Role: Chef
Location: Tresham College - Kettering Campus
Salary/Benefits: Salary up to £26,499 per annum (Pro-Rata) DOE and Qualifications, People's pension, Retail and Leisure Discounts, excellent professional and personal development opportunities, accessing college courses.
Contract Type: Permanent - Part Time
About the role:
We are currently seeking a Chef to join our Bedford College Services department at The Bedford College Group .
As a Chef, you play an important role in the success of our students through:
* Food Preparation & Quality - Prepare, cook, and present food to a high standard in line with weekly menus, ensuring sufficient availability for staff and students at all times.
* Operational Support & Compliance - Assist with planning production schedules, manage food costs, maintain accurate records, and ensure compliance with HACCP, health and safety, and hygiene regulations.
* Teamwork & Communication - Collaborate with the Chef Manager and kitchen team, communicate ingredient needs, and follow daily hospitality schedules to ensure smooth kitchen operations.
* Customer Service & Cleanliness - Deliver an exceptional customer experience while maintaining exemplary cleanliness and hygiene across all food preparation areas.
* Values & Development - Promote mutual respect, uphold safeguarding and equality policies, and engage in ongoing training and development to support personal and professional growth.
About you:
* Qualifications & Culinary Expertise - Holds a Level 2 Kitchen or Larder qualification (or equivalent experience), Level 2 Hygiene certification, and strong GCSE-level English and Maths. Brings over two years of experience in large-scale food operations.
* Creative & Technical Skills - Skilled in enhancing flavours, plate and buffet presentation, and managing food costs. Demonstrates high performance in food production and awareness of hospitality trends.
* Leadership & Teamwork - Leads by example with strong planning, organisation, and communication skills. Works effectively in diverse teams and values the contributions of others.
* Professionalism & Adaptability - Maintains confidentiality, meets deadlines under pressure, and adapts to changing demands. Proactive, reliable, and committed to continuous improvement.
* Compliance & Safeguarding - Upholds safeguarding, equality, and health and safety standards. Willing to work flexibly across locations and continuously update skills and knowledge.
For a more detailed breakdown of the job role and the requirements, please see the Job Description attached to this vacancy.
Interviews to be held: TBC
Successful candidates must also be able to demonstrate alignment to our organisational VISION values:
* Valuing Teamwork - We are one team who by working together can achieve great things, respecting the opinion and valuing the contribution each of us makes.
* Improving Continuously - We challenge ourselves to always do better by trying new things, sharing knowledge, reflecting on practice and learning from others.
* Student Centred - At our heart is always doing what is best for our students. We consider students in all of our decision making to create positive outcomes and memorable experiences for every student.
* Inclusive - We celebrate differences and diversity, recognising that we can learn from each other.
* Open and Caring - We care about the wellbeing of our staff, our students, our community and wider society, creating an environment built on trust where we listen, engage with and support each other.
* Nurturing Education Excellence - We promote educational excellence by delivering programmes that challenge our students to achieve their ambitions.
About Bedford College Services (BCS)
BCS is A multi-faceted enterprise that operates across the leisure, hospitality, catering, theatre and facilities hire sectors.
The purpose of BCS is to provide a suite of commercial services to the staff and students of The Bedford College Group and to the wider community. Always striving to provide the highest quality of product and services and endeavouring to ensure that its supply chain complies with modern day thinking of sustainability, carbon emissions and modern slavery. BCS will bid for external contracts to provide those services, exploiting its management skills and capacity. Additionally BCS works to enrich student and staff experience within the Group through work experience, qualifying courses or apprenticeship, actively engaging within the communities it operates in.
About The Bedford College Group
The Bedford College Group was formed in 2017 following the merger of Bedford College and Tresham College and is now the largest provider of education in the South East Midlands, with over 15,000 students passing through our doors each year.
Today, the Group is made up of a family of colleges across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire: Bedford College, Central Bedfordshire College and Tresham College in the towns of Bedford, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough; Shuttleworth College, a specialist land-based college; The Bedford Sixth Form, (the only dedicated sixth form in Bedford); The Corby Sixth Form, (opened in September 2023); and the National College for Motorsport alongside Silverstone race circuit. To widen accessibility to education and training, the Group also has community-based Learning Centres in Bedford, Corby and Kettering which offer IT training.
Safeguarding our Students
The Bedford College Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to thorough vetting process which includes, an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide. The Bedford College Group's policy on Employment of Ex-Offenders is attached to this vacancy.
Candidates who are barred from working with children are reminded it is a criminal offence to apply for this post.