Hospitality, Supermarket Assistant

John Lewis Partnership; Warsash; On-site; GBP 9,000 - 11,000; Part time

Job summary

John Lewis Partnership, Waitrose branch, is seeking a customer-facing Food Counter Assistant. You will ensure top presentation and hygiene, manage stock, and follow health and safety protocols while supporting the wider shop team.

This role offers early morning shifts with flexible hours across Monday, Friday and Saturday (04:00–10:00). Applicants must be 18+ and capable of working in a catering environment with a positive, customer-focused attitude.

Qualifications

• Must be 18 years or over to apply.
• Experience in customer facing role is welcomed.
• Flexible hours to support the branch.

Responsibilities

• Take responsibility for your own food counter ensuring the highest presentation and hygiene standards at all times.
• Stock management to ensure products are available when needed.
• Follow health & safety protocols and help reduce food wastage.
• Maintain knowledge of products and waitrose food values.

Skills

Communication

Food hygiene

Job description

About the role

Due to working time regulations, applicants must be 18 years or over to apply.

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.

Varied hours of part time work on Monday, Friday and Saturday between the hours of 04:00-10:00.

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.