Catering Assistant

Transformationunitgm; Manchester; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust is seeking a Catering Assistant to join its dedicated back-of-house team. In this role, you will support the preparation and delivery of high-quality meals to patients, staff, and visitors, ensuring hygiene standards and customer service excellence. The position offers a permanent full-time contract with a salary of £24,169 per annum, providing a great opportunity within the healthcare sector.

Qualifications

• Experience in a catering role is desirable.
• Experience in a cleaning role is desirable.
• Knowledge of basic Health & Safety requirements.

Responsibilities

• Assist in food preparation and cleanliness of kitchens and equipment.
• Ensure stock control, rotation, and waste management during service.
• Maintain a high standard of customer service and personal hygiene.

Skills

Customer Care

Hygiene Standards

Teamwork

Education

Completed secondary education

Basic Food Hygiene Certificate (ability and willingness)

Job description

Main area Catering Grade Band 2 Contract Permanent: 5 Days over 7 between the hours 07:00-19:00 Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (5 over 7 days between hours 07:00-19:00 including some weekends) Job ref 349-EST-7202294-RL4

Employer Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site North Manchester Geberal Hospital Town Manchester Salary £24,169 per annum (pro rata) Salary period Yearly Closing 08/07/2025 23:59

Catering Assistant

Band 2

Job overview

Role Summary:

You will act as a key member of the back of house catering team to assist the organisation in providing patients, staff and visitors with high quality person centred and safe catering service.

You will assist with the preparation of food and contributing to the operation and cleanliness of kitchens and associated equipment whilst supporting the production, portioning, distribution and services of
meals and snacks.

You will provide a high standard of service in accordance with the contract
specification as directed the line manager and ensure that all foods are produced and served in a safe and hygienic manner at all times.

Decanting and preparation of food in accordance with portion control guidelines. The post holder may be required to use the kitchen equipment and machinery as required, including freezers, knives, floor scrubbing machines, food service trolley, and ovens.

Provide and maintain a high standard of customer care at all times whilst on duty.

Maintain a high standard of personal hygiene in accordance with company policy and the

Workload will be determined by daily requirements, and post-holder may be required to use initiative in order to prioritise tasks and responsibilities.

Arrive in time for duty, adhering to Sodexo uniform requirements and clocking in prior to commencing your shift.

Post holders are required to wear their identity badge with a current
photograph on at all times.

Main duties of the job

Main Assignments of Role :

• Ensuring food deliveries are picked and packed correctly in accordance with agreed practices.

• Ensure stock control and rotation procedures are maintained. Checking expiry dates on food and disposing of any food exceeding use by date. Store goods correctly and use stock
on a rotational basis.

• Working in temperature-controlled environments (i.e. fridges, freezers up to -18 degrees Celsius.

• Maintain kitchen and working area cleanliness and hygiene.

• Ensure a prompt removal of packaging and food waste to designated areas.

• Follow all cleaning schedules as required.

• Refer to COSHH data sheets where appropriate. Additional General Responsibilities

• While on duty staff are to wear only Sodexo uniform and tidy state at all times, you must always have a clean, spare tabard/ apron at work with
you in case of spillages.

• At times you may be required to go and work in other catering areas to assist with the cover of annual leave and sickness.

• At times post holders may be required to carry out reasonable additional duties connected to their employment, as directed by their supervisor or line manager.

• Ability to work as part of a team.

• Good level of customer care.

• Basic Food Hygiene Level 2 (desirable).

• Experience of working in a catering environment (desirable).

• Good understanding of health and safety and manual handling practices.

Working for our organisation

MFT is one of the largest NHS Trust In England with a turnover of £2.8bn & is on a different scale than most other NHS Trusts. We’re creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.

Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 28,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate so you’ll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary.

We’ve also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research, and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our Electronic Patient Record system which launched in September 2022.

We’re proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What’s more, we’re excited to be embarking on our Green Plan which sets out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable.

At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open, and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience you’ll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the ‘Supporting Documents’ heading. So that you’re even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, you’ll need to take time to read the ‘Candidate Essentials Guide’ that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how ‘we care for you as you care for others’. Most importantly, it also contains critical information you’ll need to be aware of before you submit an application form.

Diversity Matters

MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at [e-mail] .

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

Person specification

Qualifications

• Completed secondary education
• Ability and willingness to achieve Basic Food Hygiene Certificate

Experience

• Knowledge of basic Health & Safety requirements
• Understanding of patient confidentiality
• Understanding of a small number of routine work procedures which could be gained through a short induction period or on the job training
• Experience in a cleaning role
• Experience in a catering role

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.