Chef Manager: Lead a School Kitchen (Term-Time)

Olive Dining Ltd; Rainham; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Family-friendly hours

Weekends off

Supportive team

Free meals on duty

Wellbeing program

Growth opportunities

Job summary

Olive Dining Ltd is seeking a Chef Manager to lead our school kitchen teams, delivering healthy meals for students while driving service excellence. You’ll manage ordering, stock control, and finances, ensuring food safety and compliance across sites.

Strong leadership and communication are essential, with a passion for education settings and collaboration with staff and pupils. Join a team that values work-life balance, growth opportunities, and a supportive culture, with term-time hours and a

Qualifications

• Proven leadership and people-management skills.
• Strong communication with adults and young people.
• Comfortable using kitchen management tools and records.
• Experience in a school catering or similar setting preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the kitchen team to deliver balanced, healthy meals.
• Train, motivate and develop staff to maintain high service standards.
• Oversee ordering, stock control and kitchen finances.
• Ensure food safety, cleanliness and regulatory compliance.
• Gather feedback and drive improvement across sites.
• Monitor stock levels, costs and quality of ingredients.
• Report performance metrics and KPIs to management.
• Respond to reasonable requests from your manager.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

IT literacy

Team building

Tools

Kitchen management software

Job description

Olive Dining Ltd is seeking a Chef Manager to lead our school kitchen teams, delivering healthy meals for students while driving service excellence. You’ll manage ordering, stock control, and finances, ensuring food safety and compliance across sites.

Strong leadership and communication are essential, with a passion for education settings and collaboration with staff and pupils. Join a team that values work-life balance, growth opportunities, and a supportive culture, with term-time hours and a