Hospitality, Supermarket Assistant

John Lewis plc; Hitchin; On-site; GBP 17,000 - 19,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Night premium £3.75/hr (22:00–06:00)

Job summary

John Lewis plc, operating as Waitrose & Partners in Hitchin, is looking for a partner to work on the service counters. You will showcase knowledge and passion for food, serving customers with a friendly, ethical approach and building trust with shoppers.

Role includes evening and weekend hours with a night premium of £3.75 per hour between 22:00 and 06:00. Temporary contract with varied part-time hours in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

Qualifications

• Communication skills to work effectively in a team and with customers.

Responsibilities

• Take responsibility for your own food counter ensuring high presentation and hygiene standards.
• Monitor stock levels to ensure popular products are available.
• Handle open food safely and follow all health & safety procedures to reduce waste.
• Keep up-to-date with new products and understand Waitrose food values (e.g. animal welfare).
• Support the broader shop team with general tasks as required.

Skills

Communication skills

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.

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 & drink trends.
• Flexible approach to ensure the support of the whole branch.

Job Details

Closing Date: September 26, 2026

Pay: £13.00 (£13.25 After 90 days)

Contract Type: Temporary

Hours of Work: Varied hours of part time work to include a Weekday evening between the hours of 17:00- 22:00, and Saturday between the hours of 07:00-22:00.

Job Level: Partnership Level 10

Where You’ll Be Working: Hitchin (Waitrose & Partners), The Lairage, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG5 1HF

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 want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview. At the John Lewis Partnership we’re not just employees; we’re co-owners, and that’s why we’re called Partners. Being a Partner means not only do we all collectively share the responsibilities of being the UK’s largest employee-owned business, but we also share in its rewards and successes. It’s this ownership model that makes the Partnership a very unique place to work.