Kitchen Assistant x 2 – National Marine Aquarium

Ocean Conservation Trust Limited; Devon and Torbay; On-site; GBP 15,000 - 18,000; Full time

Job summary

Ocean Conservation Trust is recruiting 2 Kitchen Assistants to join the Café team at the National Marine Aquarium in the South West. The role covers kitchen portering, deliveries, food prep and daily kitchen duties. Shifts typically 07:00–17:00, with weekend/bank holiday work required.

Permanent positions with rolling 4-week pattern. Starting rates align with National Living/Minimum Wage: £12.71/hr (21+), £10.85/hr (18–20).

Qualifications

• Previous experience in this role is essential.

Responsibilities

• Carry out catering tasks including kitchen portering, receiving and storing deliveries, food preparation and day to day kitchen tasks.
• Work within the Café at the National Marine Aquarium.
• Be available to work weekends, public/bank holidays and some evenings when there are functions.

Skills

Customer service

Teamwork

Time management

Job description

Do you want to join a passionate team of people who care about marine conservation and customer care in one of the South West’s top visitor attractions?

The Ocean Conservation Trust is a charity with a mission of “Connecting us with our Ocean.” We are committed to conserving the marine environment and inspiring people to protect it for future generations. An exciting opportunity has arisen for the right candidate to join our organisation at a time of significant growth.

The Ocean Conservation Trust at the National Marine Aquarium is looking to recruit 2 x Kitchen Assistants to work within our Café. The main purpose of the role is to carry out catering tasks which include kitchen portering, receiving and storing catering deliveries, food preparation and day to day kitchen tasks.

These are fixed permanent positions and will be rota’d over a 4-week rolling pattern. Shift pattern may vary, working hours will mainly be between 07:00-17:00hrs depending on the needs of the business. Due to the nature of our business all applicants must be available to work weekends, public/bank holidays and occasional evening work when there are functions. The rate of pay is at the National Living/Minimum Wage rates (£12.71 per hour aged 21 or over/£10.85 per hour aged 18-20) as applicable.

We are looking for people who are friendly, efficient, resilient who want to provide a top-class service to our customers whilst ensuring that all food hygiene/health and safety standards are met.

Previous experience in this role is essential. Experience in a busy customer focused environment would be beneficial.

Closing Date: 9:00am on 9th November 2026.

We will review applications and conduct interviews on a rolling basis. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a suitable candidate is identified.

In line with current legislation all applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK. As part of the recruitment process, you will be asked to provide documented evidence of eligibility.

The OCT operates an Equality and Diversity Policy and is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community – a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit. All applications will be judged solely on merit, however we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented in the workforce. Only candidates invited for interview will be contacted.