Community Education Officer (2 days)

About the job

ABOUT US

Feedback is a UK- and Netherlands-based campaign group working for food that is good for people and planet. We want a world where:

• All people have secure access to delicious, culturally appropriate food that is nutritious and does not cause environmental harm
• Global supply chains, farming and fishing contribute to food sovereignty, good livelihoods, mitigate climate change and enable nature to thrive
• Communities have agency to create food economies that are inclusive, equitable, resilient and celebratory

To meet these objectives, we carry out the following activities:

• We delegitimize corporations
• We ideate and advocate for policy change and regulation
• We nurture community agency
• We widen our circle of allies
• We change culture and public discourse

Our current strategy framework can be found here:
https://feedbackglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Feedback-Strategic-Framework-2023-1.pdf

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Community Education Officer plays an important role in both collaborating with communities to take part in shared learning and disseminating findings to wider audiences throughout the project, informing how it develops and boosting its impact. You will work in partnership with individuals and their communities, under the supervision of the Senior Project Manager as part of the education and advocacy programme. This will include cooperative identification of changes to the food system in Knowsley in the last century, engaging project participants in discussing those changes and raising awareness to wider audiences, supporting the project to achieve its aim of creating a shared understanding and celebrating Knowsley’s heritage and influencing strategies to shape the future of the borough, through sustained, quality engagement. You will support the Community Research Coordinator to capture qualitative and quantitative data that will inform reporting and contribute project monitoring and evaluation, participant outcomes and signposting groups & individuals to project activities with the aim of improving community participation & influence in our work.

The post holder will need to be proactive, working both independently and as part of a team, whilst managing and prioritising a busy workload.

More information about the project can be found here: https://feedbackglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Growing-Knowsleys-Future-summary.pdf

The main strategic aims this role is responsible for:

Aim 8: FAIR ACCESS TO GOOD FOOD 

By the end of 2025, low-income communities in the UK will have secure, dignified access to nutritious food with low environmental impact, challenging the supermarket redistribution and food bank model

Aim 9: COMMUNITY-ANCHORED FOOD ECONOMIES 

By the end of 2025, regional, participatory, celebratory food economies anchored in place and community will grow, challenging the corporate food model.

Key Responsibilities

• Primary responsibility for leading the collaborative learning process with community stakeholders in Knowsley (e.g., community groups, local schools).
• Work with individuals, groups and communities to explore the food and farming heritage of Knowsley, creating a shared understanding of what came before Knowsley’s establishment as a Metropolitan Borough.
• Contribution towards the planning and execution of events and workshops in Knowsley in collaboration with the team at Feedback and key community stakeholders.
• Primary responsibility for creating educational resources from information obtained through delivery of Feedback Global’s Heritage Lottery Fund Project, to be utilised throughout this project and in future.
• Working alongside the project delivery team you will work to capture stories and knowledge about residents’ experiences of growing, producing and consuming local or seasonal food.
• Celebrate Knowsley and its heritage through the creation of projects and workshops in collaboration with key stakeholders.
• Create educational resources from information obtained considering the present and future possibilities.
• Capture stories and knowledge about residents’ experiences of growing, producing and consuming local or seasonal food over time.
• Work closely with stakeholders to reach project outcomes
• Produce tangible solutions to issues Knowsley faces
• Use information obtained for advocacy and campaigns to benefit neighbourhoods, change that improves land use, access to fresh locally produced food and creates upskilling and employment opportunities.
• Explore Knowsley archives to understand changes in land use.
• Collate a multitude of existing heritage materials whilst adding dialogue from living residents.
• Assist with the recruitment and ongoing communication between community curators.
• A commitment to the objectives and core values of Feedback – Collaboration, Celebration, Audacity, Solidarity, Impact.
• A commitment to Feedback’s anti-oppression work.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential criteria:

• Excellent interpersonal and oral communication skills and the ability to work alongside a wide range of stakeholders.
• High level of IT skills
• Experience of engagement in local community settings.
• Knowledge and interest in food as a way to engage people in advocacy for change.
• Awareness of partners, stakeholders and projects within Knowsley and the wider Merseyside area.
• Ability to regularly travel in and around Knowsley (public transport, cycle or drive)