Kitchen Porter/Food Service Assistant

University of the West of Scotland; Scotland; On-site; GBP 12,000 - 17,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

24 days of annual leave

12 public holidays

Pension scheme

Flexible working pattern

Employee discount scheme

Fitness facilities

Health and wellbeing resources

Career development opportunities

Job summary

University of the West of Scotland is seeking a Kitchen Porter/Food Service Assistant to join the Campus Services Team at Lanarkshire Campus. The role involves cleaning, basic prep, and supporting chefs to ensure a smooth catering operation across the university.

Hours are 7am–9pm, Monday to Friday with possible weekend work in summer; part-time, 20 hours per week, across 30 weeks. Applicants should have kitchen experience and good communication in a busy environment.

Qualifications

• Experience of working in a busy kitchen environment.
• Able to work on own initiative as well as effectively working as part of a team.
• Good oral communication skills.
• Ability to cope with high volume pressure at service times.

Responsibilities

• Provide a consistently friendly and professional approach to support a catering service across the university.
• Support Chefs by performing cleaning and basic prep tasks to keep the kitchen running smoothly.
• Assist with food preparation for breakfast items, deli prep and snacks; wash kitchenware, appliances, floors, walls and work surfaces to maintain high hygiene standards.
• May be required to work front of house during busy periods.

Skills

Kitchen experience

Teamwork

Communication skills

Stress management

Job description

Campus Services

Part time: 30 weeks @ 4 hrs per day (20 hours per week)

Permanent

The Post - REQ000609 - Kitchen Porter/Food Service Assistant

"Unfortunately, this role is not eligible for visa sponsorship in line with Home Office requirements. Applicants will therefore be unable to secure a Skilled Worker visa for this role and will require an alternative source of right to work in the UK."

Please note that the information provided in this advert is correct at the time of writing. The University cannot guarantee sponsorship, and we encourage you to keep up to date with any changes that the Home Office may introduce.

The University of West of Scotland are recruiting for a Kitchen Porter/Food Services Assistant to join the Campus Services Team at our Lanarkshire Campus.

As a Kitchen Porter your core responsibility will be to provide a consistently friendly and professional approach, contributing to the delivery of an effective and efficient catering service throughout the University

The post holder will support Chefs by performing cleaning and basic prep tasks to keep the kitchen running smoothly. This can include food preparation of breakfast items, deli prep and snacks as well as washing all kitchenware, appliances, floors, walls, and work surfaces to maintain high standards of hygiene. You may also be required to work front of house during busy periods.

The successful candidate should have the following:

Experience of working in a busy kitchen environment.

• Able to work on own initiative as well as effectively working as part of a team.


• Good oral communication skills.


• Ability to cope with high volume pressure at service times.

Working hours can range from 7am to 9pm Monday to Friday and occasional weekend work is required during summer.

ABOUT US

University of the West of Scotland is a placemaking institution that is proud to be an integral part of its local communities, with a national and international reach: the University has four campuses in Scotland in Ayr, Dumfries, Lanarkshire and Paisley, as well as a campus in London Docklands. UWS has almost 100 international partnerships and its student community comprises more than 100 nationalities.

UWS is committed to providing education opportunities for all, empowering individuals to reach their full potential. The University creates meaningful impact locally, nationally and globally through innovative learning and teaching, pioneering research, and transformative partnerships. UWS is committed to the UNSDGs and was ranked joint 1st in Scotland and joint 4th in the UK for quality education (SDG4); and 1st in the UK and 39th globally for our contribution to decent work and economic growth (SDG8) in the Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026.

90% of UWS research was classed as world-leading, internationally excellent, or recognised internationally in the REF (Research Excellence Framework) 2021.

Our professional services teams are the backbone of UWS, providing robust and innovative solutions to support the vast range of work across learning and teaching, and research and innovation. You will join a supportive and dedicated team, playing a key role in a range of work that will help drive forward our ambition to deliver world‑leading research, and graduates who will design, shape and build a new future.

We offer our staff a caring and supportive environment, across five campuses, and a competitive benefits package which includes:

• 24 days of annual leave, plus a further 12 days for public/university holidays


• An additional days leave on your birthday


• Defined benefit contribution pension scheme (including death in service benefits upon joining the scheme


• A flexible approach to working pattern and work-life balance


• Employee discount scheme across 3,500 retailers


• Fitness facilities across our campuses


• Access to a range of health and wellbeing resources, including occupational health, physiotherapy and access to our Employee Assistance Programme


• Professional, career and research development opportunities.

Closing Date: Friday 11 th September 2026

Interview Date: Wednesday 23rd September 2026

Please note that the appointment will be made on the first point of the salary scale (unless by exception, where evidence would need to be provided).

The University reserves the right to shorten/extend the closing date of any position where a high/low volume of suitable applications are received. Therefore, if you are interested in this role, an early application would be encouraged.

You can find out more about how the University uses your personal data as part of the recruitment process by looking at the UWS HR Applicant Privacy Notice at www.uws.ac.uk

UWS are committed signatories to the Armed Forces Covenant .

UWS is committed to equality and diversity and welcomes applications from underrepresented groups.

UWS is a \"Disability Confident\" employer.

University of the West of Scotland is a registered Scottish charity, no. SC002520