Head of Operations at Alexandra Rose Charity

Why this role matters

Alexandra Rose run practical place-based food system transformation projects based around a voucher for fresh fruit & veg. We currently have 9 projects across the UK, and we’re aiming to scale in the coming years. Each project operates the same model, but each project adapts to work with different communities, different languages, different community support infrastructure, different retail options, and more.

At the core, we work with local trusted community organisations who distribute our vouchers to local families on low incomes with young children, and in some areas to local adults on low incomes managing food related health conditions (diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, etc). Voucher distribution is linked to a range of wider wrap around services to ensure that our projects support people in getting out of poverty in real and long-lasting ways. Our vouchers area accepted exclusively by local, independent healthy food businesses, ensuring that we are also supporting a fairer, healthier local food economy.

Our model directly tackles the barriers of affordability and accessibility to the most nutrient dense and most expensive element of a healthy diet. We change the health outcomes of young children and adults living with food related health conditions. We actively change the food environment that is available to a range of people who have been disadvantaged for decades.

As we grow nationally and expand the reach of our projects across multiple regions, we need strong operational leadership to ensure we can deliver consistently, efficiently and with confidence. You will help shape the systems and structures that support our operations, building on the strong work of our existing project teams.

This role is central to developing an operational approach that is both standardised and adaptable, supporting diverse communities while ensuring high-quality delivery, compliance, data collection and organisational resilience. As a senior leader, you will be an active part of the organisation’s Senior Management Team, and play a vital role in guiding the organisation through change, whether driven by shifts in policy, political context, funding environment or community need.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership & Systems Development

• Build on the strong work of our project teams to develop consistent, scalable systems and processes that support effective delivery across different communities.
• Lead the design, implementation and continuous improvement of robust operational systems: data management, compliance, monitoring, reporting, risk management and quality assurance.
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations (including data protection/GDPR), charity governance requirements and internal administrative standards.
• Work closely with external tech support and internal teams to maintain and improve our digital platforms and tools.

Project Oversight & Delivery

• Provide leadership and coordination to regional project coordinators, ensuring high-quality delivery and alignment with organisational standards.
• Oversee the development of a simple, practical monitoring, evaluation and reporting framework to enable accurate tracking of reach, impact and performance across all projects.
• Support internal reporting to the CEO, SMT and Board, and external reporting to funders, partners and local authorities.

Financial & Resource Management

• Work with the Head of Finance to align operational budgets with organisational priorities, ensuring responsible resource allocation and cost-effective delivery.
• Contribute to financial forecasting and scenario planning from an operational perspective.

Organisational Resilience & Adaptability
• Contribute to organisational planning in response to external changes (policy shifts, political changes, funding conditions, inflationary pressures, etc.).
• Lead operational risk management and ensure continuity of delivery under changing circumstances.
• Promote a culture that values clarity, reliability, adaptability and dignity in service delivery.

Team & Stakeholder Management

• Line-manage project coordinators.
• Maintain strong relationships with local partners, community organisations and local authorities to support effective delivery.
• Support clear internal communication so that people understand processes, compliance expectations and their roles in operational delivery.