Job Purpose:

To lead in the cooking and serving of nutritious food to our students and staff and provide an efficient and high-quality service across our family of schools.

To have overall responsibility for the day to day running of the kitchen, including compliance and health and safety.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Comply with all aspects of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Food Safety Act 2006, the Food Safety and Hygiene regulations 2013 and all other relevant legislation.
• The daily provision of catering services and production kitchen
• Work in conjunction with our catering partner.
• To lead a team of Catering Assistants in their roles and tasks to ensure that kitchens are being run efficiently and safely to provide meals for students within Okehampton College and the other Trust schools which Okehampton College cater for.
• Be aware of and comply with all procedures set down in the site operation manual
• To work within the establishments budget for food, sundries and labour.
• To produce healthy, nutritionally balanced and tasty meals
• Promote and encourage healthy food choices
• To always provide excellent service

Responsibility for Resources

• Day to Day care of light and heavy catering equipment
• Use and storage of chemicals, cleaning equipment and personal protective equipment
• Food and disposable item stocks and rotation of food stock items

Job Activities

• Day to day preparation and cooking of food to agree standards and procedures
• Responsible for the delegation of duties to kitchen staff and being the initial point of contact for any concerns arising from kitchen staff.
• Escalate any staffing issues to the Line Manager as necessary
• Provide catering outside the normal working day as and when required
• Provide induction and on-the-job training to staff in the kitchen environment
• Complete all kitchen documentation on a daily, monthly and annual basis as procedures in site operations manual.
• Temperature test of food and record results
• Complete monthly financial documentation and stock taking
• Ensure the kitchen is a hygienic environment
• Ordering of food and materials
• Maintain good communications with school students and staff with day -to day customer requests, queries and comments
• To actively promote the service to attract the maximum number of customers
• Reporting any building or equipment faults to either the Line Manager or Premises Manager

Data Protection / General Data Protection Regulations Compliance

The Privacy Notice sets our general principles in relation to Data Protection and the General Data Protection Regulations. You should also abide all Trust policies relating to the use of data including but not limited to:

• Acceptable Use Policy
• Records Retention Policy
• Personal Data Breach Procedure
• Employee Code of Conduct
• E-safety Policy
• Social Media Policy
• Use of Personal Devices Policy

Our Privacy Notice for Employees explains how we use your personal data.

You should note that a duty of confidentiality applies to all personal data seen prior to the first day of employment (for example, pupil lists for the purposes of lesson planning or other activities to support teaching and learning). This reflects the custom and practice of those contracts of employment starting on the first day of term while recognising the need to be aware of and plan to support pupil needs.

Person Specification

The person appointed must fulfil the following requirements:

Education and Training

City and Guilds 706 part 1 and part 2 or NVQ equivalent - Essential

Relevant training in operating a commercial catering kitchen - Essential

Relevant health and safety awareness training Level 3 Food Hygiene Certificate - Desirable

Experience

Good range of cooking skills - Essential

Proven track record and practical experience of large-scale catering and large-scale food production - Essential

Practical experience of operating a large-scale commercial catering kitchen - Essential

Knowledge of HACCP - Essential

Knowledge of COSSH - Essential

Knowledge of Manual Handling in the catering environment - Desirable

Knowledge of school meals service - Desirable

Knowledge of nutritional requirements of school aged children - Desirable

Skills and Abilities

Administrative skills relating to stock taking tasks - Essential

Good numeracy and literacy skills - Essential

Ability to follow guidance set out in the operational manuals - Essential

Ability to manage a team effectively- Essential

Ability to input financial data accurately using Trust procedures and documentation - Desirable

Personal Attributes

Ability to communicate at all levels both verbal and written - Essential

Commitment to the Trust's Equal Opportunities Policy - Essential

Demonstrate high standards of personal hygiene and appearance - Essential

Resilient and able to work to deadlines - Essential

Well organised - Essential

Able to work off own initiative - Essential

Ability to work and contribute to the team - Essential

Willingness to work flexibly when required, across the Trust - Desirable

Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds to apply.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

All schools in The Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

The successful candidate will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure via the Disclosure Barring Service (DBS).

‘This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (2013 and 2020). This means that certain convictions and cautions are considered ‘protected' and do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Guidance about whether a conviction or caution should be disclosed can be found on the Ministry of Justice website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-guidance-on-the-rehabilitation-of-offenders-act-1974.'

Your application form will be processed by My New Term who act for DMAT as a data processor- please see our Privacy Notice for more information about how we process job applicant personal data.

The successful candidate will be required to come to DMAT HQ to complete mandatory training.

Training Details:

Location: Central Head Office (Wardhayes) 8 Simmons Way, Okehampton, EX20 1PY

Purpose: To provide comprehensive training on company policies, procedures, and systems necessary for successful integration into the role.

Training Schedule: Daily sessions from 9am to 4pm, with breaks provided.

Benefits of Training Week:
To gain valuable insights into our company culture and values.

Interact with key stakeholders and team members.

Acquire essential knowledge and skills to excel in your role.

Establish a strong foundation for your career growth within Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust.