Chef Manager

Sodexo; Manchester; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 35,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Uniform Provided

Blue Light Card

Sodexo Benefits

Mental health & wellbeing support

Job summary

Sodexo is recruiting a Chef Manager to lead patient dining operations across multiple kitchen environments in Manchester. You will oversee daily service, ensure high-quality meals, and manage a team of chefs, supervisors and porters, while adhering to food safety standards and dietary requirements.

You'll work closely with dietitians and clinical teams to tailor meals to patient needs, including special diets and textures.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading high-volume catering teams.
• Strong knowledge of food safety and compliance.
• Experience managing special diets and allergen requirements.
• Excellent leadership and people management.
• Strong communication with clinical teams and stakeholders.
• Organisational and planning skills for stock control.
• NVQ2 or equivalent and Level 3 Food Safety; NHS experience desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead catering ops across Diet Bay and Yardbird/Kitchenworks kitchens.
• Manage chefs, supervisors, and porters; drive performance.
• Ensure safe production and delivery of meals including special diets.
• Work with dietitians, ward teams, patients on nutrition requirements.
• Maintain food safety, hygiene, and health & safety compliance.
• Oversee stock control, ordering, and inventory for two kitchens.
• Maintain high standards of food quality and service per SLAs.
• Build relationships with clinical/operational stakeholders to improve service.

Skills

Catering leadership

High-volume operations

Food safety knowledge

Dietary/allergen management

Leadership & people mgmt

Stock control & ordering

Communication skills

Education

NVQ Level 2 (or equivalent)

Level 3 Food Safety

Job description

Job Description

• Job Title: Chef Manager
• Location: Central Manchester Hospital ,Manchester foundation trust
• £32 - £35k Annual Salary DOE
• Any 5 days out of 7 / Various Shift times / 40 hours a week
• Uniform Provided / Access to Blue Light Card / Sodexo Benefits

Job Introduction

Are you a passionate catering professional with strong leadership skills and a commitment to delivering exceptional food services? We are seeking a Chef Manager to lead our patient dining operations across multiple kitchen environments at Manchester Foundation Trust. In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring the safe, efficient, and high-quality production of meals, including specialist dietary requirements, allergen-controlled dishes, and bespoke patient meal plans. Working closely with dietitians, clinical teams, and catering colleagues, you will play a vital role in enhancing the patient experience through outstanding food service. This is an exciting opportunity to lead and develop a dedicated team while maintaining the highest standards of food safety, compliance, and operational excellence.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead and coordinate catering operations across the Diet Bay patient dining service and the Yardbird/Kitchenworks kitchens, ensuring efficient daily service delivery.
• Manage and support chefs, supervisors, and kitchen porters, driving team performance, development, and engagement.
• Ensure the safe production and delivery of high-quality meals, including special diets, allergen-controlled meals, texture-modified diets, and bespoke patient meal plans
• Work closely with dietitians, ward teams, and patients to meet individual nutritional and clinical dietary requirements.
• Maintain full compliance with food safety, hygiene, and health & safety legislation, policies, and procedures.
• Oversee stock control, ordering, and inventory management across both kitchen operations to ensure continuity of service.
• Monitor and maintain high standards of food quality, presentation, cleanliness, and service in line with Trust expectations and service level agreements (SLAs).
• Build effective working relationships with clinical and operational stakeholders to continuously improve patient dining services and operational performance.

What You Bring:

• Proven experience leading catering, hospitality, or food service teams within a high-volume operational environment.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, hygiene, and compliance standards, with the ability to maintain excellent audit outcomes.
• Experience managing special diets, allergen requirements, texture-modified meals, and patient-focused food services.
• Excellent leadership and people management skills, with the ability to motivate, develop, and support diverse teams.
• Effective communication skills and the confidence to build strong working relationships with clinical teams, colleagues, and stakeholders.
• Strong organisational and planning skills, with experience overseeing stock control, ordering, and resource management.
• A proactive and solutions-focused approach, with a commitment to continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Relevant catering qualifications, including NVQ Level 2 (or equivalent) and Level 3 Food Safety, with NHS or healthcare experience desirable.

What we offer:

Working with Sodexo is more than a job; it's a chance to be part of something greater.You'll belong in a company and team that values you for you; you'll act with purpose and have an impact through your everyday actions; and you'll be able to thrive in your own way.In addition, we also offer a range of resources, rewards and benefits for our colleagues and their families:

• Unlimited access to an online platform offering mental health and wellbeing support.
• Employee Assistance Programme to help with everyday issues or larger problems where you may need additional support, including legal and financial advice, support with work related issues or personal issues such as bereavement.
• Access to a free health and wellbeing app that provides rewards for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and includes access to a 24hr virtual GP and various other services.
• The Sodexo Discounts Scheme, offering great deals 24/7 (also open to friends and family) and/or the prepayment cashback card.
• Money Insights and financial benefits via the Salary Finance Platform.
• Save for your future by becoming a member of the Sodexo Retirement Plan
• A Death-in-Service benefit for colleagues who pass away whilst employed by Sodexo
• Opportunities to enable colleagues to grow and succeed throughout their career at Sodexo, including a variety of learning and development tools.
• Cycle to Work Scheme to help colleagues to do their bit for the environment whilst keeping fit.
• Volunteering Opportunities to enable all colleagues to help support worthwhile causes in our communities.
• Flexible and dynamic work environment
• Competitive compensation
• Full training and full protective uniform supplied.

About Sodexo

At Sodexo, our purpose is to create a better every day for everyone to build a better life for all.As the global leader in services that improve the Quality of Life, we operate in 55 countries, serving over 100 million consumers each day through our unique combination of On-Site Food and FM Services, Benefits & Rewards Services and Personal & Home Services.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer. We are a forces friendly employer.We welcome and encourage applications from people with a diverse variety of experiences, backgrounds, and identities.We encourage our employees to get involved with our Employee Networks such as Pride, Sodexo Parents & Carers, Sodexo Disability, Ability network, So Together, Generations and Origins.

We're a Disability Confident Leader employer.We're committed to changing attitudes towards disability, and making sure disabled people have the chance to fulfil their aspirations.We run a Disability Confident interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria for the job.

Sodexo reserves the right to close this advertisement early if we are in receipt of a high volume of applications.

Sodexo Disability, Ability network, So Together, Generations and Origins.