Group Head of Refectories

EKC Group; Broadstairs; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous Annual Leave

Competitive Pension Scheme

Wellbeing and Health Support

Exclusive Discounts & Perks

Job summary

East Kent Colleges Group seeks a strategic head of catering and commercial lettings to lead campus refectories, cafés and spaces across six colleges and associated trusts. You will drive commercial income, deliver high-quality student experiences and oversee health, safety and compliance, with a strong emphasis on data-driven improvements.

You will champion sustainability, develop multi-site teams and build stakeholder relationships to maximise value and opportunities for students and staff

Qualifications

• Significant experience of leading customer-facing services across catering, hospitality, facilities or similar environments.
• Strong commercial acumen with a track record of managing income-generating services and budgets.
• Experience leading across multiple sites with the ability to balance competing priorities and meet deadlines.
• Proven ability to inspire and develop teams and deliver a positive service culture.
• Excellent relationship-building skills with students, staff, customers and external partners.
• Ability to spot opportunities, use data and customer insight to improve services and generate new commercial opportunities.
• Knowledge of health and safety, HACCP, allergen management, licensing or event/venue safety.

Responsibilities

• Leading our catering operation across campuses to deliver a consistent, nutritious, affordable and high-quality food and beverage offer.
• Growing commercial income by maximising the use of our estate for room hire, events, hospitality, conferencing and facilities.
• Driving commercial performance with responsibility for pricing, costing, budgets, income targets and financial controls.
• Leading and developing teams with clear expectations, strong customer service and professional development opportunities.
• Championing food safety, compliance and quality across food production and service.
• Using data and customer feedback to identify opportunities to improve services and deliver better student and customer experiences.
• Supporting sustainability and employability with responsible sourcing and learning opportunities.

Skills

Commercial leadership

Strategic planning

Multi-site management

Team development

Stakeholder engagement

Food safety awareness

Data-driven decisions

Education

Level 3 Food Safety

Level 5 management qualification

Tools

EPOS systems

Booking platforms

Reporting platforms

Job description

About The Role

The Recipe for Commercial Success Starts Here - Join us as Group Head of Refectories and Commercial Lettings

Ready to put your commercial and catering expertise at the heart of a Group-wide operation? As our Head of Catering and Commercial Lettings, you’ll lead the strategy, performance and development of our refectories, cafés and commercial lettings across the EKC Group, including our 6 Colleges, and Multi Academy Trust, balancing an excellent student experience with ambitious income generation.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Leading our catering operation, ensuring every campus delivers a consistent, nutritious, affordable and high-quality food and beverage offer.
• Growing commercial income by maximising the use of our estate for room hire, events, hospitality, conferencing, sports facilities, theatres and specialist spaces.
• Driving commercial performance, with responsibility for pricing, costing, budgets, income targets, surplus and strong financial controls.
• Leading and developing our teams, creating a positive culture with clear expectations, great customer service and opportunities for professional development.
• Championing food safety, compliance and quality, ensuring robust standards across food production, service and commercial activity.
• Using data and customer feedback to improve, identifying opportunities to enhance services, increase value and deliver a better experience for students, staff and customers.
• Supporting sustainability and employability, reducing food waste, promoting responsible sourcing and creating meaningful work-related learning opportunities for our students.

As a key member of the Group Leadership Team, you’ll work collaboratively with colleagues across EKC Group to turn our strategic ambitions into practical, commercially successful services that make a real difference to our campuses and communities.

Check out our benefits when working for the East Kent Colleges Group which include

• Generous Annual Leave
• Competitive Pension Scheme
• Wellbeing and Health Support
• Exclusive Discounts & Perks

About You

We’re looking for a commercially minded leader who knows how to deliver excellent customer experiences while keeping a close eye on performance, budgets and opportunities to grow. You’ll bring significant experience of leading customer-facing services, ideally across catering, hospitality, facilities, retail, leisure, events or a similar environment.

You’ll be someone who can:

• Think commercially, with strong financial acumen and a track record of managing income-generating services, budgets and resources.
• Lead across multiple sites, balancing competing priorities while maintaining consistent standards and delivering against tight deadlines.
• Inspire and develop teams, with the confidence to set clear expectations, support performance and build a positive service culture.
• Build strong relationships, communicating effectively with students, staff, customers, suppliers and senior colleagues to influence and deliver results.
• Spot opportunities and solve problems, using initiative, data and customer insight to improve services and generate new commercial opportunities.
• Understand operational compliance, with experience of health and safety, food safety, HACCP, allergen management, licensing or event and venue safety.
• Make the most of technology, confidently using systems such as EPOS, booking and reporting platforms to manage and improve operations.

You’ll be highly organised, resilient and comfortable working in a busy multi-site environment. A Level 3 Food Safety qualification and relevant health and safety training are desirable, alongside a Level 5 management qualification or equivalent experience. Above all, you’ll share our commitment to safeguarding, sustainability and creating positive experiences and opportunities for our students, staff and communities.

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 CollegesGroup 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 thePositive About Disability Awardand are aDisability 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 toCare Leavers (Care Covenant Pledge)and to current or previousArmed 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.