Executive Head Chef

Chartwells is a part of the wider Compass Group family dedicated to higher education sites. We’re looking for an Executive Head Chef to join our team at Northumbria University, to lead and develop the overall culinary offer, manage an excellent team, and drive continuous development across our campus outlets, hospitality, and events.

We love food, love great events and are passionate about delivering the best.

Some key responsibilities will include:

• Create, manage and develop an overall vision and plan for all food operations and outlets
• Work as part of the senior team in developing the culinary strategy and offers on an on-going basis
• Work closely with your Head Chef to clearly set expectations, duties and workflows across the kitchen team
• Drive a positive, collaborative and professional culture across your team
• Work with the Marketing Manager and Contract Director to develop and deliver an exciting engagement plan to includes pop-ups, interactive cooking sessions and events
• Source ingredients for menus and work with suppliers and central team colleagues to ensure the best products and availability for our menus
• Work alongside the Hospitality & Events Manager, and Contract Director, to develop and deliver an excellent commercial conference menu and event experience
• Manage a first-class health and safety culture by embracing Compass tools and ways of working, ensuring the team follow all health and safety procedures
• Maintain a safe, clean and organised kitchen on a day-to-day basis, ensuring paperwork is completed correctly and all staff training is up to date
• Work with the HR administrator to manage people performance, absence and reward
• Develop an apprenticeship program
• Keep all records up to date in relation to people
• Produce rosters in advance using Our Time to process schedules and payroll
• Ensure waste management solutions are implemented and followed to reduce waste across all areas and achieve budgeted GP targets
• Produce rotas in line with business needs to achieve budgeted labour costs
• Produce menu specifications and train teams to produce all menus to specifications
• Ensure purchasing volumes are in line with business needs
• Use Symphony to analyse sales, trends and volumes and make recommendations to the contract director on any changes that would benefit the businessPlease see the job description for more information about the role and duties.

Our ideal Executive Head Chef will:

• Be passionate about delivering excellent customer experiences
• Model company values of honesty, respect and fairness
• Be passionate about delivering superior food and service
• Support all colleagues, coach their team, and build a culture of teamwork
• Follow company and client policies and procedures
• Complete all relevant training sessions within set timeframes.

• Expert culinary skills
• Experience in a Head or Exec Chef role
• Minimum NVQ Lvl3 in professional cookery or equivalent
• Minimum Intermediate food hygiene/Level 3
• An experienced people-manager within a senior kitchen role
• Influential leadership skills, able to inspire others
• Business management within a kitchen environment, working to budgets, targets and deadlines
• A pragmatic, organised and collaborative approach to your work
• A full, clean UK driving license

• Microsoft proficient – use of Outlook, Teams and Excel
• Knowledge of a contract catering environment
• Experience in payroll software, and stock management systems

We ensure you/'re rewarded for all your hard work, which is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:

• Free meals whilst on shift
• Free tea and coffee
• Free on-site gym membership
• Exclusive travel discounts with TUI, Expedia, Booking.com and many more
• Save money on your food shop with discounts on Tesco, Sainsbury/'s, Morrisons and many more
• Quick access for you and your immediate family to a Digital GP, and wider healthcare benefits
• Up to 44% off cinema tickets to enjoy your favourite blockbuster
• Regular emails filled with the best discounts and savings available
• Receive cash rewards every time you spend and use them on a wide range of brands
• Un-wind with us with free wellness, mindfulness and exercise classes
• You can share all discounts and offers with your friends and families
• Contributory pension scheme
• Grow your career with our Career Pathways and MyLearning programmes
• Please note, the closing date for this role is Wednesday 23rd October. Should we receive a high volume of suitable candidates that we will close this vacancy early, so we would recommend applying as soon as possible.

Every week, Chartwells serves millions of nutritious and delicious meals to pupils and students in primary and secondary schools, academies, independent schools, colleges and universities across the UK.

Where our colleagues feel valued, can reach their full potential, and thrive - Diversity is Our Strength!