Chef Manager

A2Dominion Housing Group Ltd; England; On-site; GBP 11,000 - 13,000; Full time

Job summary

A housing association seeks a Chef Manager for their Reading location. Responsibilities include leading a catering team for residents aged 55+, overseeing meal preparation, compliance, and documentation. Ideal candidates will have a catering qualification, strong leadership skills, and experience in managing dietary needs. Benefits include a generous holiday allowance, a contributory pension scheme, and flexible working arrangements.

Benefits

25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays

Up to 8% contributory pension

Flexible working

Investment in learning and development

Annual health allowance up to £300

Cycle to Work Scheme

Qualifications

• Experience working in a Care and Support environment or cooking for large groups.
• Strong time-management and organisational skills.
• Passion for team leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver a first-class catering service.
• Manage dietary and cultural needs for residents.
• Perform Health & Safety checks as required.
• Oversee team duties and staff lifecycle management.

Skills

Catering/Cooking qualification

Time-management

Organisational skills

Leadership

Microsoft applications

English communication

Job description

Job Details

Job title: Chef Manager
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 16.5 hours Friday, Saturday, Sunday 8.30am – 2pm
Salary: £11,309.44 - £12,441.00 per annum
Location: Onsite at Charles Clore Court, Reading, Berkshire

About A2Dominion

We are a UK housing association committed to a new vision – providing homespeople love to live in. With over 38,000 homes in management across London and southern England, we provide a wide range of services for social, affordable, and private rent, specialist services, as well as homes for sale and shared ownership. Our 70,000+ customers come from diverse backgrounds. And with social housing roots going back eight decades, we continue to ensure that every penny of profit is reinvested into our charitable social purpose – delivering more homes and better services for customers.

About the role

As the Chef Manager at Charles Clore Court, you will lead and deliver a first‑class end‑to‑end catering service to the scheme, which accounts for 47 self‑contained apartments for residents aged 55+. You will be hands‑on with cooking and also handle back‑office compliance, administration and audits, working with a dedicated team of four colleagues to deliver excellence for residents.

Key Responsibilities

• Preparation, cooking and serving of meals, meeting company and environmental health standards; responsible for dietary and cultural needs, cooking specific meals as per resident food profile to meet preferences.
• Complete all menu tick sheets, cleaning records and handover sheets daily, recording meals sold and reporting resident feedback to Catering Manager.
• Issue resident catering invoices, respond to resident queries regarding payments and accrued arrears.
• Carry out Health & Safety & Food Hygiene standards checks as directed by A2Dominion catering standards; ensure practices meet statutory regulations including the Registered Homes Act 1984.
• Prepare and respond to inspections and audits by external authorities, fulfilling reporting requirements.
• Lead and support a small, dedicated team, allocating duties and checking work is completed in a timely manner; manage recruitment, probation, development, absence, staff behaviours and employment lifecycle.
• Own ordering, stock control, deliveries, agency workers time‑keeping and maintain the standards set by the Catering Manager.

More about you

• Ideally you have a Catering/Cooking qualification and/or experience working in a Care and Support environment, or cooking experience for large volumes of people.
• Excellent time‑management and organisational skills in running a smooth, effective catering service for residents.
• Have a passion for leading a team, whether you have prior experience or are looking to take the next step in your career.
• Comfortable taking ownership of the back‑office administration and documentation using basic Microsoft applications (Excel, Word, Teams, Outlook).
• Excellent English verbal and written communication skills.
• Able to commute to the housing scheme in Tilehurst, Berkshire, RG30 3NT.

Application process

Please attach a tailored CV for this role, ensuring it highlights relevant experience and provides explanations for any employment gaps.

Benefits

• 25 days’ holiday (Plus Bank Holidays), increasing up to 28 days with 3 years of service.
• Up to 8% contributory pension.
• Flexible working.
• Investment in learning and development.
• Generous annual allowance of up to £300 for health and lifestyle benefits.
• Cycle to Work Scheme with monthly salary deductions.

EEO & Inclusion Statements

• A2Dominion Group is a Disability Confident Employer, committed to employing disabled people and providing a fully inclusive recruitment process.
• We promote equality and inclusivity; we welcome applications from all backgrounds and welcome reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process.