Cook Supervisor - Herons Dale Primary School

West Sussex County Council; Adur; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 23,000; Part time

Job summary

A local government authority in England is seeking a Cook Supervisor to manage a busy school kitchen. The role involves overseeing food preparation and ensuring healthy meals for students. Applicants should have catering qualifications and experience in supervising kitchen staff. This position offers a part-time, term time only contract, providing a great work/life balance and benefits like a local government pension scheme.

Benefits

Local government pension scheme

Flexible working options

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Relevant catering qualifications or equivalent experience.
• Experience supervising a team of kitchen staff.
• Knowledge of Food Hygiene and Health and Safety legislation.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the catering service and food preparation.
• Supervise staff and ensure training is provided.
• Manage business finances within budget.

Skills

Supervising kitchen staff

Food preparation

Health and Safety legislation

Food Safety certification

Budget management

Problem-solving

Education

City & Guilds 706/1 & 2 or NVQ Level 3 in Catering

Level 2 Food Safety certification

Job description

About the Role

Salary: £20,635 to £22,396 per annum (pro rata calculated from part time hours and term time only)
Contract Type: Permanent, Term Time Only (39 weeks which includes 5 cleaning days)
Working Pattern: Part‑time, 30 hours per week (Monday to Friday 8:00am to 2:15pm)
Location: Herons Dale Primary School, Shoreham‑by‑Sea BN43 6TN
Interview Date: 6th January 2026

We are looking for a dedicated Cook Supervisor to lead the daily running of our busy school kitchen, inspiring a team to prepare and deliver healthy, freshly made school meals for pupils and staff.

If you are a team supervisor that enjoys delivering high standard home‑produced school meals, who has excellent personal skills, passion for cooking and helping young people then come and join our team.

Each day can often feel quite different from the next! Your role will include:

• Oversee the catering service including food preparation, cooking, and cleaning, ensuring all activities meet required standards of School Food Standards, Health and Safety and food safety legislation.
• Supervise staff members and facilitate necessary training to maintain a capable team.
• Provide written documentation related to Health & Safety, Food Safety legislation, and weekly reports using IT systems and emails.
• Manage business finances to ensure operations stay within the allocated fixed budgets.
• Operate efficiently in a fast‑paced environment, adhering to established deadlines.

A term time only contract with us provides a fantastic work/life balance, a great pension plus a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers. There's never been a better time to join!

Required Qualifications and Skills

• City & Guilds 706/1 & 2 or NVQ Level 3 in Catering, or an equivalent qualification or demonstrable relevant experience.
• Level 2 Food Safety certification.
• Experience in supervising or managing a team of two or more kitchen staff.
• Working knowledge of all applicable Food Hygiene and Health and Safety legislation.
• Proven ability to monitor and manage budgets effectively to support the delivery of services within allocated resources.
• Comfortable organising your own workload and keen problem solver.

For more information on the key skills as well as the qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

Rewards and Benefits

We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work‑life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including the following:

• A excellent local government pension scheme
• A Term Time Only (TTO) contract where you will only work during periods in which schools are open.
• A range of flexible working options, depending on your job role
• Maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
• volunteering opportunities
• Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• A range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform.
• Health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans.

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CPP01095.

If you are keen to learn more about a career in Catering explore our Catering Opportunities page here.

To apply please click the button below, upload your CV and complete the application form, explaining how you meet the key skills in the attached job description. Please ensure any gaps in employment are covered in your CV.

Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

Struggling to apply? Book onto a Digital Support Session in a library near you to get help navigating our application form.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to right to work within the UK, enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, satisfactory references, and health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.