
Community Meals Manager
About us.
North Somerset Council is committed to providing high-quality services to our community. We are committed to creating a fair, green, and more inclusive environment for all our residents. Join us and contribute to making a positive impact on our community.
The role.
Lead a Service That Makes a Real Difference Every Day.
Are you an inspiring leader with a passion for delivering excellent services that help people live independently in their own homes?
We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated and forward-thinking Community Meals Team Manager to lead our valued Community Meals Service across North Somerset. This is a rewarding opportunity to manage a dedicated team that provides nutritious meals, welfare checks and vital daily contact to older and disabled residents throughout the community.
Every meal delivered is more than just food – it is reassurance, wellbeing and support for some of our most vulnerable residents. As Team Manager, you will play a key role in ensuring our service remains safe, efficient, innovative and focused on delivering outstanding outcomes for local people.
About the role.
As Community Meals Team Manager, you will lead a team of cooks, drivers and lead drivers to deliver a high-quality, customer-focused service operating seven days a week and on bank holidays (excluding Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
You will:
- Lead, motivate and develop a dedicated team to provide an excellent community meals service.
- Ensure compliance with food hygiene, nutritional standards, vehicle requirements and relevant regulations.
- Drive service improvement initiatives and embed new ways of working that improve efficiency and customer experience.
- Manage budgets, monitor performance and identify opportunities to maximise income and reduce waste.
- Provide professional supervision, coaching and support to team members.
- Build strong relationships with service users, colleagues and partner agencies.
- Contribute to emergency planning arrangements by supporting catering provision during emergency situations.
- Produce management information and performance reports to support informed decision-making.
- Maintain a strong focus on safeguarding, wellbeing and positive outcomes for residents.
The qualities we value.
We're looking for someone who demonstrates:
- Outstanding leadership and teamwork.
- A strong service-user focus.
- Effective problem-solving and sound judgement.
- Excellent planning and organisational skills.
- Commercial and business awareness.
- A commitment to our values, behaviours and continuous improvement.
Why join us?
This is more than a management role - it's an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of people across North Somerset every day.
You'll join a supportive organisation that values innovation, partnership working and professional development, while leading a service that helps residents remain independent, connected and well in their own homes.
If you're passionate about leading people, driving improvement and delivering services that truly matter, we'd love to hear from you.
Apply today and help us deliver more than meals – deliver independence, wellbeing and support to our community.
This position is exempt under the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions) Order 1975 and is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.
Valid driving licence and own transport, or be able to provide alternative, suitable method of travel is an essential condition for this role.
This position is currently based at our Town Hall Office in Weston-Super-Mare.
Work style.
At North Somerset Council, we offer a hybrid working environment based on four distinct work styles. Depending on the role and personal circumstances, you will fall into one of these categories. However, please note that during the induction period, it may be necessary to spend more time in the office to support your learning and development. We are flexible and open to discussions about your preferred working style, and if you wish to be in the office more frequently, this can be negotiated.
This role falls into the category of Flexible Worker which means you can expect to work in the following way:
- 2-3 days in the office.
- Works both from home and the office, depending on the task at hand.
- Training is provided to help balance work-life and manage time effectively, with an emphasis on communication for team touchpoints and planning in-office days for collaboration.
About you.
We're seeking a manager who combines operational excellence with genuine compassion for the people we serve.
Essential criteria:
You will have:
- A vocational qualification at NVQ Level 4 (or higher) relevant to the service area, or equivalent experience providing the same level of knowledge.
- A Basic Food Hygiene Certificate Level 2, or a willingness to obtain this qualification.
- Experience working within domiciliary care, catering within a care setting, community services or a related environment.
- Experience leading, managing and supervising staff teams.
- Experience delivering services and supporting teams to achieve high standards of performance.
- Experience implementing service improvements and embedding new ways of working.
- Knowledge of budget management and financial monitoring.
- Knowledge and understanding of safeguarding principles and procedures.
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise workload and manage competing demands.
- The ability to analyse performance, identify opportunities for improvement and implement effective solutions.
- A commitment to dignity, respect and person-centred service delivery.
- An understanding of professional boundaries and standards of conduct.
- A satisfactory enhanced DBS check.
Desirable criteria:
It would be advantageous if you have:
- Management experience within a community meal’s, social care or adult services setting.
- Experience managing catering operations and food production services.
- Experience managing vehicle-based operational teams or logistics services.
- Experience working with older people and adults with disabilities.
- Knowledge of nutritional guidance for older adults and vulnerable people.
- Experience promoting services and supporting business development activities.
- Experience producing performance reports and analysing service data.
- Knowledge of local authority services and partnership working arrangements.
- Experience of emergency planning or business continuity arrangements.
What we offer.
At North Somerset Council, we value our employees and provide a supportive and inclusive work environment.
We offer:
- Competitive salary and benefits.
- Flexible working arrangements.
- Local Government Pension.
- Opportunities for professional development.
- Inclusive Staff groups including Carers, Disabled, LGBTQ+, REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), and Young Staff Forums.
- Opportunity to purchase up to an additional 10 days annual leave each year.
- Dedicated in house Wellbeing Team.
- Salary sacrifice Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle schemes.
Further details of our excellent rewards package can be found in our Benefits booklet.
How to apply.
If you share our vision and values and are ready to make an impact to North Somerset, please select the apply online button below. If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please submit your application by 11.59pm on the application closing date. When completing our online application form, please detail how you meet the essential criteria for the role.
Contact information.
For further information about the role, please contact Teresa Stanley, Head of Strategy and Commissioning, at teresa.stanley@n-somerset.gov.uk.
Important information.
As a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job role.
Interview Date: To be confirmed.
Please note: We are currently only able to accept applications from candidates who have full permission to work in the UK and are unable to provide Sponsorship for this role.
Equal opportunities.
At North Somerset Council we want all our employees to feel valued and appreciated. We aim to ensure equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination irrespective of your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, age, disability, including neurodiversity, if you are married or in a civil partnership or are pregnant or currently on maternity leave. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
We reserve the right to close this advertisement early or extend the closing date depending on the number of applications received.
Salary range
- £39,152 - £41,771 per year














