Detailed job description and main responsibilities Communication & Relationship Skills 1. Maintain good relationships with ward and other departmental colleagues, both in telephone communications and direct verbal contact. 2. Provide clear catering and food production related information and documentation to colleagues, patient groups, dieticians, and stakeholders. 3. Work with the Executive Head Chef/Deputy Head Chef in identifying and managing the risks in the catering department. Highlight any problem areas regarding provision of service, faults in the fabric or maintenance of the department that will affect the service for any period. 4. Maintain relationships, effective networks, and proactive communication mechanisms with colleagues. Knowledge Training and Experience 1. To carry out all work procedures in accordance with the Food Safety Act and working within departmental HACCP procedures and complete all due diligence records, such as food temperatures taken throughout the preparation and cooking process via the Monika system. This is in line with H.A.C.C.P procedure. 2. To be trained to Basic Food Hygiene standard. 3. To assist with menu planning with full knowledge of standard recipes and food production in large scale catering operations. 4. To have knowledge of therapeutic diets acquired through training and experience. 5. To participate in any training opportunities. Please note that due to the nature of the business, some training may take place in the evening and at weekends. 6. Training is compulsory/mandatory. Analytical & Judgemental Skills 1. To complete the temperature recording procedures in the catering department in line with the H.A.C.C.P system inclusive of the electronic MONIKA task minder system and Burlodge ward trolleys to ensure that all due diligence records are up to date for internal and external inspections. 2. Assist in carrying out patient and customer surveys and support the production of reports and action plans. Planning & Organisational Skills 1. To liaise with the Executive Head Chef/Deputy Head Chef, to continuously develop and improve the kitchen environment and food service and monitor food wastage and report any finding to the Executive Head Chef/Deputy Head Chef. 2. To respond to patients, verbal complaints and visit patients at ward level to answer queries or complaints upon direction of the Executive Head Chef/Deputy Head Chef. 3. Communicate with customers or patients on ward level as required. 4. Assist the Executive Head Chef/Deputy Head Chef to plan for any building work and new equipment/ software upgrades in the kitchen area. 5. Report to the Executive Head Chef/Deputy Head Chef any maintenance requirements regarding the catering department. Physical Skills 1. To be willing to work in different areas of the department if required, and work as a team. 2. To prepare food to meet daily deadlines where accuracy is essential. 3. Reasonable physical skills are required for managing deliveries of stock. Responsibility for Patient/Client Care 1. To organise and prioritise cooking methods, times, and procedures dependent on the daily workload to ensure a timely service of meals. 2. To provide nutritional, attractive, and palatable meals to hospital patients, staff and visitors and adopt responsibility at all times for the quality and outcome of each dish. 3. Assist all patients, staff, and visitors regarding the catering and food preparation and ward service. 4. To cater for any special functions and events as directed. 5. To be flexible to change shift patterns to suit the needs of the service. 6. To cope with increased workload at short notice and requests for out of hour's service as required. 7. To be responsible for putting away deliveries and maintain stock control/rotation when required. 8. To concentrate when using equipment, knives and during the cooking process following the risk assessments, to ensure that adequate safety precautions are taken when carrying out all tasks. 9. To be able to provide information on ingredients and allergen to patients, staff, and visitors. 10. To liaise with wards and clinical areas for patient meal requests and dietetic requirements 11. To have a thorough knowledge of all work procedures, practices, and equipment for the catering service. 12. To have a thorough knowledge of therapeutic diets and nutrition values obtained through training and experience. 13. To have a thorough understanding of allergen requirements 14. To set up pieces of equipment at the start of the working day e.g., ignition of ovens and fryers. Lifting of food in and out of ovens, boilers etc. 15. To clean down all preparation areas after use, following the 'clean as you go' procedure. 16. When required be able to take up the patient food trolley up to the ward and serve patients meals when required 17. To be available to see individual patients on request to address queries or concerns and be ready to provide alternatives to the menu as necessary as guided by the Executive Head Chef/Deputy Head Chef. 18. To liaise with ward staff; and ensure process is in place to identify patients' specific needs. 19. To maintain the Allergen matrix for all meals provided to the patients, staff, and visitors. Responsibility for Policy/Service Department 1. To follow policies/procedures on all aspects of food purchase, storage, and production. 2. To follow the HACCP policy, addressing any controls and constraints and identify actions required. 3. To follow any recommendations of external bodies i.e., EHO inspector to meet the agreed standards 4. Follow any policies for the catering department and legislative changes relating to all aspects of food purchase, storage, production, and service 5. Use complaints, incidents, and comments positively to learn from issues and provide feedback to improve services. 6. Operate in line with the current catering policy; contribute to developing, reviewing, and updating the policy. 7. Maintain good housekeeping and stock rotation of all provisions within the department. 8. Ensure that all equipment is used efficiently and report any defects in equipment or machinery as soon as they occur to the Executive Head Chef. 9. Ensure compliance with all Trust and departmental policies and procedures. 10. Support and assist new or existing members of staff. Responsibility for Financial & Physical Resources 1. Maintain good housekeeping, stock rotation for all provisions in dry stores, fridges, and freezers. (First In First Out) 2. To support any requisitions for provisions required on day-to-day basis. 3. Suggest initiatives to improve the service and reduce costs. 4. Support the Storekeeper to ensure that the required standards are met for all provisions and deliveries. 5. Report any defects of building or equipment immediately to Executive Head Chef. Responsibility for Human Resources 1. To participate in annual PDP/appraisal meetings line manager. 2. To attend Team meetings and follow development targets. 3. To comply with the Sickness Policy of the Trust. 4. To comply with the No Smoking Policy of the Trust Responsibility for Information Resources 1. Ensure electronic records (where they apply) are maintained for all related aspects of responsibility. 2. Keep a record of all temperatures, allergens, ,ward visits, training, and associated documents. 3. To enter data as necessary on the Monika equipment for fridge, freezers, food temperatures and cleaning tasks as required. 4. To review and maintain Burlodge digital monitoring system and act on non-compliance. 5. To enter data manually in event of failing IT systems, this includes all daily records for fridge, and freezers, and hot and cold food temperatures throughout the department. 6. Complete training on ESR to ensure compliance with all mandatory and departmental training. Responsibility for Research & Development 1. Complete data sheets for food wastage surveys and collate information accordingly to produce reports. 2. Liaise with Executive Head Chef to continuously develop and improve the kitchen environment and food service. 3. To promote the healthy eating ethos for patients, staff and visitors and meet nationally agreed targets. 4. To liaise with the dietetic team on menu developments and dietary matters or requirements, including allergen and dysphasic requests. Freedom to Act 1. Work within agreed Food Safety and Hygiene policies and procedures. Physical Effort 1. Participate in the manual service provision of the department as necessary. This may include the preparation, cooking and service of food, delivery of trolleys to wards and departments, cleaning as required 2. The job requires standing up for most part of the working day. Mental Effort 1. Full awareness is required when using knives, equipment and monitoring system. 2. Concentration is required on daily use of IT and software programmes Emotional Effort 1. To be able to listen and address complaints as they arise. 2. Communication with customers, whether patients, staff or visitors who could be experiencing distressing circumstances and make informed decisions as to how to support them. A full outline of the role is provided within the job description and person specification. Person specification Qualifications Essential criteria City & Guilds 7061&2 or NVQ Level 2/3 in Food Production. L2 Food Hygiene Certificate Experience Essential criteria Large Scale industrial Catering. Awareness of dietetic and allergen requirements Desirable criteria Large Scale Catering in a Healthcare setting. Knowledge Essential criteria Food Safety Legislation. H.A.C.C.P Principles and their application within Catering. Therapeutic Diets COSHH Values Essential criteria Ability to demonstrate the Organisational values & Behaviours Other Essential criteria Commitment to delivery of high standard service. Highly Motivated Individual with initiative and willingness to develop and make improvements. Look for opportunities to develop services Desirable criteria Flexibility Skills Essential criteria Effective Interpersonal and communication skills. The closing date for this post may be extended if there are insufficient applicants or brought forward if there is a high volume of applicants. We want to ensure that everyone who works at the Christie or uses our services is welcomed, valued and treated with dignity and respect. The Christie values diversity and is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all and fair representation across the organisation at all levels. In support of these commitments, we particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people and people with disabilities for this post. Appointment will be only on merit. We are committed to creating a balanced and diverse workforce. As such we welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Together we will foster inclusion and tackle inequity and health inequalities in cancer care. As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy All positions within the Christie are subject to the receipt of satisfactory written references, medical clearance and evidence of your Right to Work in the UK. Some roles will require a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. Please note if you are successfully appointed to a post with this Trust, you will be required to pay for your own DBS Disclosure. By applying for this post you are agreeing to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there. If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, I regret that on this occasion your application will have been unsuccessful. The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and will form part of the recruitment process. In the event that you are successful following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer. Overseas candidates wishing to apply for this position and who would require immigration sponsorship, may wish to self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the post on the UKVI website. You should be aware the Trust operates a No Smoking Policy and therefore employees are not permitted to smoke at work. Employer certification / accreditation badges Applicant requirements The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions. Documents to download Job Description and Person Specification (PDF, 232.8KB) The Christie Values and Behaviours (PDF, 919.5KB) Strategy Brochure (PDF, 1.0MB) Travel to The Christie (PDF, 3.8MB)