Technical Practitioner - Food Innovation

Ashford College; Broadstairs; On-site; GBP 17,000 - 24,000; Part time

Job summary

Join a leading college as a Technical Practitioner in Food Innovation, where you will support small businesses in a newly opened kitchen. This role involves ensuring smooth kitchen operations, guiding users, and maintaining high hygiene standards. Ideal for those passionate about food innovation and eager to make a difference.

Benefits

Competitive salary and holiday entitlement

Access to online discounts via Rewards Scheme

Generous pension scheme - 18% employer contribution

Time off for child's first day at school

Community Days and Annual Staff Celebration Day

Qualifications

• Background in food production or related environment.
• Confident with industrial kitchen equipment.
• Understanding of food safety and hygiene protocols.

Responsibilities

• Support food production activities and maintain hygiene standards.
• Guide users through specialist kitchen equipment.
• Perform quality checks and maintain inventory.

Skills

Practical skills

Communication

Problem-solving

Education

Level 3 qualification in a relevant field

Job description

About The Role

Are you the secret ingredient to Food Innovation for East Kent Colleges Group?

Join our team as a Technical Practitioner in our Food Innovation Kitchen, supporting our Technical Consultant

Are you passionate about food innovation and supporting small businesses? We are looking for a proactive and hands-onTechnical Practitioner – Food Innovationto join our dynamic team. Based in our newly opened Innovation Kitchen in Broadstairs, you’ll play a vital role in ensuring the smooth, safe, and efficient operation of the EKC Innovation Kitchen.

Under the direction of our Technical Consultant – Food Innovation, you’ll work closely with small businesses, opening up and locking down the kitchen, guiding users through our specialist equipment, supporting food production activities, and maintaining high standards of hygiene and safety. From troubleshooting kitchen equipment to performing quality checks and maintaining inventory, your work will directly contribute to the success of the EKC Innovation Kitchen.

The core hours for this role are 26 hours per week, but at times there may be opportunity for the postholder to work additional hours. If you do undertake additional hours, you would not be expected to work more than 37 hours per week.

For 26 hours, the salary will be £17,218 pro rata (£24,503 FTE) per annum. Note, this role is until 31 July 2026.

Working pattern (but can be flexible)
Monday - 8am -1.30pm
Wednesday - 8am - 1.30pm
Friday - 8am - 6pm

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who thrives in a practical, fast-paced environment and is excited by the opportunity to support food entrepreneurs and learners alike.

Alongside our priority of excellent student experience, we also focus on our employees. Here are just some of ourbenefitswhen working for the East Kent Colleges Group:

• Competitive salary and holiday entitlement
• Access to 100's of online discounts via our Rewards Scheme (Inc. Restaurant, Grocery, Retail, Gym, Holidays)
• Access to cycle to work, car leasing and tech purchasing schemes
• Generous pension scheme - 18% employer contribution
• Being part of a company with a Eco-Sustainability focus of being Net-Zero
• Time off for your child's first day at school, moving home and for interviews
• My 10 Days initiative - bid for up-to 10 days off work to pursue voluntary work
• Being part of Community Days and Annual Staff Celebration Day

About You

You’ll bring a flexible, can-do attitude and a background in food production or a related environment. You’re confident working with industrial kitchen equipment and understand the importance of food safety and hygiene protocols. You will need to be flexible as the role may require some weekend work.

You’ll also have:

• Excellent practical and administrative skills
• Strong communication and interpersonal abilities
• The initiative to work independently and solve problems on the go
• A commitment to safeguarding and promoting a safe, inclusive environment

A Level 3 qualification in a relevant field is desirable, but not essential -we’re more interested in your practical experience and willingness to learn.

If you’re ready to support innovation, empower small businesses, and help shape the future of food, we’d love to hear from you

No need to spend time updating your CV, just clickapplyand complete our short application form. You can save your progress as you go, andwe’llreview all applications and get back to all candidates after the closing date.

If you are interested in an informal chat about the role, or have any queries, please email us [e-mail]

About Us

Outstanding Ofsted Provider

East Kent Colleges Group is an Ofsted Outstanding rated provider. It is proud to be the first General Further Education college organisation in the country to have received the Outstanding grade against each of the strands under the new Ofsted inspection framework. An inclusive provider, our colleagues place our students and the communities we serve at the heart of everything they do across EKC Group and this is illustrated in our ‘Strong’ skills grading by Ofsted.

Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and we ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities for upholding these principles.

As a designated establishment, we are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore have an obligation to carry out checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. These checks include conviction/caution self-declaration, Enhanced DBS check and obtaining sufficient referencing.

It is a criminal offence to apply for a post which involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to children if you are barred from doing so.

If you are successful in being shortlisted to interview, your suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults will be explored as part of the interview process.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

East Kent CollegesGroup is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of our communities. We are particularly keen to increase the diversity of our staff body and encourage applications from candidates where there is underrepresentation in our workforce.

We are proud to hold thePositive About Disability Awardand are aDisability Confident Employer. This confirms our commitment to interviewing all applicants who declare that they have a disability and who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. With any successful candidate, we will explore any reasonable adjustments to a role due to a health needs or disability.

Similarly, we have a commitment toCare Leavers (Care Covenant Pledge)and to current or previousArmed Forces personnel (Armed Forces Covenant Pledge)with a commitment to interview applicants who meet the positions essential criteria and who have declared this on their application.

We welcome applications from anyone wishing to work flexibly and those considering a return to work from a career break.

We do not engage with agencies for permanent staff and have an in-house recruitment team.