Head Chef

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

We are looking for an enthusiastic and self‑motivated individual to join the Catering Services Team for the role of Head Chef. You will support the Catering Manager and manage the kitchen team within the department, producing the finest quality food for our patients, staff and visitors as well as delivering excellent customer service.

We require an individual who has achieved a good grounding within the catering business, but would like to further develop and become proficient in all aspects of managing a busy Catering Service within an NHS Hospital.

We are presently expanding our team to meet the needs of our patients, staff and visitors in our on‑site cook‑chill production kitchen where we also produce cook‑fresh for our busy restaurant. The successful candidate will be sharing the running of the production kitchen and restaurant service alongside an equivalent co‑equal colleague.

You will be responsible for the day‑to‑day organisation of the kitchen brigade including chefs, support chefs and catering assistants.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.

The Trust operates hospital‑based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester.

Our workforce is more than 7,000 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient‑centred care. You could be one of them.

• Being open and honest
• Ensuring people feel cared for
• Showing respect to everyone

We are committed to developing a culture of continuous improvement by embedding the principles of our Improvement System.

We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation – this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex‑positive employer.

Any applicants who are offered posts requiring a DBS check as part of their employment check will have the cost of this check (at the current rate) deducted from their salary. Please see link in Supporting Information section for more details on DBS checks and costs.

• To be responsible on a day‑to‑day basis for the safe, secure and efficient production of meals.
• To ensure the maintenance of good relationships, communication and teamwork.
• To always adhere to the policies and procedures of the Trust.
• To be aware of the responsibilities of all employees and to help maintain a safe and healthy environment for staff and visitors.
• To maintain confidentiality at all times.
• To provide day‑to‑day leadership and assist in the operational control of the catering staff within the department as a whole.
• To organise and plan work rotas including the cover of sickness and annual leave on both a pro‑active and re‑active basis.
• To participate in the recruitment and selection process of new staff.
• To conduct exit interviews with staff.
• To carry out informal disciplinary interviews within the Trust's Disciplinary Procedures and in consultation with the Trust Catering Manager.
• To co‑operate with the Environmental Health Department to ensure that the standards of hygiene and organisation are being met.
• To requisition food required for production taking into account agreed standards and portion sizes.
• To ensure staff store all food in the correct manner to prevent cross contamination or spoilage.
• To oversee the portioning of food for storage in the chilled store or for processing through the blast chiller.
• To ensure that food is correctly labelled in line with the department's guidelines.
• To ensure all staff are aware and follow all aspects of food control on hot and cold temperatures in line with quality control and food safety requirements.
• To ensure the safe handling of all equipment and cleaning chemicals within the main kitchen and to report any equipment that is not safe to the Trust's Estate department.
• To complete all relevant control documentation as laid down by the department's operational policy.
• To report…