Snack Bar Assistant

Magdalen College; Oxford; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Contributory pension scheme

30 days holiday per year

Free lunch

Car parking may be available

Use of sports facilities

Optional healthcare scheme

Bus pass purchase scheme

Car benefit scheme

Cycle to Work Scheme

Job summary

Magdalen College is seeking a Snack Bar Assistant to join the Catering Department in Central Oxford. The role involves delivering high standards of service at the Old Kitchen Bar and Snack Bar, supervising casual staff, and deputising for supervisory roles as needed.

You will help maintain service quality, train staff, handle cash and till operations, and support in meeting room catering and events. A 40-hour week applies, with Sundays in the long vacation.

Qualifications

• C&G Certificate of Food & Beverage Service (Level 1) or BETC equivalent.
• Essential barista experience.
• Able to demonstrate commercial awareness.
• Reliability; punctuality and presentational standards.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; a team player.
• Computer literacy including Word, Excel, Outlook and database use.
• Professional attitude with motivation and pragmatic approach.
• Must be fluent in both spoken and written English.

Responsibilities

• Provide top-quality food and beverage service in the Old Kitchen Bar and Snack Bar.
• Supervise and train casual staff to meet standards.
• Depute for Snack Bar Supervisor and Bar Supervisor as required.
• Assist with tea/coffee service in meeting rooms and events.
• Lead weekly meetings with Head Chef to improve bar operations and customer feedback.
• Maximise sales while maintaining staffing and service standards.
• Manage stock, cash handling, till operations and reporting.

Skills

Barista experience

Fluent English

Interpersonal skills

Computer literacy

Timekeeping

Team player

Commercial awareness

C&G Food & Beverage Service Level 1

Job description

Snack Bar Assistant

Application Deadline: 29 October 2026

Department: Catering

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Central Oxford

Reporting To: Operations Manager

Compensation: £24,215 - £28,778 / year

Description

Magdalen College is one of the most beautiful of the Oxford colleges with a hundred-acre site of ancient and modern buildings including the landmark Great Tower beside Magdalen Bridge. Accommodation is provided to over five hundred graduate and undergraduate students. The College also houses several residential Fellows and provides teaching and meeting rooms, offices and common rooms that are serviced seven days a week. The catering team also service the Senior Common Room, providing lunch and High Table dinners. The Buttery provides Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner provision for Middle Common Room and Junior Common Room members in Hall. The Old Kitchen Bar provides a snack bar service throughout the day as well as a licensed bar during the evenings, also providing a venue for students bops and functions. The College is a busy conference venue during the summer months and is also a popular destination for visitors to Oxford during the vacations. The Snack Bar Supervisor is employed by the President and Fellows of Magdalen College and is responsible under them to the Operations Manager.

Key Responsibilities

Food & Beverage Service

• Implement the highest standards of service as defined in the Catering Department's code of practice (Operations Manual), supervise and train all casual staff to meet the appropriate principles.
• Ensure that food service standards are maintained and continually improved at all times throughout the Old Kitchen Bar.
• To deputise for the Snack Bar Supervisor when and where required.
• To deputise for the Bar Supervisor (Alcohol) when and where required.
• To provide tea and coffee in the meeting rooms during the day, especially in absence of the Butler and Supervisors.
• In the absence of the Snack Bar Supervisor hold meetings on weekly basis with Head Chef, in order to improve the Bar and pass the feedback from customers to Head Chef.
• To maximise the sales and profits in the snack bar and also maintain the staffing to the acceptable level at all times.

People Management

• In the absence of the Snack Bar Supervisor, supervise the Old Kitchen Bar staff in a responsible and professional manner.
• Implementation of the dress code and hygiene standards at all times.
• Supervise where needed all porters, service staff full and casual labour.
• Supervise the day-to-day casual labour with regard to presentation, skills and attitude.

Professional Obligations

• Work on a rostered basis (to include Sundays during the long vacation) in the Old Kitchen Snack Bar and be flexible to work in wet Bar, Senior Common Room and hall in order to meet the catering department need.
• Work with Snack Bar Supervisor, Operations manager and other heads of department to uphold the standards and principles of the Catering Department and the College as a whole.
• To have the skills needed to develop and maintain good standards of supervision, in the Old Kitchen Snack Bar and Bar services and other areas of the College as and when required.
• Work is carried out in a dedicated and responsible manner.
• Support in the management of change and operational development within the Catering Department.
• Maintain service standards throughout the Catering Department in terms of skills and equipment.
• Control cash floats and operate tills maintaining financial integrity at all times.
• Maintain standards of skills and presentation of all service staff including casual labour.
• In the absence of the Butler, serve refreshments in the afternoon in the Senior Common Room, Smoking Room and associated areas when and where required.
• In the absence of the Bar Supervisor maintain services to the Bar (Alcohol) and associated areas when and where required.
• Reduction of waste in Old Kitchen Bar and make sure all the wastage is recycled in a correct way at all times.

Administration

Support the Snack Bar Supervisor as directed in the following areas:

• Manage all stock holding to the lowest practical level.
• Deliver staff training in skills, service delivery, customer services and food safety as directed by the Operations Manager.
• Compare till purchasing numbers with kitchen production sheets to assess portion size and/or volume.
• Order all the food and salad on a daily basis using the proper forms provided by the Operations Manager
• Complete and return all the cleaning rotas on the daily/weekly basis back to the Operations Manager.
• Complete and return all the takings sheets on the daily/weekly basis back to the Operations Manager.
• Keep the Board in the Bar updated with all promotions and specials discussed with Head Chef and the Operations Manager.

Health and Safety

• Implement and the department's Health and Safety Policy.
• Maintain and update food standards documentation and work practices.
• Uphold the hygiene standards of the service and casual staff.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• C&G Certificate of Food & Beverage Service (Level 1) or BETC equivalent.
• Essential barista experience.
• Able to demonstrate commercial awareness.
• Reliability; an excellent timekeeper and good standards of personal presentation.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, being a \"Team Player\".
• Computer literacy; working knowledge of Word, Excel, Outlook and Database operations.
• Professional attitude, motivated developer, consistent yet pragmatic.
• Must be fluent in both spoken and written English.
• Any other task, duties and responsibilities not listed above which can reasonably be expected to be performed or undertaken by a Snack Bar Assistant.

The above list of duties and responsibilities is not exhaustive and you may be required to carry out alternative tasks as instructed by your manager to ensure the department can operate an efficient service at all times.

Benefits

The salary for the post will be on the scale £24,215 – £28,778 per annum (Grade 3 of the College Unified Pay Scale), depending on skills and experience, plus Oxford Location Allowance of £1,730 per annum.

• Membership of contributory pension scheme.
• 30 days holiday per year.
• Free lunch may be provided.
• Car parking may be available.
• Use of sports facilities.
• Optional contributory Healthcare Scheme.
• Bus pass purchase scheme.
• Car benefit scheme
• Cycle to Work Scheme.

The College provides for maternity leave on a basis that exceeds the statutory provisions. This is a day one entitlement and there is no qualifying period, women are eligible for 26 weeks’ maternity leave on full pay, followed by 13 weeks of leave on Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and 13 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Arrangements for Adoption Leave, Shared Parental Leave, and Paternity Leave. Magdalen College has a priority claim for University nursery places.

Hours of Work

The hours of work will be 40 hours per week on a rostered basis to include Sundays in the long vacation.

The College is committed to maintaining a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all staff, students and visitors are respected. We welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds, including those under-represented within higher education. Recruitment, and progression within employment, will be determined according to personal merit and the duties and requirements of the post. In all cases, the ability to perform the job will be the primary consideration.