Regional Operations Supervisor (Catering)

Education Authority (Northern Ireland); Antrim; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

Education Authority (Northern Ireland) is seeking a Regional Operations Supervisor to lead School Meals Kitchens and Dining Centres across your designated area. The role focuses on supporting the Regional Operations Manager in the day-to-day management of multiple sites and mobile teams.

You will draw on strong people management, customer service, and cooking skills to maintain a high-quality school meals service, train staff, and ensure compliance with safety and nutritional standards.

Qualifications

• Experience managing dispersed teams in a multi-site environment.
• Strong people management and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent cooking skills to support high-quality school meals.
• Ability to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Assist the ROM in overseeing dispersed catering teams and mobile units.
• Manage service provision in school kitchens during staff shortages and banking.
• Support recruitment, induction, training and performance management.
• Ensure adherence to food safety, quality standards and HACCP-like guidelines.

Job description

JOB DESCRIPTION

REPORTS TO: Regional Operations Manager (Catering)

RESPONSIBLE FOR: Supporting the Regional Operations Manager in the daily running and managing of School Meals Kitchens and Dining Centres within your designated area

JOB PURPOSE

This is an extremely exciting opportunity not to be missed for a Regional Operations Supervisor with previous multi-site experience to join a catering service with ambitious plans for the future.

Reporting to the Regional Operations Manager (ROM), you will be responsible for supporting the operational running of School Meals Kitchens and Dining Centres within your designated area.

The person we are looking for will have strong people management and interpersonal skills; exceptional customer service acumen; a good eye for detail, and the ability to prioritise tasks, to assist the ROM to meet deadlines, and to nurture, train, support and develop people. Excellent practical cooking skills are required to support the provision of a high-quality School Meals Service.

This job description will be subject to review in light of changing circumstances and is not intended to be rigid and inflexible. Other duties of a similar nature and appropriate to the grade may be assigned from time to time.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• The post-holder will assist the ROM in overseeing and managing dispersed teams, motivating and enthusing people to deliver results, and effectively managing and resourcing Mobile Teams within the Catering Service.
• From time to time, you will be required to manage the service provision in a School Meals Kitchen due to staff absences. Including the responsibility for ordering supplies, completing monthly financial returns, and handling monies for banking. This may incur the running of multiple sites at one time.
• In the absence of the ROM, you will be required to undertake essential duties as delegated by the Senior Catering Manager.
• You will support the ROM in the administrative procedures and processes to ensure the smooth running of the catering services, i.e., procurement needs and interviewing and selection of staff and participate in grievance and disciplinary panels as and when requested.

Staff Management and Service Delivery

• Support the ROM in delivering best practices and delivery of the Catering Service.
• The post involves a continuous need to respond to staffing emergencies. The post holder may be contacted out of working hours by staff who cannot report for work, and urgent action has to be taken to solve the problems. The post holder will be required to manage a range of conflicting priorities.
• Participate and lend support to recruitment campaigns.
• To ensure all new staff receive the agreed induction training and associated information when commencing employment. Encourage team participation of all staff within the EA Health and Wellbeing initiatives.
• You will be required to deliver training modules to kitchen-level staff in various areas.
• Induction Training: Carry out induction training to the Head of Kitchens in School Meals and Cash Cafeterias to ensure that they are capable of training all staff under their supervision
• In-Service Training: Carry out training of staff within kitchens to improve standards
• Health and Safety Training: Instruct on all aspects of Basic Food Safety and Health and Safety Regulations
• Work along with your ROM to participate in the work of the Service Improvement Team to implement agreed strategies and encourage innovation and creativity to bring great ideas to life within the school meals service.

People Services and Business Support

• Under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act (1998), the post holder is expected to promote good relations, equality of opportunity and pay due regard for equality legislation at all times.
• The post holder has a wide range of stakeholders. On a daily basis, contact is made with the Area Manager and all grades of kitchen staff. Occasionally contact is made with staff in other departments at headquarters, i.e., Wages, Maintenance, Catering Services and Personnel. When on stand-in duty, contact is made with the School Principal in order to promote good relations and to ensure the specified requirements are being implemented. There is frequent contact with suppliers, and on occasions, it is necessary to communicate with Environmental Health Officers.
• Support the ROM to ensure that all EA policies, processes, procedures and governance strategies are embedded and effectively operated throughout your region.
• Assist the ROM with the review and revision of catering systems and work processes as and when required.
• Identify areas of improvement and ensure an agreed action plan with your ROM is put in place.
• Lend support to ensure all food guidelines are implemented and monitored, EA Menus, menu format, and portion controls are operational within your School Meals Kitchens, i.e., Nutritional Standards.
• Promote theme days and other calendar events designed to increase footfall within the school.
• Review and arrange training schedules and venues as required. Ensure all agreed EA catering training materials, suites, and tools are utilised.
• Assist the ROM with the review and revision of catering systems and work processes as and when required.
• To assist with the introduction and development of Information Technology.
• Responsible for the management of risk through identification and managing such risks within the working environment.
• Support the ROM to meet their quality and safety compliance responsibilities, including promptly completing all documentation and data concerning accidents and near misses and ensuring follow-up actions are done promptly.
• Ensure all EHO reports are recorded for data purposes and any actions highlighted by the EHO are actioned, closed and recorded promptly following the inspection. Follow up on actions identified during all internal EA Catering Quality Assurance Audits.

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES

• Comply with the Authority’s policy on Data Protection (in particular, processing sensitive personal information) and EA’s Candidate Privacy Notice for those seeking employment is properly complied with.
• Comply with the Authority’s Equal Opportunities Policy, relevant Codes of Employment and Practice and other relevant legislation. In accordance with relevant equality legislation and EA policies on diversity in the workplace, the post-holder is expected to promote good relations and pay due regard to equality of opportunity in carrying out their duties.
• Ensure that procedures and policies are reviewed/developed in line with legal and strategic requirements and are applied consistently throughout EA.
• Undertake other related duties within the grade and competence of the post holder as required. Participate as required in other activities to build the reputation and promotion of the EA Catering Service. This will include both external and internal events and roadshows.
• Attend mandatory training and enforce team attendance when requested.
• The post holder may occasionally be required to work outside normal office hours.

This job description will be subject to review in light of changing circumstances and is not intended to be rigid and inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works. Other duties of a similar nature and appropriate to the grade may be assigned from time to time.

In accordance with Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act (1998), the post-holder is expected to promote good relations, equality of opportunity and pay due regard for equality legislation at all times.

The Education Authority is an Equal Opportunities Employer.