Catering Assistant

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Kettering; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 28,000; Part time

Job summary

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a part-time Catering Assistant at St Mary’s Hospital, Kettering. The role involves delivering meals, prep, and ensuring high hygiene standards in a hands-on kitchen environment.

Hours are 30 per week, Monday to Friday, with a pro rata annual salary of £25,272. The post is permanent and located at St Mary’s Hospital, Kettering, within NHFT’s catering team supporting ward service.

Qualifications

• Experience in food preparation or in a similar environment.
• Knowledge of COSHH regulations and allergens.
• Ability to follow hygiene and food safety practices.

Responsibilities

• Communicate with others in a prompt, polite and friendly manner.
• Preparation, cooking and service in the Café retail outlet as required.
• Prepare and assemble stock items within the café retail outlet.
• Assist in cash handling as and when required as per local policy.
• Take phone calls for required food/beverage orders from customers.
• Liaise with other Catering staff/Volunteer staff to ensure timely service.
• Understand COSHH regulations and ensure compliance.
• General cleaning of the kitchen and its equipment in accordance with cleaning schedules.
• Prepare, cook, and assemble food items using specialised catering equipment and skills.
• Prepare filled sandwiches, salads and desserts for the patient menu.
• Assist with the daily preparation of ward trolleys and deliver to ward kitchens
• Monitor and record temperatures of all food items and equipment.
• Assist with preparation and delivery of buffets and functions.
• Complete all relevant paperwork as necessary required by department procedure

Skills

Experience in food preparation

COSHH & Allergens knowledge

Job description

Main area Catering Grade Band 2 Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 30 hours per week (Monday to Friday 9.00am - 3.00pm) Job ref 270-TH359-HS

Site St Marys Hospital Town Kettering Salary £25,272 P/A pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 25/09/2026 23:59

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for individuals to apply for the position of Catering Assistant at St Mary's Hospital, Kettering. We are looking for an enthusiastic, reliable, and self-motivated person to become a part of our team. Duties will include delivery of meals and provisions to the wards, cleaning of the kitchen area and the equipment to the highest standard, general catering duties e.g. making sandwiches and salads and food preparation. This is a hands on post so good cooking skills and knowledge will be required. Impeccable hygiene standards knowledge and practices will also be a requirement of the successful applicant. A good knowledge of catering practices and procedures will be required which may have been gained in a similar hospital environment or in the catering private sector.

Hours: 30 hours per week, Monday - Friday 09.00am - 15:00, Shift pattern may be subject to change.

Main duties of the job

• Communicate with others in a prompt, polite and friendly manner.
• Preparation, cooking and service in the Café retail outlet as required.
• Prepare and assemble stock items within the café retail outlet.
• Assist in cash handling as and when required as per local policy.
• Take phones calls for required food/beverage orders from customers.
• Liaise with other Catering staff/Volunteer staff to ensure timely service.
• To understand COSHH regulations (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) and ensure compliance.
• General cleaning of the kitchen and its equipment in accordance with cleaning schedules.
• Prepare, cook, and assemble food items using specialised catering equipment and skills, including knife skills, mixing and slicing, mandolin machines, steam ovens and brat pan use. The list of equipment is not exhaustive.
• Prepare filled sandwiches, salads and desserts for the patient menu.
• Assist with the daily preparation of ward trolleys and deliver to ward kitchens
• Undertake duties relating to the temperature monitoring and recording of all food items and equipment.
• Assist with the preparation and delivery of buffets and functions.
• Complete all relevant paperwork as necessary required by department procedure

Further information relating to the main duties of this role can be found in the job description attached to this vacancy.

Working for our organisation

NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools.We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the ‘About You’ Section of the document.

Person specification

Experience

• Experience in food preparation or in similar environment
• Knowledge of COSHH & Allergens

Skills

• To be able to carry out written and verbal instructions
• Experience in a similar role or industry
• An understanding of the importance of hygiene
• An understanding of the importance of health and safety
• Use, experience and knowledge of computer technologies

By completing an application you are giving authorisation for the transfer of your data. In submitting an application form, you authorise us to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process. Including factual reference, occupational health clearance and statutory and mandatory training records and full service history.

You must ensure that your application, including supporting statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

Correspondence regarding your application will be sent to you via a TRAC system account.

Please submit your application as soon as possible; due to the high volumes of applications we receive we reserve the right to close any adverts before the closing date once we have received sufficient applications.

We are an equal opportunities employer, which aims to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons from all backgrounds.

All roles are subject to the home office immigration rules and therefore eligibility must meet certain requirements for any sponsorship to be considered. Please visit the government website for more information regarding eligibility,

At NHFT we support many of our colleagues to work flexibly and we will consider requests for flexible working from day one. For this role, we are open to discussing a range of options including flexible hours, agile/home working, compressed hours and part time hours. Please have a conversation with the recruiting manager about the flexibility you need and we will promise to explore what is possible with you.

Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme. If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible.

All posts that are engaged in a regulated activity will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and a DBS re-check on a three yearly basis whilst employed in such a role. Staff employed in these posts will therefore be asked to register with the DBS Automatic Update Service upon receipt of their DBS certificate and must update yearly , the annual fee will be reimbursed subject to Trust policy. For further information please visit: DBS Update Service: applicant guide - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please note if a DBS is applicable for the position then a charge will be deducted from your first salary.

Please note that all new starters to the trustare subject to a probationary period.

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.