Chef Manager - Park Primary Academy

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

Make a difference every day by helping provide healthy, delicious meals to children at school

Who We Are

At Olive Dining, we believe great food brings people together - and there's no better place to do that than in schools, where young minds are growing every day. We're a dedicated school catering company serving fresh, nutritious meals to students across London, Kent, Surrey, and Essex.

Why You'll Love Working With Us

• Family-Friendly Hours: Term time only, so you can enjoy school holidays too!
• Weekends Off: Yes, really.
• Supportive Team Culture: You're never just a number here.
• Free Meals on Duty: Because chefs should never work hungry.
• Wellbeing First: Access to an Employee Assistance Programme including free CBT, health, and financial support.
• Room to Grow: We believe in promoting from within and helping our people thrive.

Your Day-to-Day

As Chef Manager, you'll be the friendly face leading the kitchen team and the driving force behind everything we serve.

• Cook up exciting, balanced meals that keep students happy and energised
• Lead, train, and inspire your team to deliver top-notch service every day
• Keep things running smoothly - from ordering supplies to managing kitchen finances
• Maintain high standards of food safety, cleanliness, and compliance
• Gather feedback from students and staff (yes, kids have opinions!) and use it to keep improving
• Keep a close eye on stock, costs, and quality
• Report on performance, meet KPIs, and help the site shine in every way
• And the completion of any other reasonable requests given by your manager

What You’ll Need

• A genuine passion for good food and great service
• Experience in a similar chef or catering manager role
• Strong leadership and team-building skills
• Comfortable with kitchen finances, stock control, and compliance records
• Great communication skills - with both adults and young people
• A positive, proactive mindset and a love for working in education settings
• IT literacy and good organisational skills
• A sense of humour (trust us, it helps!)

This Role Is Perfect If You

• Want to make a real impact in a school community
• Enjoy variety and hands-on leadership
• Like the idea of work-life balance that includes school holidays
• Are ready to bring your ideas, creativity, and energy to the table