Job overview

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) require a catering Operations Manager who is experienced in a high-volume catering service who has both the management skill, and practical skills needed in running a seven day, all year-round service.

Our catering service operates a patient meal service across eight hospital sites throughout Northamptonshire, each having its own production kitchen. Six of these hospitals also have staff and visitor café outlets. Both these services are within this positions management portfolio.

A hospital patient meal service is a service that must happen without fail, so good contingency planning and quick thinking, problem solving is an essential skill that’s needed.

Our café services are also an essential service to keep our staff nutritionally fuelled, and a service available for hospital visitors.

The Catering Operations Manager position is within the NHFT Hotel Service Department working alongside operation managers for the domestic, portering, and reception, administration departments reporting to the deputy and general manager.   

The position is 37.5 hours per week, predominately Monday to Friday 09:00-17:00 although flexibility for shifts and days worked is vital to meet business demands.

Car owner/driver and current driving license essential or access to a car as you will be required to travel to multiple locations across the county (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010)

Main duties of the job

·         The Catering Operations Manager will be ultimately responsible for the food service operation for Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT), both inpatient meal service and staff and visitor café services countywide.

·         Manage the service whilst maintaining statutory requirements, including registration with external bodies as legally required.

·         Trust lead expert for the food services, representing the food services to the Trust and with external bodies.   

·         Ensure NHS food standard requirements are embedded into the service, manage the reporting process to NHSE and to the Trust as and when required.  

·         Ensure required systems, process and policies are managed, monitored and updated as needed. i.e. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Food Safety Policy. 

·         Manage countywide cafe food service, ensuring its performance remains financially viable within allocated budget.  

·         Engage, liaise and represent the Trust with external bodies for the food operations countywide - Environmental Health. 

·         Engage and be a member of recognised NHS food service bodies - Hospital Caterers Association (HCA)

Working for our organisation

NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools. We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.