Catering Assistant

Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; East Grinstead; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tailored personal development

Flexible working arrangements

Discounts and tax relief schemes

Job summary

Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting for a Main area Catering Grade NHS AfC Band 2 role. The post is permanent, full time (37.5 hours per week) with a rotational pattern including weekends and bank holidays, at East Grinstead.

Salary £25,272 per annum. The post involves working primarily in the catering department to prepare and serve meals while maintaining high standards of cleanliness, hygiene and food safety.

Qualifications

• Basic numeracy and literacy
• Undertake food service to patients, staff and visitors
• Ensure presentation, portion control, temperature control and food quality standards
• Carry out the preparation of snacks and salads to required standards
• Undertake the cleaning of floors, surfaces and equipment in kitchen/dining area
• Replenish stock items from catering stores; some manual handling involved
• Attend training programmes as directed by Food and Beverage Manager
• Check temperatures of refrigerators and maintain records
• Dispose of catering waste following policy; operate waste disposal unit
• Adopt a flexible approach; may work in central kitchen, stores or restaurant
• Respect equality and diversity in relation to patients, colleagues and visitors
• Operate equipment after training (e.g., dishwasher, fryer, oven)

Responsibilities

• Undertake food service to patients, staff and visitors.
• Ensure presentation, portion control, temperature, and food quality standards.
• Carry out snacks and salads preparation and items for sale.
• Clean floors, surfaces and kitchen/dining equipment.
• Replenish stock from catering stores; some manual handling.
• Attend necessary training as directed by the Food and Beverage Manager.

Skills

Food service

Food safety

Cleaning

Flexibility

Teamwork

Manual handling

Education

NVQ Level 2 Food Safety Certificate

Job description

Main area Catering Grade NHS AfC: Band 2 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Rotational shift pattern involves weekend and bank holidays.) Job ref 276-8035735-AfC

Site Queen Victoria Hospital Town East Grinstead Salary £25,272 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 17/08/2026 23:59

Welcome to Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and thank you for your interest.

In addition to receiving tertiary referrals from across the South East of England, we have a network of ‘spoke’ sites at district general hospitals enabling our consultants to offer their expertise with routine treatments and consultations as close to patients’ homes as is possible. With the recent addition of video led ‘virtual’ consultations we also enable patients who have some distance to travel to avoid the additional stress and worry of a long journey.

Working at QVH combines the excitement, challenge and career opportunities of many larger organisations with the satisfaction of delivering excellent patient care that really does re-build our patients’ lives.

We also offer attractive benefits such as

• tailored personal development to support career aspirations, including accredited clinical and management development programmes
• flexible working arrangements for a work-life balance that suits you and your needs
• a dedicated reward programme, offering a range of national and local discounts, cashback and tax relief schemes

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Sustainability

At Queen Victoria Hospital we want to be the first Net Zero Hospital in England, and to achieve that wants every member of staff to be a green champion. The way in which the Trust works has a significant impact on the organisation’s carbon footprint and that of our patients. From the heat, light and power supplies within the hospital to avoiding unnecessary patient journeys, the Trust is empowering all staff to create a sustainable health and care environment for future generations. The Trust expects all staff to reuse and recycle more, to use energy and water efficiently, to walk or cycle to work if you can, and to have a focus on sustainability in the workplace.

We have an exciting opportunity to join our Catering Department and make a real difference to the experience of our patients, staff and visitors. Working primarily within the kitchen, you will assist with the preparation and service of food, ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness, hygiene and food safety are consistently achieved. The successful candidate will be a flexible, reliable team player who thrives in a busy and supportive environment.

Main duties of the job

• Undertake food service to patients, staff and visitors.
• Ensure that presentation, portion control, temperature control and food quality standards are adhered to.
• Carry out the preparation of snacks and salads to the required standards and any other food items required for sale.
• Undertake the cleaning of floors, surfaces and equipment within the kitchen and dining room as appropriate.
• Replenish stock items in the restaurant/kitchen from catering stores, there is a degree of manual handling and lifting involved within this role.
• Attend any necessary training program as directed by the Food and Beverage Manager.
• Check temperatures of refrigerators and maintain all records.
• Dispose of all catering waste according to departmental policy which includes the operation of waste disposal unit.
• Adopt a flexible approach as there may be a requirement to work in either the central kitchen, stores or the restaurant.
• Respect all issues in relation to equality and diversity in relation to patients, colleagues and visitors.
• Operate equipment as required following appropriate training e.g. central dishwasher/pot wash, deep fat fryer/oven, toasted sandwich maker and any other equipment as appropriate.

Working for our organisation

Rated GOOD overall with outstanding care by the CQC. A specialist NHS hospital providing life-changing reconstructive surgery, burns care and rehabilitation services across the South of England and beyond.

We specialise in conditions of the eyes (corneoplastics), hands, head and neck cancer and skin cancer, reconstructive breast surgery, maxillofacial surgery and prosthetics, providing regional and national services in these areas of clinical expertise.Our world-leading clinical teams also treat more common conditions of the eyes, hands, skin, and teeth for the people of East Grinstead and the surrounding areas. In addition, QVH provides a minor injuries unit, expert therapies, a sleep service, and a growing portfolio of community-based services.Patients consistently rate QVH amongst the top hospitals in the country for quality of care.

Our success is underpinned by the skills and enthusiasm of our staff and a strong culture of partnership. We are fully committed to training and development of the workforce with support for continuing education and learning.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Undertake food service to patients, staff and visitors.
• Ensure that presentation, portion control, temperature control and food quality standards are adhered to.
• Carry out the preparation of snacks and salads to the required standards and any other food items required for sale.
• Undertake the cleaning of floors, surfaces and equipment within the kitchen and dining room as appropriate.
• Replenish stock items in the restaurant/kitchen from catering stores, there is a degree of manual handling and lifting involved within this role.
• Attend any necessary training program as directed by the Food and Beverage Manager.
• Check temperatures of refrigerators and maintain all records.
• Dispose of all catering waste according to departmental policy which includes the operation of waste disposal unit.
• Adopt a flexible approach as there may be a requirement to work in either the central kitchen, stores or the restaurant.
• Respect all issues in relation to equality and diversity in relation to patients, colleagues and visitors.
• Operate equipment as required following appropriate training e.g. central dishwasher/pot wash, deep fat fryer/oven, toasted sandwich maker and any other equipment as appropriate.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Basic numeracy and literacy
• NVQ Level two Food Safety Certificate

Experience

• Has worked within a busy catering service
• To have worked in a service/customer environment
• Experience of working within a team environment
• Relevant experience of working in a similar food preparation environment
• Working in a healthcare environment

The closing date given is a guide only. There may be some occasions when we have to close a vacancy once sufficient applications have been received. You are therefore advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.