Catering/General Assistant

Job Description: Catering / General Assistant

Employer: Thame Senior Friendship Centre (registered charity)

Location: Thame Cricket Club and Thame Snooker Club

Hourly Rate: £12.71

Contract: Part-time, 16 hours per week plus some additional hours subject to need.

Regular Hours: 9.30am to 1.30pm Mon, Tue, Wed and Fri

About us

Thame Senior Friendship Centre is a registered local charity providing a warm welcome for older individuals seeking companionship and entertainment. We’re open for 50 weeks of the year and are run by experienced staff and supportive volunteers.

Our Friendship Centre provides a day filled with chatter and laughter, delicious refreshments and engaging activities. Members enjoy a day with friends, including a two-course lunch, and a variety of activities and entertainment. The Friendship Centre is at the Thame Town Cricket Club Pavilion on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and is open from 9.30am to 2.30pm.

Our Memories Café is an environment ideal for those with dementia, and for their carers. Our Dementia Coordinator provides practical and emotional support whilst our volunteers deliver a stimulating programme of activities and refreshments. The Café operates from Thame Snooker Club on Mondays and Tuesdays, and is open from 10am to 1pm.

About the role

We are seeking a compassionate and reliable Catering / General Assistant.

The food provided at the Friendship Centre is supplied pre-prepared, and the main part of your role (majority of your time on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays) is spent preparing and serving meals and beverages to our members. Your role includes ordering food from suppliers and maintaining high standards of kitchen cleanliness, while delivering prompt, courteous, and person-centred service to our members at all times. You are also called upon to support our Centre Manager with more general tasks from time to time.

On Mondays, the majority of your role is supporting our Dementia Coordinator at our Dementia Café. Every third week, you receive the food order at the Friendship Centre.

What you'll do in more detail

• Calculating quantities required for each meal, reheating food, checking it has reached the correct temperature and maintaining portion control.
• Serving food, ensuring it is presented attractively while meeting members’ individual dietary needs.
• Handling food, at all times ensuring compliance with food hygiene and safety regulations.
• Maintaining high standards of kitchen cleanliness – cleaning kitchen, equipment and crockery, in line with cleaning schedules, and promptly reporting any problems.
• Checking stock and ordering food and cleaning supplies.
• Responding sensitively to members’ needs – listening to members respectfully, reporting complaints or concerns, and alerting the Manager to any issues.
• Working effectively as part of a team under time pressure – following instructions accurately, supporting volunteers working alongside you, and attending required training to deliver excellent service.
• Supporting our Friendship Centre Manager and Dementia Coordinator with a variety of (non-catering) tasks.

Qualifications & Skills

• Level 3 Food Hygiene and Safety Certificate and COSHH training, or willingness to undertake the same.
• NVQ level 2, 5 GCSEs or equivalent.
• Basic computer skills to be able to complete online food orders.
• Experience in catering.
• Experience with older people.

Safeguarding

In the process of recruitment, selection and appointment Thame Senior Friendship Centre will implement a range of procedures and actions including Enhanced DBS Checks to ensure our employees, members and volunteers are safeguarded, and abuse is prevented.

TSFC strives to treat all staff equally and be a diverse and inclusive workplace, where everyone can be themselves and everyone accepts each other’s differences.

Pay: £12.81 per hour

Expected hours: 16.0 per week

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Thame, Oxfordshire: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Application question(s):

• Do you have experience in catering?
• Do you have experience working with elderly people?

Education:

• GCSE or equivalent (required)

Language:

• English (required)

Licence/Certification:

• Level 2 or 3 Food Hygiene Certificate (preferred)

Work authorisation:

• United Kingdom (required)

Work Location: In person