Cook 1 Catering Assistant
Leith Academy, Lorne PS
Salary £24,796 - £25,041 (pro rata for part time and sessional)
Hours 16 per week, 38 weeks sessional
Service - Catering Services
Responsible to - Unit Manager/Supervisor
Number of Post Holders 1
PURPOSE OF JOB
Our catering assistants play a vital role in delivering high quality catering services to schools and commercial buildings. Working as part of a team, to deliver a range of meals, basic food preparation and great customer care.
THE WHAT - MAJOR TASKS/JOB ACTIVITIES To undertake individually or as part of a team, activities in a kitchen or dining centre connected to the provision and transportation of the catering service.
• Basic preparation and cooking of food and beverages in accordance with a service specification.
• Customer service – Interaction with both pupils and school staff.
• Setting up the dining room and service area.
• Serving meals and having an awareness of portion control and special diets.
• Cleaning of kitchen, dining and service areas.
• Cash handling and the use of tills where appropriate.
• Use of catering equipment (training will be provided)
• Compliance with the legal and council regulations, policies, procedures and compliance to the school food regulations 2021.
• Any other duties as required by the needs of the business.
THE HOW - KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS (E.G. CREATIVITY &INNOVATION, CONTACTS &RELATIONSHIPS,DECISION MAKING)
• Excellent customer service skills - The post will involve liaison with council/other staff and incidental contact with the public. A high degree of customer care and behavioural standards are required.
• Basic knowledge of food hygiene and health and safety.
• Ability to work on your own or as part of a team.
• Good communication skills and a 'can do' attitude.
• Well-presented and good appearance
• Flexible, adaptable and the ability to work under pressure or to tight timescales.
• Demonstrate a curiosity to grow knowledge and professional development.
• Demonstrate ability to self-motivate and manage own time.
• As part of the post, the post holder will have to undertake an allergen awareness qualification as well as obtaining a basic food hygiene certificate.
ENVIRONMENT (WORKDEMANDS, PHYSICAL DEMANDS, WORKING CONDITIONS, WORK CONTEXT)
• The role is physical in nature and will involve long periods of standing and repetitive tasks.
• Daily manual handling including transportation of meal containers.
• Handling and safe use of chemicals and equipment, following safe systems of work.
• Setting up of heavy dining room equipment and receipt of deliveries.
• Working without direct supervision and may involve lone working.
• Work activities and dealing with people both with respect to occupied and unoccupied buildings. Health and safety/customer care processes will be required to be followed.
SUPERVISION AND MANAGEMENT OF PEOPLE (NUMBERS AND TYPE OF STAFF)
• The Catering Assistant will have no direct line management responsibilities however, on occasion may be required to support the induction of new staff in the absence of a supervisor/Cook 3.
• The Catering Assistant may also be asked to provide direction to agency staff or staff from other units if covering site.
RESOURCES
• The Catering Assistant will be required to control the use of stock as per service specification and to ensure activities reduce waste and environmental impact
HEALTH AND SAFETY (DO NOT ALTER THE WORDING OF THIS SECTION)
Protecting the health and safety and welfare of our employees, our third parties including: members of the public, contractors, service users and pupils, is the starting point for a forward-thinking Council. All employees are responsible for:
• Taking care of their own health and safety and welfare and that of others who may be affected by their actions or omissions.
• Co-operating with management and following instructions, safe systems and procedures.
• Reporting any hazards, damage or defects immediately to their line manager.
• Reporting any personal injury and work-related ill health, and accident or incident (including 'near misses') immediately to their line manager and assist with any subsequent investigation.
This may include co-operating fully with the provision of witness statements and any other evidence that may be required. Line managers have additional responsibilities for ensuring all health and safety risks under their management are identified, assessed and controlled, with specialist input from H&S Advisers and others, including Occupational Health where required. Where the risks cannot be adequately controlled, the activity should not proceed. Additional information can be found in the Council Health and Safety Policy
This post is regulated work with children and/or protected adults under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. The preferred candidate will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update check. Where an individual has spent a continuous period of 3 months or more out with the UK in the last 5 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required. You will be required to provide this check. An unconditional offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of both these pre-employment checks being deemed satisfactory.
We're committed to creating a workplace culture where all our people feel valued, included and able to be their best at work, and we recognise the benefits that a diverse workforce with different values, beliefs, experience, and backgrounds brings to us as an organisation.
As part of our goal to improve our organisational culture and create a great place to work together for the people of Edinburgh, we want to make sure that we're bringing the best people into our roles, not just in their skills and experience but also in their approach to work.
To help achieve this, we're changing the way we interview and assess candidates by moving from a competency-based interview approach to a behavioural and technical (skills for the job) based approach. This new way of interviewing will allow us to assess how you think and how you would bring Our Behaviours of Respect, Integrity and Flexibility into your ways of working.
You can find out more on Our Behaviours web page Our Behaviours – The City of Edinburgh Council
Our salary range typically reflects the initial starting salary and annually increases until it reaches the top of the range.
Happy to talk flexible working.
Follow us on Twitter at @edincounciljobs
View Cook 1 Description
View Sessional Working Information
THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL
About Us:
Are you keen to shape the future of Scotland's capital city? The City of Edinburgh Council is looking for dedicated and enthusiastic individuals to work with us and deliver key services across our capital city. We're the second largest local authority in Scotland with a workforce of over 19,000 who all play a crucial role in maintaining and supporting vital services to over 500,000 residents. We offer an incredible variety of career opportunities across a broad range of sectors. Join us and you'll find a role where you can make a difference and grow your career.
Our Culture:
Our Behaviours, respect, integrity, and flexibility guide everything that we do, and we strive to make sure all colleagues feel valued and have a sense of belonging in the workplace. We want to make sure that we bring people into our roles who demonstrate Our Behaviours and are dedicated and committed to our purpose of serving our community. We are focused on delivering excellent customer service to meet citizens needs and make the city a better place.
You can find out more on Our Behaviours web page Our Behaviours – The City of Edinburgh Council.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:
We recognise the benefits that diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds bring to our organisation, and we're committed to employing a workforce that represents the population of the city we serve. We particularly encourage applicants from under-represented groups including women, LGBT+ people, racially minoritised groups, people with disabilities and people who are neurodivergent.
As part of our commitment to inclusive recruitment, we're delighted to announce that we have extended our guaranteed interview scheme to include all applicants who are or have been care experienced, and who meet the essential criteria for the post. This extends our current arrangements of being a Disability Confident Employer, that guarantee an interview to applicants who meet the criteria for the post and who declare a disability.
Happy to talk flexible working.
Colleague Support and Wellbeing
As outlined in our People Strategy, we aim to nurture a healthy workforce where we can all thrive. We offer regular events, initiatives and learning opportunities covering a range of different health and wellbeing topics.
We're committed to supporting employees to achieve a healthy work life balance. There are several policies in place to support this ranging from flexible work options to career breaks. Our full suite of employment policies can be found here.
We have a range of support options available including access to counselling, a mental health support service, an occupational health service, speak up supporters and a colleague listening service.
Reasonable Adjustments:
We're committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience at work for all our colleagues and we'll work hard to ensure that we meet the changing needs of colleagues throughout their time with us. We're also geared up to support all candidates who may require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process. Candidates invited for interview, should let the hiring manager know what they need, and they will do everything they can to accommodate your request.