Hospitality, Supermarket Assistant

John Lewis; Hale Barns; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 19,000; Full time

Job summary

Waitrose Hale Barns is seeking a dedicated Partner to join the food counter team. You will work on open food counters (meat, fish, cheese, bakery) with focus on presentation, hygiene and product availability, contributing to a superb customer experience.

The role is temporary with 27.5–37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 07:00–21:00. A night premium applies for hours between 22:00–06:00, and there is potential for progression with our new Hale Barns shop opening.

Qualifications

• Strong communication to work with customers and as part of a team.
• Experience in customer-facing roles is desirable.
• Experience in catering/hospitality is advantageous.
• Interest in food and drink trends is beneficial.
• Flexibility to support the branch as needed.

Responsibilities

• Take responsibility for your own food counter, ensuring top presentation and hygiene.
• Monitor stock levels to ensure popular products are available.
• Handle open food with due hygiene and health & safety protocols, help reduce waste.
• Keep updated on new products and Waitrose food values like animal welfare.
• Support wider shop team with general shopkeeping tasks.

Skills

Communication skills

Customer facing experience

Catering / hospitality experience

Food trends awareness

Flexible approach

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Partner on our service counters, you'll have the perfect opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and passion for food while feeling proud of how it is ethically sourced and recommend recipes for customers to try. You'll actively be bringing our ethos - passionate Partners serving food lovers - to life.

You'll use your enthusiasm and friendliness to build lasting relationships with your customers. You'll make all the difference to the impression they have about the Waitrose brand and keep them returning again and again by earning their trust and loyalty for a lifetime. All the while helping to maximise on sales and profit.

In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £3.75 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

Join the Team at Waitrose Hale Barns!

We are thrilled to announce that a brand new Waitrose shop is arriving in Hale Barns on 12th November 2026, and we're looking for dedicated food loving Partners to help us build this shop from the ground up.

As a vital member of our founding team, you'll work side-by-side with your colleagues to champion the quality, integrity, and unique shopping experience our customers love.

If you have a passion for working together and want to be part of a new opening, we'd love for you to join us in making our newest branch a local favourite.

We have a full-time and part time length contract available ranging between 27.5 - 37.5 hours per week working Monday to Friday between 07:00 - 21:00hrs. Working with open food on our meat, fish, cheese and bakery counters on a Temporary basis until 30/01/27.

Key Responsibilities

• You'll take responsibility for your own food counter ensuring the highest presentation and hygiene standards at all times.
• Staying on top of stock levels, ensuring the products our customers love are there when needed.
• Taking great care while working with open food and ensure all due diligence and health & safety protocols are followed. Helping to reduce food wastage.
• Maintaining your knowledge of new products and have a good understanding of Waitrose's food values (e.g. animal welfare).
• Supporting the wider shop team when required with general shopkeeping tasks.

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• Communication skills to enable you to work effectively as part of a team and with our customers.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Experience of working in a customer facing role is welcomed.
• Experience of working in a catering / hospitality environment.
• Up to date knowledge and strong interest in food and drink trends.
• Flexible approach to ensure the support of the whole branch.

Closing Date: November 8, 2026

Pay: £13.00 (£13.25 After 90 days)

Contract Type: Temporary

Hours of Work: 27.5 - 37.5 hours per week working Monday to Friday between 07:00 - 21:00hrs. Working with open food on our meat, fish, cheese and bakery counters on a Temporary basis until 30/01/27.

Job Level: Partnership Level 10

Where You'll Be Working: Hale Barns, The Square, Altrincham, , WA15 8ST

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP

We're the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We're not just employees, we're Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there's never been a more exciting time to join us.

We're ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we're free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It's important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you'll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compress