Catering Development Officer

Dyddiad hysbysebu:	15 Awst 2025
Cyflog:	£25,449 i £27,621 bob blwyddyn
Oriau:	Llawn Amser
Dyddiad cau:	29 Awst 2025
Lleoliad:	Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1RQ
Cwmni:	West Sussex County Council
Math o swydd:	Parhaol
Cyfeirnod swydd:	CPP01190_1755244356

Crynodeb

Do you have experiencing in working in catering or hospitality, and possess great craft skills?

Can you be understanding of the differing needs of young people with special educational needs?

Are you a passionate advocate for healthy and balanced eating?

If so, we'd love to hear from you!

We are seeking a Catering Development Officer to operate within a busy kitchen environment, providing staffing support and supervising the team to deliver healthy, freshly prepared school meals for pupils and staff.

Are you keen to learn more about a rewarding career in Catering? Explore our Catering Opportunities page here.

Salary: £25,449 to £27,621 per annum (calculated to term time only)

Contract Type: Permanent, Term Time Only (39 weeks)

Working Pattern: Full-time (37 hours per week)

Base Location: County Hall, West Street, Chichester, PO19 1RQ; County Hall North, Chart Way, Horsham RH12 1XH; or Bridge House, Barrington Rd, Goring-by-Sea, Worthing BN12 4SE (Hybrid and Flexible Working) with countywide travel.

Interview Date: Friday 12 September 2025

The successful candidate will be expected to travel and work across various schools throughout West Sussex. There may be occasions when work from a County Council building is required. Additionally, there will be opportunities to work from home and/or remotely. Final arrangements will be confirmed with the successful candidate.

About the Job

Our work in Catering and any given day can often feel quite different from the next! There will be some key responsibilities likely to feature in this role, including:

• Travel to schools to provide support and emergency coverage for catering assistants and cook supervisors in these kitchens.
• Responsible for delivering a range of tasks to a high standard within agreed timescales.
• Monitor and address any issues related to the Health and Safety at Work Act and Food Hygiene Regulations.
• Assist with menu development and the creation of special diet menus, including providing input for policy enhancements, collecting stakeholder feedback, and implementing improvements in collaboration with the Senior Catering Officer.
• Support team members' development: Embrace a flexible and positive approach to supervising your team, inspiring growth and confidence.

With a term-time only contract that supports a healthy work/life balance, an excellent pension scheme, and a wide range of discounts providing our staff access to hundreds of incredible offers, there has never been a more exciting time to join us!

We would love to hear from you if you have

• City & Guilds 706/1 & 2 or NVQ Level 3 in Catering, or an equivalent qualification, or demonstrable relevant experience.
• Minimum Level 2 Food Safety certification, with Level 3 Food Safety certification preferred.
• A valid driving licence, as many school locations are rural and may not be accessible by public transport.
• Working knowledge of all applicable Food Hygiene and Health and Safety legislation.
• Familiarity with government School Food Standards and awareness of special dietary requirements.
• Understanding of menu planning and recipe development.
• Knowledge and experience of effective ordering, costing, and stock control processes, with the ability to make value-conscious decisions within available resources.
• Proven experience in providing large-scale catering, including preparing and cooking fresh food from scratch.
• Experience in supervising or managing a catering or hospitality team.

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

Rewards and Benefits

We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including the following:

• A excellent local government pension scheme
• A Term Time Only (TTO) contract where you will only work during periods in which schools are open.
• A range of flexible working options, depending on your job role
• Maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
• volunteering opportunities
• Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• A range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform.
• Health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans.

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CPP01190.

Does this sound like the opportunity for you? Click apply below, upload your CV, and complete the application form, explaining how you meet the key skills in the attached job description. Please ensure all that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV.

Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

Struggling to apply? Book onto a Digital Support Session in a library near you to get help navigating our application form.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to right to work within the UK, enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, satisfactory references, and health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.

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