Mobile Head of Kitchen - Southampton

ity Catering are a Charity, that provide great quality, nutritious meals to Primary and Secondary School Children throughout Southampton, as well as to the vulnerable within the local Community.

What Are We Looking For?

We are looking for an experienced and talented Mobile Head of Kitchen, who understands our charitable mission and who can lead our teams across various schools in Southampton in delivering an amazing catering service.

You’ll be leading many talented teams, providing anything from 100-500 meals per day. You’ll be encouraging and motivating those teams, mentoring them through their development and of course, you’ll be delivering excellent customer service to the School and the Children.

This role is a very busy one, travelling & providing cover in the local schools, juggling a lot of tasks and you’ll be on your feet a lot! But it is also an incredibly rewarding role for the right candidate!

The Details

The role is Term Time, Monday to Friday, 30 hours per week and the hourly rate is £13.02 per hour.

What’s On Offer?

Joining our Charity really is an experience. As an employer, our focus is on you, ensuring you have the right tools to deliver excellence on a daily basis.

Our hourly rates are highly competitive, we offer a great pension contribution and we also offer Life Assurance to all our colleagues.

We are big on engagement with all of our colleagues, so expect to be rewarded for your service milestones, have your birthday celebrated and your hard worked recognised.

We are big on Development and Training, so expect lots of opportunities within your role to gain more skills and knowledge.

We are also big on retention – nearly 45% of our Charity have been with us for over 5 years and nearly 30% of them, over 10 years. There’s a reason for that….we look after our colleagues. We have a great Employee Assistance Program and a growing number of Mental Health First Aiders and Champions in the Charity.

Flexible working hours! Our roles offer great flexibility around school hours, term time holidays and family life.

We also offer a generous refer a friend scheme, sick pay upon completing your probation and paid training courses.

What Will You Be Doing as a Mobile Head of Kitchen?

Travelling and providing cover in various schools across Southampton.

Planning, preparing & cooking great food with exceptional presentation.

Ensuring our allergen and special diet menus are followed to the letter and making sure your team are aware and familiar with all children who have an allergy and the process involved.

Being creatively engaging with the children, the school and the parents. This is so important to us!

Be prepared to go that extra mile with catering for school events, like Parents Evenings.

Setting an example to the team with minimising waste and controlling ingredients and resources to keep the unit running on a set cost per meal.

Managing all aspects of Health & Safety, environment and quality assurance.

Be technically savvy, we use tablets and a lot of technology in our kitchens for temp controls, cleaning checks and routines, timesheets and meal numbers.

Build and maintain positive and professional relationships, demonstrating constructive and engaging management skills for your team, including managing the odd moment of conflict in the busy kitchen.

What Do You Need To Have?

Due to the nature of this role, you'll need to hold a driving license with access to your own vehicle. The successful candidate will be expected to work in locations across the whole of Southampton, so the willingness and ability to travel is critical. (Mileage expenses from a central base location are paid)

Experience of managing a kitchen, and a knowledge of food preparation and cooking including methods, portions, cost control, stock rotation and ordering.

The ability to lead, motivate and manage colleagues well.

A knowledge of common food allergens and special diets.

A knowledge of food safety/kitchen hygiene and HACCP. An NVQ/Level 3 qualification in Food Safety Hygiene (or equivalent) would be advantageous.

Absolute and unquestionable commitment to the Safeguarding of the schools children. (This position is subject to a successful DBS clearance, the cost of which is covered by the Charity).

Numeracy, budgetary skills and literacy in using IT.

Experience in the training and development of colleagues.

As an equal opportunities employer, our Charity is committed to providing a welcoming and positive culture of working relationships, in which all colleagues are treated with dignity and respect. Our Charity is equally committed to providing diversity and equality to all, irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, pregnancy & maternity, race, religion/belief, gender and sexual orientation.

Job Type: Part-time, Permanent

Salary: £13.02 per hour

Expected hours: 30 per week

Benefits:

• Life insurance

• Friend referral programme

• On-site parking

Schedule:

• Day shift

• Monday to Friday

• No weekends

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Southampton, Hampshire: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Experience:

Managing a Kitchen: 1 year (preferred)

Licence/Certification:

• Level 3 Food Hygiene Certificate? (preferred)

Work Location: In person

Reference ID: Mobile Head of Kitchen