Join our team as a Head Chef with excellent Monday to Friday working hours. Are you passionate about food and looking for a role that offers a strong work life balance within the NHS? We are recruiting for a Head Chef to lead our catering team within NHS Dumfries and Galloway. This exciting opportunity allows you to showcase your culinary expertise while benefiting from predominantly Monday to Friday working, enabling you to enjoy your weekends. About the role As a Head Chef, you will oversee the day to day operations of the production kitchen, which produces approximately 1800 main meals over seven days per week. There is also a significant hospitality function trade, both internal and external. You will provide strong leadership to ensure the consistent preparation and delivery of high quality meals for patients, staff, and visitors, while ensuring full compliance with legislative, food safety, and hygiene standards. Main duties of the job Leading, training, and developing a skilled team of chefs to deliver high quality meals consistently. Overseeing food production for patient, retail, and hospitality services, ensuring availability, minimising waste, and maximising efficiency. Contributing to the development of nutritious, seasonal, and cost-effective menus. Ensuring compliance with food hygiene legislation, allergen management, and HACCP requirements, including carrying out regular internal audits and addressing any areas of non compliance. Supporting recruitment activity and mentoring staff to build a motivated and competent team. Monitoring budgets, managing resources effectively, and planning efficient staff rotas. What we are looking for We are seeking a motivated and experienced individual with SVQ Level 2 and Level 3 in Professional Cookery or Food Preparation and Cooking, or equivalent qualifications. Proven experience of managing a professional kitchen and leading a team. Strong knowledge of food safety, dietary requirements, and menu development. Excellent organisational, communication, and problem-solving skills. Good financial awareness with experience of budget and resource management. What we offer Competitive Band 4 salary. Opportunities for professional development and training. A supportive team culture that values kindness, connection, and continuous improvement. Experience Essential Minimum of two years supervisory experience managing large staff groups. Previous experience of working in a professional kitchen environment. Experience of human resources procedures, including recruitment, appraisals, absence management, and disciplinary processes. Desirable Previous managerial experience. Experience of procurement processes. Waste management experience. Knowledge of catering software systems. Additional criteria Honest, reliable, adaptable, and flexible. Open to new ideas and ways of working. Able to work independently and as part of a team. Professional with a positive work ethic. Positive attitude with organised and energetic behaviour while multitasking. Respectful and courteous approach to all staff groups and service users. Supportive approach towards service managers. Firm and consistent approach to human resources matters. Ability to remain calm under pressure and in challenging situations. Ability to meet tight deadlines and provide required reports and analysis as needed. Acts as an ambassador for the Facilities Directorate. Willing and able to facilitate change and motivate others to engage positively with change. Informal enquiries to - jijo.mathew@nhs.scot As from 1st April 2026, the Agenda for Change full-time working week will be reducing from 37 to 36 hours per week. Part time hours will be reduced pro-rata. However, there will be a corresponding increase in the hourly rate so that pay will not be affected. Please ensure the vacancy salary meets the minimum salary required for sponsorship. INFORMATION FOR ALL CANDIDATES To find out more about working with NHS Dumfries and Galloway and for an insight into our friendly, beautiful corner of Scotland please visit our Work With Us web pages https://www.nhsdg.co.uk/workwithus/ APPLICATION PROCESS - https://www.careers.nhs.scot/how-to-apply/application-process/ Please note that our correspondence method is by e-mail, therefore please ensure you enter your email address accurately. Please check your e-mail regularly (including junk folders) and also your Jobtrain account for updates. Please contact Jobtrain Candidate Support Hub - https://jobseekersupport.jobtrain.co.uk/support/home for advice and support with any system issues. Accessing Jobtrain - Users may experience issues if accessing Jobtrain via mobile phone, we recommend using a computer, laptop or tablet. Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Candidates should provide original and authentic responses to all questions within the application form. The use of artificial intelligence (AI), automated tools, or other third-party assistance to generate, draft, or significantly modify responses is strongly discouraged. By submitting your application, you confirm that all answers are your own work, reflect your personal knowledge, skills and experience, and have not been solely produced or altered by AI or similar technologies. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in your application being withdrawn from the application process. CVs - DO NOT upload a CV as this will not be used for shortlisting purposes. Assessment Form - Within the application you are required to answer three questions giving you the opportunity to fully evidence why you are the ideal person for the job. Please ensure these statements are written by yourself and are unique to you. This section times out after 30 minutes. A tip is to build your reply on a Word document and copy and paste into Jobtrain. If you exceed the maximum amount of characters it will cut your text at this point, please check your information once copied and pasted. Once you have submitted your application form you will be unable to make any amendments. Posts close at midnight on the indicated date however please be aware that a vacancy may close early due to volume of applications, therefore you should not delay in submitting your application. If you are a member of staff please ensure you update your Jobtrain profile to reflect that you are employed by NHS Dumfries and Galloway. Staff and patients across Dumfries and Galloway enjoy free, unlimited parking at all our hospital sites. DISCLOSURE SCOTLAND Some of our posts may require you to undergo a criminal records check. Changes as of the 1 April 2025 to the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme membership now sees more roles requiring PVG that may not have needed this check in the past. If you are successful in this role you will be notified which level of check is required by the recruitment team. If you would like to read more information please visit: Disclosure levels - mygov.scot EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY NHS Dumfries and Galloway is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce, and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Dumfries and Galloway welcomes applicants from all sections of the community. PUBLIC PROTECTION Public protection practice encompasses the recognition and management of risk in order to prevent or reduce harm to children, (including unborn babies), young people and adults. All public protection legislation, and NHS Dumfries and Galloway (NHSDG) policies and guidance are founded on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights, and the principles of these Conventions underpin all NHSDG core business. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR INTERNATIONAL CANDIDATES RIGHT TO WORK IN THE UNITED KINGDOM NHS Dumfries and Galloway has a legal obligation to ensure that it does not employ any worker who has not been granted the relevant permission to work in the UK. This permission is without exception granted by the UK Border Agency. We are required to check the entitlement to work in the UK of all prospective employees, regardless of nationality or job category. WORK VISA If you require a Work Visa, please check to see if you and the vacancy you are applying for are eligible by visiting the Home Office website: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or if you require a work visa that the post would be eligible to be sponsoredBEFORE submitting your application form. We are unable to provide sponsorship for bank contracts. UNITED KINGDOM REGISTRATION NHS Dumfries & Galloway are unable to support OSCE Training for international nurses for vacancies. Vacancies requiring professional registration require full United Kingdom registration with the appropriate council (eg NMC, HCPC, GMC, GDC etc).