahame Park Community Garden. GROW-COOK-SHARE Each year, we welcome up to 10 Barnet-based families to our GROW-COOK-SHARE (GCS) project. GCS supports families without access to outdoor space due to financial constraints, with participants referred through the Barnet 0-19 Early Help Hub. Each family receives a raised bed on our farm and takes part in fortnightly food-growing and cooking workshops. Families are also welcome to visit their beds during farm hours outside of the workshops. GCS has been running for three years, with around 8 dedicated families committed to the programme, some of whom have been with us since Year 1. As we enter our fourth year, we are focusing on enhancing the co-design and co-delivery aspects of GCS, encouraging participants to take more ownership of the programme. We aim to create engagement pathways that allow long-standing families to deepen their involvement while continuing to welcome new participants, some of whom have had no experience in growing. Our goal is to expand the number of available beds, so families can grow with us for as long as they wish. GRAHAME PARK COMMUNITY GARDEN In 2023, GROW began managing a disused community garden of raised beds and planters in the middle of the Grahame Park Estate, described as one of the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England (IMD, 2019) and made up of just 2.1% of green space, compared to 14.2% in Barnet as a whole. Through community focus groups and collaboration, the Grahame Park Garden has thrived into an appreciated community space, engaged with by over 550 visitors. On Fridays from March to October, the garden welcomes local residents and friends to community drop-in gardening sessions, and runs an after school club for students of the nearby Saracens High School. In addition to this, monthly workshops take place which delve deeper into specific aspects of nature, food, and health. Where possible, local residents and visitors to the garden are encouraged to suggest and even run these workshops. Previous workshops have included: cooking, herbalism, pot plants for your windowsills, and using plants to support immune health. The project has a strong ethic of working with the community, responding to local needs, and inviting local people to shape and steer the garden's activity. In the first year of the project, we have ensured that the funding is fed back into the local community, by employing a local resident as a Garden Assistant, and paying workshop leader fees to community members who contribute to running monthly workshops. As the project enters its second year, the focus will be on building on the momentum built up from 2023-2024, which saw the development of a Whatsapp community group of regular volunteers and visitors growing to 40 members, and over 70 people attending our community garden celebration and barbecue in August 2024. We will continue to run regular community engagement sessions and workshops, and to be a safe, welcoming, and inclusive space for the Grahame Park community to engage with nature, wildlife, and agroecology., GROW-COOK-SHARE (1 day a week) Recruitment & Onboarding:

• Recruit and onboard new families through referral partners.
• Develop a recruitment pack and process to reach families who might not typically access such opportunities.
• Deliver inductions, on the farm, for all new families.
• Ensure all families are able to access the programme, coordinating and implementing where needed eg travel, 1-2-1, interpreters.
Family Support:
• Serve as the main contact for families throughout the programme, providing regular check-ins to ensure they feel supported and confident in participating.
• Coordinate the GCS WhatsApp group, ensuring it remains updated and a safe space for participants.
Programme Development & Delivery:
• Oversee the smooth running of family workshops, held fortnightly on Saturday mornings (April-end of October).
• Line manage contributing facilitators.
• Book specialist facilitators to assist in education sessions.
• Explore opportunities for participants to take ownership of programme tasks (e.g. watering schedules, seed organisation, leading sessions).
• Hold focus groups at the beginning, middle, and end of the programme to gather and act on participant feedback.
• Collaboration with horticulture facilitators to design up to 16 educational sessions focused on sustainable food growing, cooking, and well-being.
• Complete session reports.
• Collect meaningful feedback and data throughout the programme.
• Act as the primary safeguarding point of contact for families.
• Manage the programme budget.
• Keep the GROW team updated on programme developments.
• Complete end-of-programme reports for funders.
• Order all necessary equipment, supplies, and materials for the programme.
Infrastructure & Development:
• Work with the Farm Manager to develop the family area infrastructure.
• Collaborate with the Education team to improve the family and education zone to support GCS.
• Coordinate with builders and contractors for any work on the GCS area.
GRAHAME PARK COMMUNITY GARDEN (1 day a week)
• Be the main point of contact for community members who attend the garden, as well as estate and community stakeholders throughout the project.
• Be the main point of contact for Saracens High School throughout the project.
• Identify and collaborate with appropriate community partners to ensure the sustainable integration and longevity of the initiative.
• Hold regular community focus groups to reflect and plan alongside local residents.
• Develop our community engagement strategy to ensure the space is able to be utilised and serve the needs of the community past the life of the project.
• Develop a successful relationship with Saracens High School and grow a group of gardening club members there.
• Support the creation of a community and school recruitment strategy: including working with GROW to create posters, sign up processes, taster sessions, assemblies.
• Create robust and dynamic risk assessments for all garden activities and workshops.
• Run monthly workshops that aim to engage and include members of the local community in the project.
• Run a yearly celebration event to celebrate the growing season.
• Co-develop a long term maintenance plan that seeks to empower local stakeholders.
• Manage the sharing of crops grown in the garden among community members.
• Manage the project expenditure and attend monthly budget meetings with your Line Manager.
• Attend regular progress meetings with the senior GROW team.
• Manage project staffing - including garden assistants and facilitation assistants.
• Create and conduct participant evaluation.
• Consult the funding agreement and ensure evaluation and reporting processes are adhered to.
• Be mindful of child and adult safeguarding at all times. Keep up-to-date with relevant training and understand GROW and TTA's safeguarding policies and procedures.
• You may be required to carry out other duties that may reasonably be required in line with your main duties and responsibilities.
  
  Necessary experience and skills required
• Experience leading and project managing successful community projects that have a focus on engaging people & groups who have been historically underserved.
• Experience working with families in a community setting.
• Experience managing project budgets.
• Experience line managing team members.
• Experience facilitating educational sessions with both children and adults.
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Experience of Safeguarding practices and procedures.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to adapt to and communicate with a range of stakeholders.
• Experience handling interpersonal conflicts within community projects or among participants, particularly in a diverse community setting.
• An understanding of the challenges faced by different cultural, socioeconomic, and minority groups, and experience creating inclusive spaces.
• Proven ability to build partnerships with local community organisations, stakeholders, and referral partners to support recruitment and programme delivery.
• Experience in applying for and managing grants, including reporting to funders and seeking new funding opportunities.
• Basic knowledge of environmental issues, sustainability, and urban agriculture, particularly in the context of community gardening.
• Proficiency in using digital tools for project management, communication, and monitoring eg spreadsheets and google drive.
• Experience ensuring health and safety standards are met, including risk assessments, particularly in a community garden setting.
Desirable experience and skills required
• Knowledge of the Barnet area.
• Knowledge, experience or qualifications in horticulture.
• Experience working in a community garden setting.
We have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. Successful candidates will be asked to provide proof of identity and will be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check.

GROW is an Agroecological Farm and an Outdoor Learning Hub. We believe in food justice and the right to a sustainable way of life for all. We grow vegetables, fruits, and flowers for our partner school, The Totteridge Academy (TTA), local schools, and our local community. The wonders of the GROW farm inspire our educational work. We deliver sustainable food growing and outdoor learning programmes for children, young people, and families who experience barriers to learning, healthy living, and employment. Through our partnership with TTA, we are creating a model for how schools & farms can work together to create resilient local food systems, enhance learning and well-being, and strengthen community. We run early support programmes, AQA courses, holiday, after-school & weekend clubs, curriculum projects, school trips, family & community growing projects, training programmes and more., Our agroecological farm and outdoor learning hub at The Totteridge Academy in North London is at the heart of every one of our activities, providing a practical and inspiring resource for everyone who visits. GROW harnesses the power of food and farming to transform local communities. Our agroecological farm and outdoor learning hub at The Totteridge Academy in North London is at the heart of every one of our activities, providing a practical and inspiring resource for everyone who visits. more