Detailed job description and main responsibilities

    To manage all aspects of the Trust’s patient catering operation ensuring that costs, safety and quality, quantity and timing of all service provision is within agreed standards and within budget.

2 To maintain professional, and technical standards for the catering department.

3  To ensure that standards set are achieved in accordance with agreed levels and that those standards are always monitored.

4.       To ensure MCHT meets full statutory compliance with all aspects of food safety legislation, promoting a positive food safety culture across the Trust.

5   To deputise managing all aspects of the Catering Department ensuring appropriate staffing, controls and systems are implemented and monitored to ensure a high-quality service is provided to all patients and retail customers.

6   To support on future developments of the catering service, including the new hospital programme, ensuring that any feasible and cost-effective development is discussed with all relevant personnel and that financial statistics are presented to indicate either cost savings or income generation possibilities.

7  To support in the development, implementation and management of Service Level Agreements for the Catering Department, with all suppliers.

8   To ensure compliance with all relevant guidance, recommendations, and action plans.

9   To ensure all staff undertake and remain up to date with stipulated statutory annual training requirements ensuring that all relevant food hygiene, health and safety, fire, manual handling and other legislation is always adhered to and that records are kept demonstrating this.

1   To lead on the regular review of patient menus in liaison with relevant personnel and ensuring an appropriate range of choices are available, nutritional guidelines are met, quality of service is maintained, and budgets are met.

1  To liaise with Procurement to ensure all commodities are purchased according to the appropriate guidelines and contractual agreements and that all purchases are within stipulated budget.

1  To liaise with other wards/departments to ensure that the food distribution systems are of the agreed standards in terms of timeliness, hygiene and quality of service and appropriate to all patient needs.

To ensure appropriate liaison with the Estates Department and suppliers to ensure the fabric, plant and equipment within the department is maintained in safe working order in accordance with relevant standards.

1.       To work collaboratively with ward clinical staff to promote a multi-disciplinary approach to patient meal service and attend ward led patient meals service meetings as required.

2   To ensure all purchases, production, distribution and service activity operate within the agreed budget and to agreed standards.

3     To ensure that the quality and quantity of all commodities received within catering are as specified in the HACCP plan and critical control measures are adhered to promote stock control and avoid stock loss adding unnecessary cost.

4.       To regularly review opportunities for cost savings whilst maintaining service standards to patients and retail customers.

5.       To identify requirements for capital expenditure, support in providing business cases and assist in managing the delivery of the capital plan.

6.       To manage wastage levels within the department and at ward level to agreed levels ensuring appropriate records are kept and corrective action taken as needed.

To manage staffing costs including monitoring of overtime, sickness and annual leave to ensure a cost-effective service is provided within stipulated budgeted targets.

1.       To ensure the Trust's financial instructions are adhered to.

2.       Responsible for the recruitment of catering staff ensuring an appropriate skill mix to facilitate the provision of a cost-effective and efficient service.

3.       To ensure that HR policies and procedures are known to staff and by monitoring, ensure they are implemented, and appropriate records kept.

4.       To ensure all catering staff members attend and keep up to date with their mandatory training.

5.       To manage the sickness and absence levels to comply with Trust guidance on appropriate levels of sickness.

6.       To identify training and development needs for members of the catering staff to enable the department to meet their objectives and to meet those needs within the agreed financial constraints.

To promote communication within the catering team ensuring all team members are regularly updated on operational matters, Trust communications and employee support networks and regular meetings are scheduled with the supervisory team to plan operational requirements.