Ess Catering Manager jobs

Catering Manager – Mill Hill County High School – NW7 4LL
£45k – £50k depending on experience
40 Hours per week
Monday to Friday term time contract

Are you a passionate catering professional with a chef background and experience in education catering?

We're looking for an exceptional Catering Manager to lead our catering operation. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about great food, enjoys leading and developing people, and takes pride in delivering an outstanding dining experience for students and staff.

You'll be a hands-on leader who thrives in a busy environment, inspires your team to perform at their best, and understands the unique demands of catering within an educational setting.

Harrison Catering Services are an independent, family-owned company, which has achieved consistent growth year after year by keeping the core values upon which it was founded.

We are looking for a Catering Manager to lead one of our school catering teams. The position will be responsible for providing a catering service, managing the team, maintaining stock control, planning menus and any additional hospitality requirements.

What we are looking for

• Proven experience managing a successful catering operation within the education sector.
• A professional chef background with excellent culinary knowledge and a passion for producing fresh, high-quality food.
• Strong leadership and people management skills, with the ability to motivate, coach, and develop a high-performing team.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritise workloads and meet deadlines.
• A thorough understanding of education catering, including nutritional standards, allergen management, food safety, and compliance.
• Experience managing budgets, stock control, food costs, labour costs, and purchasing.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to build positive relationships with colleagues, students, clients, and stakeholders.
• A proactive, enthusiastic, and customer-focused approach with a genuine passion for delivering exceptional service.

The ideal candidate will have proven craft and management skills, a real passion for fresh food and previous client liaison experience. Ideally qualified to NVQ level 2 in Professional Cookery or equivalent, you will be rewarded with a competitive salary.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the day-to-day catering operation.
• Deliver consistently high standards of food quality and customer service.
• Inspire, manage, and develop your catering team.
• Ensure full compliance with Food Safety, HACCP, Health & Safety, and company policies.
• Plan menus that are nutritious, appealing, and meet education catering standards.
• Monitor budgets, food costs, stock levels, and labour to achieve financial targets.
• Drive innovation, improve service standards, and enhance the customer experience.
• Build strong working relationships with the school leadership team and other key stakeholders.
• Ensure a safe, clean, and welcoming catering environment always.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, all successful applicants will be required to complete an enhanced DBS application, provide 2 references and have right to work in the UK.

There are opportunities for those who wish to develop their career further within Harrison Catering Services, we have a number of craft and management workshops, should you wish to further develop your skills.

Our benefits include:

• Permanent Term time contract
• Excellent training and opportunities for career progression
• High street and online discount scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• 5.6 Weeks Holiday (Inc. Bank Holidays)
• Pension Scheme
• Life Assurance Scheme

Suitable candidates will receive a response within 5 working days.

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Job Type: Full-time

Pay: £40,000.00-£45,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension

Application question(s):

• Do you have experience of managing a variety of dining facility services with high volumes of pupils and staff, exceeding service for 300 individuals?

Experience:

• Catering management: 2 years (required)
• Team management: 1 year (required)
• Hospitality support for fundraising: 1 year (required)

Work authorisation:

• United Kingdom (required)

Work Location: In person