Chef Manager

The Recruitment Group; Coventry; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 24,000; Part time

Job summary

The Recruitment Group is seeking a confident Chef Manager to lead a busy school catering operation. You will manage people, food, finances and overall performance of the kitchen, delivering fresh, nutritious meals from Monday to Friday and aligning with term-time 39 weeks.

This fixed-term role offers a steady pattern with no weekend shifts and opportunities to develop your team, innovate menus, and drive service excellence in a supportive education catering environment.

Qualifications

• Experienced leading a kitchen or catering team.
• Able to manage gross profit, costs and sales performance.
• Strong background in fresh, craft-based cooking.
• Knowledge of food safety and Health & Safety standards.
• Commercially aware with ability to drive improvements.
• Willingness to lead and develop people.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the catering team daily.
• Oversee food operation and ensure nutritious meals.
• Develop menus with creativity and sustainability.
• Control budget, food, labour and stock costs.
• Build strong relationships with school and staff.

Skills

Team leadership

Budget management

Food safety

Menu planning

Craft cooking

Education

OND or HND qualification

Job description

Chef Manager

Great food. Great hours. Great opportunity. Fixed-Term Contract | 32.5 hours per week | Monday?Friday | 39 weeks per year

Are you an experienced Chef who?s ready to take the next step in your career?

Do you want the opportunity to lead a kitchen, develop a team and create food that people are genuinely excited about ? without working weekends or late nights?

If so, this could be the role for you.

Were looking for a confident and creative Chef Manager to take ownership of a busy school catering operation. You?ll combine your passion for great food with your ability to lead people, manage a budget and deliver an outstanding service every day.

And the best part? You will work Monday to Friday, with no weekend shifts or late nights, for just 39 weeks of the year.

Why You will Love This Role

• Monday to Friday ? your weekends are yours.
• 32.5 hours per week ? a great work-life balance.
• 39 weeks per year ? work around the school term calendar.
• No late nights ? enjoy a more predictable working pattern.
• Fixed-term contract.
• More time to spend with family, friends and the things you enjoy during school holidays.
• Join a growing and ambitious education catering business.
• Fantastic opportunities to build your career and develop new skills.
• Access to a dedicated Learning & Development team.
• Apprenticeships and advanced training opportunities are available to all employees.

The Role

This is much more than a cooking role. As Chef Manager, you?ll be the person who makes the catering operation happen.

You will: have responsibility for the people, food, finances and overall performance of your kitchen.

Your Kitchen, Your Standards

You will: oversee the day-to-day food operation, ensuring students and staff receive fresh, nutritious and delicious meals.

• Bring creativity and enthusiasm to menu planning.
• Champion fresh and sustainable ingredients.
• Maintain consistently high standards of food quality and presentation.
• Look for new ideas to keep the catering offer exciting and relevant.
• Ensure the kitchen runs smoothly and efficiently.

Lead from the Front

Your team will look to you for direction, support and inspiration.

• Lead, motivate and develop your catering team.
• Create a positive and supportive kitchen environment.
• Identify opportunities to improve team performance.
• Coach colleagues and help them reach their potential.
• Set the standards you expect and lead by example.

Keep an Eye on the Numbers

You will: also have an important commercial role.

You will: take ownership of the site?s financial performance, including:

• Managing food, labour and stock costs.
• Monitoring gross profit and overall performance.
• Working towards challenging sales targets.
• Identifying opportunities to increase revenue.Creating promotions and special events that encourage engagement and sales.

Build Relationships

You will: be the face of the catering operation on site, building strong relationships with the school, students, staff and your wider team.

Is This You?

You will: be an experienced Chef or Chef Manager who is ready to take ownership and make a difference.

We're looking for someone who:

• Has experience leading a kitchen or catering team.
• Understands how to manage gross profit, costs and sales performance.
• Has a strong background in fresh food and craft-based cooking.
• Knows how to maintain excellent food safety, hygiene and Health & Safety standards.
• Is confident managing, motivating and developing people.
• Is commercially aware and enjoys finding ways to improve performance.
• Has plenty of ideas and isn't afraid to bring creativity to the menu.
• Takes pride in delivering a great experience for customers.
• An OND or HND qualification would be advantageous, but it isn't essential.

Safeguarding

The safety and wellbeing of children and young people is extremely important to us.

Everyone who joins our team must share our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

This position is subject to a mandatory Enhanced DBS check.

Ready for a Better Way of Working?

If you're an ambitious Chef who wants to lead, create and develop ? while enjoying your evenings, weekends and school holidays ? we'd love to hear from you.