Interim CEO City Harvest

Join City Harvest as Interim CEO and play an integral part in London's safe, sustainable solution to surplus food redistribution. City Harvest rescues food, people and the planet.

• Location: West London, 4 days in the office, 1 day at home. Minimum 9 months
• Salary: Up to £90,000 per annum

We ensure no good food is wasted and your surplus reaches those who need it most, diverted from landfill. We also help companies achieve Sustainable Development Goals. We provide free food to organisations supporting the homeless, food banks, children and family groups providing food parcels, community and faith groups feeding those in need, women's refuges, the elderly and mental health groups.

'The Office' - award winning content series showing our staff explaining what they do and who we feed. Our drivers are our ambassadors who are paid the London Living wage and have unique bonds with the charities they deliver to on their weekly routes.

City Harvest is London's original surplus food redistribution charity, delivering free nutritious food to 350+ organisations. Due to the rising cost of living, 1 in 4 people face food poverty in London, with the use of food banks a 'new normal' for far too many.

City Harvest is a sustainable solution to food businesses and society, tackling food waste and food poverty. Rescuing Food, People and Planet. Every day, our fleet of vans rescues surplus food from retailers, manufacturers, markets and events, resulting in the reduction of food waste and greenhouse gas emissions. We currently deliver food for 15 million meals a year, that's food for 41,000+ meals a day!

Ten years old, our roots are deep and far-reaching across London. First responders to Grenfell, emergency workers in the pandemic, City Harvest continues its mission to rescue and feed people in need across all London Boroughs.

We are the charity for charities supporting the homeless, food banks, children and family groups providing food parcels, community and faith groups feeding those in need, women's refuges, the elderly and mental health groups. If people need food, we will do everything we can to help.

About the role

City Harvest is seeking an experienced, values-led Interim Chief Executive Officer to guide the organisation through a period of revitalisation.

This is a unique leadership opportunity to shape the future of one of the capital's most vital social impact organisations, ensuring food reaches people who need it most, safely, efficiently and with dignity.

As Interim CEO, you will provide strategic clarity, operational stability and inclusive leadership. Working closely with the Board of Trustees and senior leadership team, you will:

• Build trust and alignment with people across the organisation and wider community.
• Strengthen our long term financial situation, building sustainability and driving income growth.
• Lead a cultural shift to build a more transparent, inclusive, high performing environment.
• Ensure the continued delivery of safe, reliable and efficient food redistribution services.
• Develop and execute a short term business plan within the first two months, with clear milestones across the duration of the contract.

This is an opportunity to apply your senior leadership experience to an organisation tackling some of today's most pressing challenges.

Who we are looking for

You are a proven leader who thrives in periods of change. You bring a clear, compassionate and collaborative leadership style, along with commercial acumen, to deliver performance under pressure.

• CEO/COO experience in a charity or social enterprise
• Successful track record of organisational development
• Deep experience in financial management (budgets of at least £4M)
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and communication skills
• Experience with volunteer based operations, logistics, or warehouse management
• Strong understanding of charitable fundraising and/or income generation strategies
• Familiarity with safeguarding and health & safety in a fast paced environment
• Enthusiasm for the City Harvest mission "to reduce food poverty and protect the planet by diverting nutritious food from waste to those in need."

Charity experience is essential, and it would be desirable to have experience in a complex operations business, such as logistics or supply chain.

This is a pivotal moment for City Harvest. The need for our services is growing. With your leadership, we can move into our next chapter with renewed confidence, clarity, and compassion - delivering life changing impact for thousands of people across London.

If you share in our vision and have the change management and transformation experience to help make that vision happen, we would love to hear from you.

For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:

To formally apply, please submit a CV and supporting statement (ideally maximum 2 sides of A4 each) that clearly outlines your suitability for the role against the criteria provided in the person specification, including your interest and motivation in applying for this position.

Please ensure that your application is emailed to , inserting "Application: City Harvest-Interim CEO" into the subject field. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt within 2 3 days. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, please contact our admin team.

For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:

As a sector leading executive search consultancy, we know the importance of creating recruitment processes that are fair, inclusive, and free from bias. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a process that values differences.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010 and can show that you meet the 'essential' criteria described in the person specification, please let us know.

If you require any job information in an alternative format (e.g. large print), please contact Louise Steer. Please also let us know if you would like to submit your application in an alternative format.

Recruitment selection processes are based on evidence of competence stated in the person specification and in relation to our values.

Timetable

Closing date: 9 a.m. Wednesday 15th October 2025
Candidates informed of outcome: Thursday 16th October 2025
Interviews: Thursday 23rd or Friday 24th October TBC

We are in the process of confirming interview dates. Once confirmed, we will update the site and contact those who have applied.

Peridot and City Harvest are committed to promoting equality and diversity. To help us raise awareness and support a culture that is diverse and recognises and develops the potential of all, we need to appreciate the profile of candidates who apply for positions. We will send you an equality monitoring survey at the point of receiving your application and at the time of placement. This ensures that our processes remain inclusive and equitable throughout, and provides us with important data to help us showcase our impact.

The information will be treated confidentially and anonymously and will help us to support our commitment to fair recruitment practice. All information provided will be held in the strictest confidence and will not be shared with anyone, in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 launched on 25 May 2018.

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