About YFM

The Youth Food Movement Australia’s (YFM) mission is to grow the next generation of young change-makers to unbreak our food system. We do this through programs that educate, upskill and empower young people to build positive, healthy food initiatives in their local communities. 

Our vision is a world where food enables all people to live a healthy and sustainable life. Our work focuses on promoting ways of eating which support the health of local communities, Australian growers and producers and the wellbeing of our planet. We work to achieve this through two primary objectives: 1) by increasing the knowledge, skills and experiences young people have around food (‘food literacy’) and 2) to increase young people’s participation in food and agriculture.

The position + purpose

The Cookluck Club is YFM’s collaborative cooking campaign designed to empower young Australians to get into their kitchens and to make it social. Cookluck Club is about building young people’s basic cooking skills and celebrating easy, waste-free eating, while championing the importance of community connection and collaboration.A “Cookluck” is a twist on a traditional potluck concept. Instead of friends bringing round pre-prepared dishes, a Cookluck host encourages their friends to bring random ingredients from home - often ones that need “rescuing” - for a collaborative cook-up and feast.

The role of the Program Manager will be to make Cookluck come alive in late 2018. There are two core aspects to the position:

• PROJECT MANAGEMENT

You’ll be managing and co-ordinating the campaign both from an online perspective and through on-the-ground activities. You’ll be working with YFM’s team and partners, to help design a creative and engaging campaign, constructing an awesome experience for those who get involved. The role will promote what’s happening with Cookluck Club, explore opportunities for fundraising through the campaign, communicate about how people can get involved and work with ambassadors and supporters to get the word out there.

• COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS + FUNDRAISING

Cookluck Club launched in 2017 with a series of successful partnerships with Sydney-based local councils. You’ll be working with YFM’s CEO to build on these existing partnerships and secure the involvement and investment of more local councils, both in Sydney and inter state.

As a vital part of funding YFM’s important work, we want to explore the opportunity of community fundraising through Cookluck in 2018. You’ll be contributing to the development and implementation of a fundraising campaign for Cookluck, inspiring members of the YFM community to support YFM’s work.

Experience in developing a strategy for, or participating in community fundraising initiatives will be highly regarded. Alternatively a willingness to throw yourself in and learn by doing will be well looked upon.

*Initially we are offering this as a three day per week, 9 month contract role to cover Cookluck Club for 2018. Based on the anticipated success of the program (and the people who make it happen) we expect it will grow into a permanent role at 0.8-1.0. FTE.

Salary range pro-rata $60-$75k (plus super) and based on experience.

The role will report to the CEO, and connect regularly with our Chapter Leaders in cities across Australia.

A bit about you

You’re a natural communicator and get energy from getting out there and talking to people about the things you care about. In this case, that’s food and cooking. You’ll be talking to council representatives and a few corporate partnership people, so some experience and evidence of success in this area would be highly valued.

You ideally have a solid practical knowledge of social media and food/lifestyle/health media. As the promotional side of the role requires good writing skills, you are a confident written communicator and feel at home speaking to different audiences. We have a house style that’s young and conversational but we’d like to see what you’ve written and how its appeared in earned, owned or paid media in the past.

With two core elements to the role, you’re a self-organiser who is comfortable in an environment where you need to prioritise effectively and get things done. You find joy in efficiency, logistics and quality and you’re someone who is a motivated self-starter who is comfortable working in a start-up environment, able to execute their job with a sense of humour.

We’re also committed to what we do. That means you share our love of learning and are a passionate advocate for change in Australian food and agriculture. You don’t need to be an expert but having a working understanding of core issues facing our food system, in particular how this relates to young people, is highly valuable (though we don’t have to agree – we like a debate).

Working with us looks like:

You'll be joining a small team of staff in Glebe in Sydney. We pride ourselves on our unique supportive working environment that offers flexibility and autonomy around how and when you work. We stop each day to have lunch together, and are a stone’s throw from the Glebe foreshore and dog park, when you need to step away from your desk.

Our work environment appeals to people who are self directed and comfortable in uncertainty. We are a highly motivated, purpose driven team who believe that our work can have a positive impact on the lives of others while also fulfilling us as people. Once you start, we love finding out what makes you tick as a person, and how we can best support you to develop your own specific strengths and capacities.

See position description attached below for more details.