durham jobs in Durham

Are you a passionate catering professional with strong leadership skills and a commitment to delivering outstanding customer experiences? We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Café Co-ordinator to help lead the operation and development of our popular café at Hardwick Park.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in one of the regions most visited parks, which has seen significant recent investment and attracts around half a million visitors per year, helping to deliver high-quality food and service, enhancing Durham County Councils reputation and maximising income opportunities.

WHAT IS INVOLVED?

As Café Co-ordinator, you will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the café, ensuring high standards of food quality, presentation, hygiene, customer service, and financial performance. You will supervise and support a dedicated team of staff, making effective use of resources to deliver an exceptional visitor experience.

Working within the Parks Food Hygiene Policy and budget, you will support business growth, contribute to menu development, manage stock and staffing resources, and ensure compliance with all relevant health, safety, hygiene, and food safety regulations.

Key Responsibilities

• Organise and oversee daily café operations to maintain excellent standards of food quality, presentation, and customer service.
• Supervise, motivate, and develop staff, including inductions and ongoing training.
• Prepare staff rotas to meet service demands while remaining within budget constraints.
• Ensure full compliance with Food Hygiene, SFBB, HACCP, COSHH, Health and Safety, and Fire Safety requirements.
• Manage stock ordering, stock control, cash reconciliation, till records, and timesheets.
• Assist with menu planning, food preparation, bakery production, and product development.
• Monitor income, expenditure, and sales performance, contributing to business growth and service improvement.
• Support the planning and delivery of outdoor events and specialist catering activities.
• Maintain a safe, clean, secure, and welcoming environment for staff and visitors.
• Contribute to the development of new catering initiatives and improvements to service provision.

We encourage you to contact Paul Everson via email at paul.everson@durham.gov.uk to arrange an informal discussion about the role.

WHAT WILL I NEED?
Essential Qualifications

• Level 2 CIEH Food Hygiene Certificate (or equivalent).
• NVQ Level 3 or equivalent qualification in Catering or Food Preparation (e.g. City and Guilds 705/706, 707, 708).Essential Experience
• Experience of supervising, leading, and motivating staff within a catering environment.
• Previous experience working in a busy catering operation.
• Experience using IT systems including Microsoft Word and Excel.Please refer to the attached Person Specification for the full criteria.

INTERVIEWS
Interviews will be held week commencing 12th October.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran.

OUR OFFER TO YOU
We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable.

Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website

Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent people and offer support throughout the recruitment process.

HOW TO APPLY
Please note, we do not accept CVs. All applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Use the Person Specification section of the form to clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential (and where possible, desirable) criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted.

Please visit our website to understand our position on using AI to support your application and for guidance on completing your application.

If you require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, (option 4) or via email recruitmentNE@durham.gov.uk

All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from donotreply@northeastjobs.org.uk. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you dont miss any updates.

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