Junior Sous Chef

Job Title: Junior Sous Chef

Status: Permanent, Full Time, 37 hours per week, working 5 days over 7 (Catering opening hours are between 7.00 a.m. – 7.00 p.m.)

Closing Date: Midnight, Sunday 12th October 2025

Assessment Centre Date: W/C 20th October 2025

Overview

Would you like to join our chef team? To assist in the preparation and presentation of a high-quality catering service for up to 1000 residential, up to 7500-day students and 650 staff. With the opportunity to use Reaseheath College produce, including Aberdeen Angus and Wagyu beef, lamb as well as amazing tomatoes, chillies and fresh salad from our glasshouse and our own cheese and butter.

About the role

We are now looking for a Junior Sous Chef to join our team to continue to deliver high quality, fresh produce menus across the campus.

The Junior Sous Chef will  support the Head Chef in managing daily kitchen operations, ensuring high standards of food quality, consistency, and presentation. The role involves supervising staff, assisting with menu planning, maintaining hygiene and safety standards, and contributing to stock control and ordering. You’ll play a key role in delivering fresh, nutritious meals across campus and at occasional events.

The role would suit someone who is eager to remain in the hospitality sector but wishes to work a more regular shift pattern with less antisocial hours and no split shifts. Working hours are 37 hours per week generally between 7.00 a.m. – 7.00 p.m. 5 days a week over 7 days with only occasional functions.

Key responsibilities:

• Support junior staff development and maintain food quality, presentation, and portion standards.
• Collaborate with senior chefs to deliver fresh, high-quality menus across campus and events.
• Uphold standards in service, health & safety, and food storage.
• Assist with monthly stock takes and stock control.
• Prepare food ahead for upcoming services.
   

The successful candidate will:

• City & Guilds 7061/2 or Level 3 Diploma in Professional Cookery (or equivalent).
• Minimum Level 2 Food Safety certification.
• Skilled in cooking from scratch using fresh ingredients.
• Extensive experience in high-volume kitchens, ideally with banqueting exposure.
• Strong knowledge of industry standards and regulations.
   

We can offer you:

• 35 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• A two-week festive/New Year shut down
• Generous pension scheme with an employer contribution of 20.8%
• Enhanced sick pay of up to 6 months full pay depending upon service
• Pluxee reward scheme

For more information, please refer to the additional job description.

Please note this role constitutes ‘regulated activity’ as defined by the Protection of Freedom Act 2012. The successful candidate will therefore be required to undertake an enhanced DBS check with barred list information prior to starting employment. You must also have the right to work in the UK and will be required to provide evidence to support this. In addition, online checks will be carried out during the recruitment process. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Reaseheath College is committed to achieving its public sector general equality duty, which is set out in the Equality Act 2010. The College has a clear mission and clear values, which incorporate equality, diversity and inclusion.

The College staff recruitment and selection process, CPD processes, policies and practice are designed to ensure that when employment decisions are made, they are based solely on the skills and qualities required for the position and comply with all relevant employment legislation and best practice standards.

Disability Support

The College is a Disability Confident Employer and will support any reasonable adjustments you require to perform your best during the recruitment process. You can contact the HR team at humanresources@reaseheath.ac.uk should you require any adjustments during either your application or during the assessment centre.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the advertised close date if we receive a sufficient number of applications.

We do not accept applications or speculative CVs through recruitment agencies.