Commercial Team Leader

East Kent College; Canterbury; On-site; GBP 28,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational institution in Canterbury is seeking a motivated Commercial Team Leader to enhance the college refectory's operations. You will lead a team to deliver top-notch service, manage stock, and ensure high food safety standards. The ideal candidate possesses strong leadership and catering experience. This role offers a competitive salary of £27,890 along with various employee benefits, including flexible personal leave and development opportunities.

Benefits

Annual Leave aligned with holidays

Learning and Development Opportunities

Exclusive Discounts & Perks

Flexible Personal Leave

Wellbeing and Health Support

Competitive Pension Scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in catering or high-volume foodservice environment.
• Strong people management skills.
• Knowledge of cost control and commercial performance.

Responsibilities

• Lead and motivate the catering team for excellence.
• Manage stock, ordering, and waste effectively.
• Ensure compliance with food safety standards.

Skills

Catering experience

Team leadership

Financial acumen

Organizational skills

HACCP knowledge

Customer focus

Communication skills

Tools

Basic computer applications

Job description

About The Role

Lead the team that keeps the campus fuelled - join us as a Commercial Team Leader

We are seeking a motivated and commercially minded Commercial Team Leader to support the smooth running of our busy college refectory at EKC Canterbury College. If you thrive in a fast‑paced catering environment and enjoy supporting others to deliver great service, this could be the ideal opportunity.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and motivate the catering team to deliver excellent service and a positive dining experience.
• Assist with the planning, preparation, and service of food in a high‑volume setting.
• Manage stock, ordering, and waste to support strong financial performance.
• Ensure high standards of cleanliness, food safety, and full HACCP compliance.
• Support menu planning and carry out accurate menu costings.
• Provide training, guidance, and day‑to‑day support to ensure the team meets service targets.
• Maintain accurate records, including temperature logs and health & safety checks.
• Use basic computer systems (email, POS, stock management, spreadsheets) for administrative tasks.
• Work collaboratively with management to achieve commercial objectives and drive continuous improvement.

Hours per week

37

Weeks per year

42

Salary (inc holiday pay)

£27,890

Benefits

Alongside our priority of excellent student experience, we also focus on our employees. Here are just some of our benefits when working for the East Kent Colleges Group:

• Annual Leave aligned with the holidays
• Learning and Development Opportunities – 3‑4 annual paid group development days, bespoke programmes e.g. Aspiring Leaders Development Programme and strong internal progression – 1 in 3 roles are filled internally
• Exclusive Discounts & Perks – Inc. restaurant, grocery, retail and holidays discounts as well as car leasing and tech purchasing schemes, on‑site nursery (if based at relevant site)
• Flexible Personal Leave – Time off for your child's first day at nursery or school, moving homes and for interviews
• Wellbeing and Health Support – Generous sick pay, counselling services, discounted gym membership at Canterbury College
• Culture and Recognition – Being part of Community Days, an annual Staff Celebration Day, and an eco‑friendly organisation dedicated to reaching net‑zero by 2030
• Competitive Pension Scheme – 18% employer contribution

About You

As a Commercial Team Leader you will have

• Proven experience in catering, hospitality, or a similar high‑volume foodservice environment.
• Strong people management and team‑leadership abilities.
• Financially astute, with an understanding of cost control, menu margins, and commercial performance.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to prioritise tasks effectively.
• Sound knowledge of HACCP principles and food safety regulations.
• Confident using basic computer applications and digital systems.
• Positive, flexible, and customer‑focused approach.

You will also have outstanding communication and interpersonal skills both verbal and written e.g. customer service, experience of leading a team and experience of financial transactions including use of a cash register.

No need to spend time updating your CV, just click apply and complete our short application form. You can save your progress as you go, and we’ll review all applications and get back to all candidates after the closing date.

If you are interested in an informal chat about the role, or have any queries, please email us on [e-mail]

About Us

Outstanding Ofsted Provider – East Kent Colleges Group is an Ofsted Outstanding rated provider. It is proud to be the first General Further Education college organisation in the country to have received the Outstanding grade against each of the strands under the new Ofsted inspection framework. An inclusive provider, our colleagues place our students and the communities we serve at the heart of everything they do across EKC Group and this is illustrated in our ‘Strong’ skills grading by Ofsted.

Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and we ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities for upholding these principles.

As a designated establishment, we are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore have an obligation to carry out checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. These checks include conviction/caution self‑declaration, Enhanced DBS check and obtaining sufficient referencing.

It is a criminal offence to apply for a post which involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to children if you are barred from doing so.

If you are successful in being shortlisted to interview, your suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults will be explored as part of the interview process.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

East Kent Colleges Group is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of our communities. We are particularly keen to increase the diversity of our staff body and encourage applications from candidates where there is underrepresentation in our workforce.

We are proud to hold the Positive About Disability Award and are a Disability Confident Employer. This confirms our commitment to interviewing all applicants who declare that they have a disability and who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. With any successful candidate, we will explore any reasonable adjustments to a role due to a health needs or disability.

Similarly, we have a commitment to Care Leavers (Care Covenant Pledge) and to current or previous Armed Forces personnel (Armed Forces Covenant Pledge) with a commitment to interview applicants who meet the positions essential criteria and who have declared this on their application.

We welcome applications from anyone wishing to work flexibly and those considering a return to work from a career break.

We do not engage with agencies for permanent staff and have an in‑house recruitment team.