We're recruiting for someone to join us as a Packer and Driver!

Job Description and Application Details are listed below.
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You can download this as a document here.
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Veg Box People Co-operative

Packer and Driver Role

Job Description 

Hours: 21.5 hours per week 

Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (occasional Thursdays to cover holiday and sickness this could involve driving and/or admin tasks)

Term: Temporary contract- until 31 Dec 2025

Salary: Real Living Wage £12.60 p/h £24,570 pro rata per annum

Location: You will be based at our packing unit at Hot Bed Press Printmakers Studio, The Casket Works, Cow Lane, Salford M5 4ND
Closing date for applications: We are looking for someone to start ASAP so we reserve the right to close applications at any time. We will be interviewing applicants on a rolling basis.

Interviews: We will be holding interviews on a rolling basis on a Monday or Wednesday.

Start date: April 2025

Responsible to: 

Veg Box People Directors.

Introduction: 

Veg Box People works to deliver a more sustainable and fair food system for Greater Manchester. We are at an exciting stage of development, growing our network of collection points so that more households across Greater Manchester can access fresh, locally grown, organic produce. With over 20 collection points, from community centres to mobile stalls, we are currently packing around 200 veg bags per week. 

We need someone who wants to be part of our vision to create a better food system. We’re looking for someone who enjoys physical work at a fast pace, who can help us pack our veg bags week in, week out. You will be capable of safely lifting heavy loads and paying attention to detail. 

The main part of this role is packing veg bags and staffing one of our collection points, however, we also need someone who can provide holiday cover for our delivery driver. For this reason we need a confident driver preferably with experience of driving a long wheel base van in city areas. For insurance purposes, you will need to be aged 25 or over. The role will also involve some general admin work, such as dealing with customer enquiries by email.

A typical week will include packing veg bags on Mondays and Wednesdays at our packing unit. This could involve collecting produce from suppliers, portioning produce, packing veg bags and organising deliveries. Tuesdays would involve packing the van and delivering our veg bags to a small number of collection points in the morning, then staffing our collection point at the University Of Manchester. This will involve setting up our stall, selling produce and communicating with our customers and the public. 

Holiday cover will include delivering our veg bags to customers and partner collection points. This will involve loading the van, making deliveries, liaising with collection points and talking to customers. Delivery days are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There is also the option for the right candidate to take on more of an admin role to cover tasks such as comms, marketing and writing the weekly newsletter.

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Main Duties 

Below is a non-exclusive list of the main duties, working as part of the team to facilitate the smooth running of the veg box scheme, including:

Helping to deliver our weekly service

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• Driving a long wheelbase van to collect produce form suppliers, and checking quantities against invoices.
• Problem solving any quantity issues, liasing with other co-op members and suppliers.
• Weighing out produce into portions and packing veg bags.
• Keeping our work space clean, tidy and organised.
• Working independently to carry out the packing process, and keeping track of progress with the team.
• Organising and labelling orders for delivery.
• Working with the team to adapt processes to improve efficiency and to provide a great service.
• Continuing to develop relationships with growers to secure the supply of local, organic produce throughout the seasons.
• Staffing one of our collections points: setting up the stall, giving out our veg bags to our customers, dealing with enquiries from the public at the stall. 

Providing holiday cover for the distribution of our produce

• Driving a long wheel base van to deliver produce to various locations at specific times.
• Heavy lifting of crates of fresh produce into and out of the van.
• Delivering orders correctly and processing any paperwork accurately. 
• You must be a confident and responsible driver, who is good at planning routes and can drive calmly and carefully despite time pressure, traffic and parking conditions.
• Caring about the produce as much as we do, and being the vital link between the growers and the customers: providing encouragement but also collecting feedback in order to improve our service. 

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Person Specification 

Experience of working in a small team

Essential

Able to learn on the job and think on your feet 

Essential

Good communication and presentation skills

Essential

Experience in customer service

Desirable

Confident in talking to new partners and customers

Desirable

Cooperation and teamwork

Ability to discuss objectively in order to make collective decisions

Essential

Good attention to detail 

Essential

Good problem solving skills

Essential

Punctual and reliable

Essential

Competence, Skills and Knowledge

Clean driving licence and confident driver

Essential

Experience driving a large vehicle around a city

Essential

Experience in a manual handling role

Desirable

Willingness and flexibility to undertake any relevant training required

Essential

Good communication skills with the ability to work with people from a variety of backgrounds

Essential

Personal

Enthusiasm and dedication to sustainable food issues

Desirable

Ability to work in challenging conditions (e.g. in cold etc.)

Essential

High degree of personal motivation and initiative

Essential

Physically fit as heavy lifting is required

Essential

Willingness to work on Bank Holidays

Essential

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How to apply: Please send us your CV and a covering letter detailing how you meet the person spec and return to: hello@vegboxpeople.org.uk with the subject  ‘VBP Packer and Driver Job’ 

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