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Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Catering Assistant

The closing date is 15 March 2026

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Job summary

Working Part time: 35.5 hours per week.

This position requires to work every weekend.

As part of an effective team, you will be responsible for efficiently assisting in all food service areas/retail outlets as directed by your Supervisor/Line Manager and operating within established food hygiene and safety practices, methods and procedures and within the principles of a flexible team approach.

Main duties of the job

  1. Service areas include all kitchen and dish wash sections, hospitality and retail sections including functions, restaurants , Hospital shop, vending, and any other related areas including Ellesmere Port Hospital.
  2. You will provide an excellent customer service to patients, staff and all visitors to the Trust remaining professional, polite and helpful at all times.
  3. Duties include the cleaning of premises and equipment, food preparation and packaging, food service, vending and ward trolley service.
  4. The role will include undertaking duties in a chilled and/or frozen working and storage environment, as appropriate.
  5. You will take part in the preparation of raw food materials as part of the process to make our patients nutritional meals throughout their healthcare pathway during their time at CoCH. In addition, you will take part in meal(s) preparation for our staff and Trust visitors throughout the seven day week.
  6. You will help maintain a clean and hygienic food prep & meal cooking environment in line with the National Standards of Cleanliness. You will establish and maintain good working relationships across your wider catering team; specifically, clear line of communication with Supervisors, Ward Teams, Departmental staff and Visitors.

About us

The Trust's services are provided from three locations: o The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds. o Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility. o Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population. The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery

Details

Date posted

03 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 2

Salary

£24,465 a year pa pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

210-2025-882-A

Job locations

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Job description

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service.Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Job description

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service.Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Numeracy and literacy skills, a basic standard of education.
  • Training to NVQ level 1 / 2.
  • Basic Food Hygiene Level 1 Certificate.
  • Food Safety Level 2 Certificate.

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Enjoys working as part of a team.
  • Good knowledge of food safety & health & safety standards & a willingness to undertake additional training to maintain currency.
  • Previous catering/meal prep experience

Desirable

  • Has worked in a healthcare environment in the same capacity
  • Knowledge of COSHH
  • Knowledge of (HACCP)
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Numeracy and literacy skills, a basic standard of education.
  • Training to NVQ level 1 / 2.
  • Basic Food Hygiene Level 1 Certificate.
  • Food Safety Level 2 Certificate.

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Enjoys working as part of a team.
  • Good knowledge of food safety & health & safety standards & a willingness to undertake additional training to maintain currency.
  • Previous catering/meal prep experience

Desirable

  • Has worked in a healthcare environment in the same capacity
  • Knowledge of COSHH
  • Knowledge of (HACCP)

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Employer's website

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Employer's website

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Deputy Catering manager

Shaun Carr

Shaun.carr7@nhs.net

01244365615

Details

Date posted

03 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 2

Salary

£24,465 a year pa pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

210-2025-882-A

Job locations

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)