Bank Head Chef

Athena Care Homes (UK) Ltd; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Part time

Job summary

A family-owned care home provider in England is looking for a Bank Head Chef to oversee kitchen operations across seven locations. You will lead the teams, ensure compliance with food safety standards, and enhance the dining experience for residents. This role involves supporting service during staff absences and requires a full UK driving license. The position offers a flexible bank contract with opportunities for full-time hours.

Benefits

28 days holiday per year

Free Blue Light Card

Professional growth opportunities

Qualifications

• Proven track record for leading and motivating a team.
• Experience as a multi-sited Head Chef is essential.
• Experience in a care environment is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop kitchen teams to deliver quality catering service.
• Support kitchen practices, ensuring compliance with food safety standards.
• Provide support during kitchen team absences and annual leave.

Skills

Leadership and team management

Food safety standards

Empathy and respect

Job description

As a Bank Head Chef at Athena Care Homes, you will be responsible for supporting the kitchen teams across our 7 care homes to provide an outstanding hospitality service to our residents.

Athena’s values of empathy, respect, and individualized care are at the heart of our dining experience. As Bank Group Chef, you’ll guide our chefs to engage with residents in the dining areas, ensuring top-quality service from kitchen to table.

About Athena Care Homes

Athena Care Homes is an award winning, family-owned business operating seven residential nursing homes in East Anglia where care and compassion runs through to our very core. There is a shared vision across all of our specialist care homes: we strive to provide happy, safe and comfortable care to every resident.

At Athena we celebrate everyone as an individual. Whether that’s delivering authentic care, supporting our team to make moments for our residents and their loved ones, or whether that’s learning and growing together.

About the role

Reporting to the Head of Culinary & Hospitality, the Bank Head Chef will work closely with the Head Chefs and wider kitchen teams to support with the delivery of an exceptional dining service to our residents. This will include enhancing menus, exceeding food safety and hygiene standards and inspiring the teams to make an impact in the lives of our residents.

Shift Pattern

This will be a bank contract, 0-hours per week but you could be offered up to full-time hours depending on the needs of the business.

Location

This is a regional role and you will be working from any one of our 7 locations, and will be expected to travel to all locations in accordance with your role.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Leading and developing the kitchen teams to deliver an outstanding catering service.
• Review and develop good catering practices, including food safety and hygiene standards. You’ll lead dining checks across homes to support quality and regulatory compliance.
• Support the kitchen teams to promote choice and dignity to the residents of the home with the services we provide, and ensure the nutritional content of the meals provided cater for the dietary needs of all residents.
• Travel to all locations to provide support during periods of absences and annual leave.

Training, Skills & Experience Required

• Experience as a multi-sited Head Chef is essential.
• Experience in a care environment is advantageous.
• Proven track record for leading, empowering, supporting & motivating a team.
• Full UK driving license, access to a vehicle and the ability to travel between the locations listed above is essential.
• We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role, a valid right to work in the UK is required.

What we can offer

• Fully comprehensive induction.
• 28 days of holiday per year.
• Free Blue Light Card & access to the Blue Light discount platform.
• Professional growth is central at Athena. This role offers the chance to mentor, share best practices, and play a vital part in our commitment to exceptional resident care and dining experiences.
• Refer a friend scheme.

About Athena

Athena Care Homes are a family run business with seven homes across East Anglia. We have care homes in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Kings Lynn (West Norfolk) & Ipswich (Suffolk).

We want to be the first choice for high quality residential, nursing and dementia care, leaving a positive legacy within our communities.

Our care homes are managed by amazing and passionate people, including strong leadership by our home managers with dedicated care, clinical, hospitality and activities teams to provide exceptional care and experience, achieving brilliant outcomes for people in our care.

We hold our values close to our hearts and ensure that team members throughout each of our residential and nursing homes understand them and what importance they hold. We approach everything we do with thought, and we deliver with passion.