Catering Assistant

NHS Orkney; Kirkwall; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 29,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Work-life balance policies

Employee assistance programme

Discounts

Job summary

NHS Orkney is seeking a General Catering Assistant to join the Catering Team at The Balfour, supporting food preparation, restaurant operations, and customer service.

The post is based at The Balfour with part-time hours (23 per week) and a permanent contract. You will work as part of a small team, helping chefs and delivering meals to wards.

Training towards an elementary food hygiene certificate is provided, and you must reside in the UK. NHS Orkney offers a competitive salary and benefits.

Qualifications

• Training towards elementary food hygiene certificate provided by NHS Orkney.
• Applicants must live and remain a resident within the UK.

Responsibilities

• Assist in all aspects of food preparation and restaurant operation.
• Support customer service and meal delivery to wards.
• Assist chefs and service of food at the restaurant.

Job description

The Position

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a General Catering Assistant to work within the Catering Team at the Balfour to provide assistance in all aspects of food preparation, restaurant operation and customer service.

The Catering Service provides a high-quality patient meal service to the Balfour, providing 3 meals per day for up to 50 patients. A public restaurant service is also provided for staff and members of the public, serving upwards of 150 meals per day. This role will also entail providing assistance to the chefs, the service of food at the restaurant and delivering meals to wards.

The Candidate

The successful candidate will work as part of a small team, providing a high standard of kitchen support under the direction of the Supervisor Chef/Retail & Restaurant Supervisor and Catering Team Lead.

If there are applicants that do not have an elementary food hygiene certificate, they will be able to undertake training towards this qualification which will be provided by NHS Orkney, through other partners.

Location, Working Pattern and Contract Duration:

This post will be based at The Balfour. The successful candidate will work Part Time 23 hours per week. This post is Permanent. It is a condition of this employment that you must live and remain a resident within the UK for the post in which you will be employed with NHS Orkney.

Benefits And Salary

Did you know NHS Scotland salaries are higher than those in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland?

NHS Orkney also offers an attractive pension scheme, wide range of work life balance policies, employee assistance programme and various discounts to both local and national retailers.

The salary for these roles is £26,696 - £28,988 pro rata per annum, plus Distant Islands Allowance pro rata. This equates to approximately £14.22 - £15.44 per hour. Enhanced rates are payable for unsocial hours, increasing to approximately £20.48 - £22.23 per hour on Saturdays and £26.73 - £29.03 per hour on Sundays and Public Holidays. You’ll also receive a Distant Islands Allowance of £1,719

Further Information

If you share our vision and are ready to be part of Team Orkney, we’d love to hear from you. Your rewarding career starts here!

We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process, and you will be asked whether you require any during your application. If there are additional requirements you would like to request, please contact

For further guidance on the recruitment process and tips for creating a strong application, please refer to our Candidate Application Pack.

Interview Date: Monday 26th October 2026

To find out more about this opportunity please contact Danny McCaig, Catering Team Lead on

This post is subject to a PVG Scheme Record check.