Kitchen Assistant | Burwood Hospital

Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand; Christchurch; On-site; NZD 32,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand is seeking a reliable Kitchen Assistant to support meal preparation and service across hospital kitchen, patient services and caf. Flexible, hands-on role with a focus on nutritious meals and high standards of hygiene.

You will work across kitchen, patient meal services and caf operations, delivering friendly service and working as part of a supportive team to meet patient needs and safety requirements.

Qualifications

• Experience in a kitchen, food service or catering.
• Good communication and customer service skills.
• Able to work across kitchen, patient meal services and caf operations.
• Willingness to follow food safety and hygiene practices.

Responsibilities

• Assist with food preparation, portioning, plating and distribution of meals to hospital wards.
• Support preparation and service of special dietary meals.
• Provide friendly meal and beverage service to patients and staff.
• Assist with caf operations and maintain a clean, welcoming environment.
• Follow food safety legislation and safe handling practices.
• Help receive and store deliveries and rotate stock.

Education

NZ Food Safety Certificate

Job description

• Permanentfull time working 40 hours per week (must be available to work 40 hoursover 7 days per week)

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in theprinciples of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health systemthat serves all New Zealanders.

About the Role

We are looking for a reliable, hardworking andcustomer-focused Kitchen Assistant to join our team, supporting mealpreparation and service across our hospital kitchen, patient services and caf .

This is a varied, hands‑on role where you will help ensurepatients receive nutritious, high-quality meals and beverages in a timely andprofessional manner. You will also contribute to the smooth running of ourcaf , providing friendly customer service and maintaining high standards offood safety, hygiene and presentation.

As a relieving team member, you will need to be flexible andadaptable, moving between different areas of the service as required. You willwork alongside a supportive team, helping create a positive experience forpatients, whānau, visitors and colleagues.

Key Responsibilities

• Assistwith food preparation, portioning, plating and the timely distribution ofmeals to hospital wards.
• Supportthe preparation and service of special dietary meals in accordance withinstructions and established procedures.
• Providefriendly and professional meal and beverage services to patients, helpingthem understand menu options and make suitable selections.
• Assistwith caf operations, including food preparation, presentation, customerservice and maintaining a clean and welcoming environment.
• Followfood safety legislation, infection prevention and control procedures, andsafe food handling and storage practices.
• Cleanand sanitise kitchen equipment, utensils and work areas, ensuring highstandards of hygiene are maintained.
• Assistwith receiving and storing deliveries, rotating stock and minimising foodwaste.
• Followworkplace health and safety procedures, use equipment safely and reporthazards or faults promptly.
• Workcollaboratively with colleagues and supervisors to ensure services runefficiently and meals are delivered on time.
• Communicaterespectfully with patients, whānau and colleagues, recognising andresponding to diverse cultural needs.

About You

You will be a dependable and enthusiastic team player whotakes pride in providing quality food and excellent service. You will becomfortable working in a busy environment, able to follow instructionsaccurately and willing to assist wherever needed.

• Experiencein a kitchen, food service or catering environment.
• Anunderstanding of basic food safety and hygiene practices.
• Theability to work efficiently in a fast-paced environment while maintainingquality and attention to detail.
• Aflexible and positive approach to working across kitchen, patient mealservices and caf operations.
• Goodcommunication skills and a commitment to providing friendly, respectfulcustomer service.
• Theability to work cooperatively as part of a team and follow establishedprocedures.
• Acommitment to workplace health and safety, infection prevention andcontrol, and maintaining a clean working environment.
• ANew Zealand Food Safety Certificate, including NZQA Unit Standards 167 and168.
• Previousexperience in healthcare or hospital food services.

Working at Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuringexcellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce thatis diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand andservice our community. We welcome applications from our diverseMāori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

We will review applications as received and may proceedwith the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advert.

Job details

Job Reference:

Job Reference: PC4593927

Location:

South Island - Canterbury - Christchurch

Job type:

Job type: Permanent Full time

Expertise:

Non-clinical - Food Services - Food Services

Non-clinical - Health & Clinical Support Workers - Health & Clinical Support Workers