Catering Assistants

Please read in conjunction with Notes for applicants. This is a part-time position.

Reporting relationship

The General Assistant will report to the Chef Manager or the Chef on duty.

Purpose of the role

To provide general assistance in the College kitchens and dining hall, including cleaning, basic food preparation and serving meals.

General Duties

  • Stock checking and stacking of goods
  • Helping the Chefs prepare the food as required
  • Serving food on the hotplate to students at mealtimes (including till operation) in a friendly and efficient manner
  • Develop a friendly and helpful atmosphere to all customers
  • Cleaning down after meals
  • Clearing and cleaning waste bins
  • Washing and storing of equipment
  • Routine cleaning of production and service equipment
  • Deep cleaning of specific areas and equipment
  • Observe requirements of Health and Safety at Work Act and to act on COSSH recommendations for cleaning practices, ensuring that the correct cleaning material is used for the individual task.
  • Observe Food Hygiene Regulations
  • Observe regulations regarding fire prevention and control
  • Compliance with the correct dress code including protective footwear
  • Attend further training courses as required
  • Further tasks as directed by the Senior General Assistant, Chef on duty, Chef Manager

Person Specification

The successful candidate will have shown that they have the following skills, experience and attributes:
  • Recent experience of working in a commercial catering environment (larger than a café, takeaway or B&B)
  • A valid Food Hygiene qualification
  • Basic food preparation skills
  • Able to use basic catering equipment
  • Hard working, well motivated, positive attitude
  • Good communication skills and a friendly manner for dealing with students and staff
  • Capable of undertaking some moderately strenuous duties (e.g. standing for long periods and lifting
  • The ability to establish effective working relationships with colleagues and to be a good team member
  • Able to follow both written and oral instructions
  • Smart, tidy and clean
  • Awareness of the health and safety issues in a catering environment

Terms and conditions

Working hours
Normal hours of work are between the hours of 07.00 to 20.00 on a 3 out of 7 day shift basis. The shifts will be set monthly by the Chef Manager.

The Employee may be required to work such hours outside normal hours of employment as the Employer considers necessary to meet the needs of the business.

Salary and benefits

Salary will be on St. Clare's Scale for Catering staff which is £ 13,622,23 per annum Grade 1 point 4. Annual cost of living increases are considered on the 1 September each year.

Pension

A contributory pension is offered through St. Clare's group personal pension scheme. The employer pays double the contribution of the employee, up to a maximum of 10% of gross salary, ie. the employer pays up to 10%, and the employee pays up to 5%. Employee's contributions above 5% may be made, but do not attract a matching contribution from the employer.

There is a death-in-service benefit of four time's annual salary.

Probationary Period:

The first six months will be probationary, within which notice is two weeks on either side. Thereafter notice is one month on either side.

References and Checks

All offers of employment and contracts are issued subject to satisfactory references and satisfactory outcomes on completion of all necessary checks, including establishing the right to work in the UK. In some cases some or all of these checks will have been undertaken before an offer is made. In most cases, taking up employment will be subject to the satisfactory completion of all necessary procedures.

Under the National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools, we are required to undertake additional checks on all employees working with our residential students who are under 18:

  • Full written references, and phone references on quoted referees, including current employer, may be obtained before or after interview. You should indicate specifically if you wish St. Clare's to refrain from contacting your current employer.
  • Police checks / Criminal Records Bureau checks must also be undertaken, for which employees / prospective employees are required to provide information and consent. A Certificate of Good Conduct is acceptable if you are returning from abroad.
  • Contact with all previous employers where the employee has worked with children or vulnerable adults is also required. This is to establish the reason for leaving the position. On occasions, further information and a reference may be sought in writing, by phone or by other means. By providing details of previous employment, it is assumed that the employee/prospective employee has given consent for this contact, and no specific consent of the employee / prospective employee will be sought.
  • Satisfactory completion of a health questionnaire.
The College reserves the right to contact any previous employer and to make any additional enquiries it considers necessary in order to meet its responsibilities in relation to employment of people working with students who are under the age of 18.

Statutory Deductions

Tax and National Insurance will be deducted from salaries in accordance with UK employment regulations. St. Clare's, Oxford will require P45s (if available) and National Insurance numbers before commencement of employment.

Please apply with short covering letter and current C.V., including two referees, one of which should be your current or most recent employer either by mail or by email to:

Chris Maddox, Chef Manager
St. Clare's, Oxford
135 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 7AL

Email: recruitment@stclares.ac.uk

The deadline for applications is on Wednesday 4 May 2011

Please note that CVs without a suitable accompanying letter and/or details of referees will be discarded.