Team Leader - Kitchen

apetito Limited; United Kingdom; On-site; Full time

Job summary

A leading food supplier in the UK seeks a Kitchen Manager to oversee kitchen operations and staff. The role involves meeting production targets, ensuring health and safety compliance, and engaging with staff for operational improvements. Candidates should have relevant qualifications and be committed to fostering a sustainable work environment. Full-time position with competitive salary and benefits.

Benefits

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Discretionary annual bonus

Pension scheme with employer contributions

Subsidised canteen

Free parking

Qualifications

• Must manage kitchen performance across multiple operations.
• Need to be confident in handling health and safety issues.
• Expected to improve staff engagement through regular meetings.

Responsibilities

• Supervise up to 12 operatives in kitchen operations.
• Ensure daily targets are met for kitchen operations.
• Implement and maintain procedures for kitchen efficiency.

Skills

Leadership

KPI development

Food hygiene

Staff engagement

Education

GCSEs in English and Mathematics at grade C or equivalent

NVQ Level 3 qualification

Level 3 Food Hygiene certification

Cleaning in Food premises qualification

Sustainable Safety training

Accident investigation training

Job description

Overview

The main purpose of the role is to manage the operation of the kitchen. This will require the direct supervision of up to 12 operatives. The postholder will need to be confident in dealing with a wide range of employee, operational, and health and safety issues in accordance with company policy and procedures.

The main purpose of the role is to manage the day-to-day performance of the kitchen, which has 5 different operations: Stephan, Tumbler, Chilling of products, Pot cooking, and CQC. Each operation has a set kilo’s per hour target. The postholder will have to meet the daily targets set for each activity and develop KPI sheets for each area.

This role is working 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

£17.04 per hour + Bonus + Benefits

Who we are

apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors, serving more than 1,300 care homes, healthcare, and education settings.

Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, then frozen to lock in the goodness.

Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier, cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.

Responsibilities

• Control/minimise devaluations by following recipes and procedures in place.
• Have monthly 1-2-1 meetings with all staff to improve staff engagement.
• Design and take ownership of all procedures and SOPs for all areas.
• Implement and sustain 5S in each area.
• Hold weekly department meetings to report outputs and discuss issues.
• Work with the traceability project to improve traceability.
• Collaborate with TL support to ensure the supply of materials needed to meet 100% plan attainment.
• Develop attribute sheets for every cooking and operation, ensuring staff taste every batch before release.
• Ensure accurate materials are used in each cooking.
• Develop and own a weighing operation for each cooking.
• Maintain good environmental controls (waste segregation/minimisation, efficient use of equipment/energy).
• Support future kitchen design projects with the production manager and management team.
• Participate in continuous improvement projects.
• Manage and develop KPI spreadsheets to improve department targets.
• Display daily achievements to engage the team.
• Hold monthly meetings with production and finance teams to review KPI progress.
• Assist other areas in replicating successful KPI improvements.
• Report on department performance (KPI results) during daily production meetings.
• Maintain or improve current standards against targets.
• Collect data to support area improvements.

About you

• GCSEs in English and Mathematics at grade C or equivalent.
• NVQ Level 3 qualification.
• Level 3 Food Hygiene certification.
• Cleaning in Food premises qualification.
• Sustainable Safety training.
• Accident investigation training.

Company Benefits

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer.
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, with options to purchase additional days.
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme.
• Pension scheme with employer contributions up to 4%.
• Life assurance worth at least 1x salary.
• Subsidised canteen, free parking, Christmas voucher, and perks scheme.

Our Values

As a family-owned business, we pride ourselves on making a difference and creating outstanding meals. We focus on health, well-being, and sustainability, aiming for Net Zero by 2040. We embrace inclusion and are committed to an inclusive workplace where everyone can reach their full potential.