Catering Manager

November 2025

St Mary’s School
Bateman Street
Cambridge
CB2 1LY

T: 01223 353253

hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk

St Mary’s School Cambridge – A Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered Office: Bateman Street Cambridge CB2 1LY –

No. 184031 England Registered Charity No. 290180

Welcome from the Head

Thank you for showing interest in this role at St Mary’s School, Cambridge.

We are an independent day and boarding school for girls aged 3 to 18. We have a school roll of around 600 students.
Approximately 15% of the students are boarders. Reflecting the cosmopolitan community of Cambridge, on average
25% of students originate from overseas, from around 30 countries.

The School offers a secure and welcoming learning environment for girls: we are delightfully situated in the heart of
the  academically  renowned  and  culturally  vibrant  city  of  Cambridge.  The  Junior  School  is  adjacent  to  the  famous
backdrop  of  Coe  Fen,  and  the  Senior  School  and  Boarding  House  overlook  the  University  of  Cambridge  Botanic
Gardens.

Cambridge is an outstanding place to live and work. As a university city, Cambridge has the cultural advantages of a
much larger settlement but with a population of approximately 145,000, it is a safe, clean and attractive location. The
city has an international reputation owing to its world ranking university and the school benefits from its proximity to
the digital and enterprise communities in the various high-tech science parks and enterprise hubs. We are within easy
travelling distance of London, less than an hour by train and a short hop from London Stansted Airport.

There has been major investment in new facilities at the School over the past decade: a new Junior School; a new Sixth
Form Centre; new provision of Art & Photography; the creation of our Science Hub; and our new boarding facility,
Mary  Ward  House.  We  have  developed  our  sporting  facilities  through  an  ambitious  collaboration  with  Homerton
College, University of Cambridge and have invested in a new boat house in a joint partnership with City of Cambridge
Rowing Club and Homerton College. We are proud to have opened our Mary Ward Educational Suite in January 2024
which provides new state of the art teaching spaces.

High quality facilities are only as good as the people who work in them, so we invest heavily in our staff, who we know
are  our  greatest  asset.  We  encourage  staff  to  develop  themselves  through  training  and  facilitate  bespoke  CPD
opportunities for all.

St Mary’s School promotes equal opportunity for all staff and pupils and is committed to its culture of diversity and
inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates from a wide range of backgrounds.

Above all, St Mary’s School, Cambridge is a very happy place. We have an excellent local reputation for being very
friendly and nurturing, and yet ambitious, for the young women in our care, enabling strong progress to next steps at
university,  the  world  of  work  or  a  gap  year.  Our  girls  are  genuinely  delightful,  the  teachers  and  support  staff  are
exceptionally dedicated; we are a very close-knit, loving, joyful and purposeful community.

St  Mary’s  really  is  a  warm  and  welcoming  environment  for  all  staff,  whatever  their  role,  and  we  look  forward  to
receiving your application.

Hannah Helliar

The St Mary’s Approach

We are  proud  to  be a  Christian school in the Catholic tradition and founded on the principles of our 17th  century
foundress, Mary Ward, our vision is that ‘By God’s grace, women in time will do much’ (Mary Ward 1585-1645). The
challenge for women is not over, and whilst there are now more opportunities for 'women to do much' there are still
considerable barriers and so our work continues via our mission to develop curious, creative and compassionate young
women with the aspiration, confidence and integrity to shape a better world for the common good. Our approach is
based on the core values of Freedom, Joy, Justice, Love and Truth and we live these values in school through our HEART
habits of

H – Hard work
E – Empathy
A – Adaptability
R – Responsibility
T – Thoughtfulness

We show perseverance and sustain focus.
We are kind, joyful, generous, value friendship and celebrate diversity.
We adjust to difficult situations, are open minded, discerning and take calculated risks.
We act justly and strive to uphold truth and lead by example.
We are creative, reflective, attentive, show gratitude, hear others and disagree well.

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Our unique approach to education fosters a love of life and of learning, while growing the academic curiosity and
spiritual wellbeing of each individual girl so that they can look beyond themselves and enter adulthood aspiring to be
more and to give more, not just to have more. We warmly welcome girls, and staff, of all Christian denominations
and other faith and secular backgrounds to join our thriving community.

Last year the school celebrated its 125th anniversary. Building on our 400-year tradition, St Mary’s School, Cambridge
belongs to an international network of approximately two hundred Mary Ward schools.

Innovative Learning at St Mary’s

We empower all our students to aim high. As an accredited High Performance Learning World Class School there has
never been a more exciting time to join our team.

High  Performance  Learning  (HPL)  is  a  research-based,  pedagogy-led  philosophy  that  responds  to  our  growing
understanding of human capability. It sees all students as potential high performers who are not limited by ‘ability’.
HPL makes the goal of high performance the expectation for all students and uses a unique teaching and learning
framework to systematically grow minds and develop the cognitive skills, values, attitudes and attributes needed to
reach success.

Here at St Mary’s, we are proud to be developing our own approach to HPL and welcome applications from like-minded
colleagues  who  are  ambitious  for  their  students  and  committed  to  research-based  approaches  to  teaching  and
learning.

For further information please visit  https://www.highperformancelearning.co.uk/

Digital St Mary’s

St Mary's is a digital school. The goals of the School are supported through

•  developing a community of staff and students which learns in, responds to and engages with an ever-changing

digital world;

•  preparing students for their future by giving them the confidence to work in a digital environment;
•  establishing creative teaching and learning environments;
•  employing teaching staff who are trained and supported to be technologically and digitally skilled.

All members of St Mary's work digitally using Microsoft 365 as a platform. All students in the Senior School and Sixth
Form have access to an individual device (Microsoft Surface Pro) which is used extensively in lessons and for home
learning.

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Job Description: Catering Manager

Reporting to:     Operations Manager
Hours of work:  40 hours per week to be worked Monday to Friday. Weekend shifts at the boarding house as required
on a rotational basis.  Some evening work will be required for events.
Contract:

Permanent, Full-time post
Monday to Friday, 52 weeks per year, with the requirement to work weekends on a rotational basis
and some evening work to cater for events.

All hours worked outside of the standard contract will be given as Time in Lieu or paid.

£40,000 per annum

Salary:
Direct reports:  Catering Team
Place of work:  Bateman Street, Cambridge; Chaucer Road, Cambridge (Junior School); Mary Ward House, Cambridge.

Department Summary

The catering team is made up of thirteen staff members, providing both catering and hospitality services across

three sites. Each site has at least one Chef, supported by Food Services Assistants.

The Catering Manager will be responsible for managing each team and delivering the catering and hospitality needs

of the school to a high standard.

Key Responsibilities

•  Development, review and delivery of seasonal based menus, using as much local produce as reasonably and

financially practicable.

•  The menus will be varied and nutritional, offering a range of options including meat/vegetarian/vegan and to
include no less than two theme days per term. In addition, deliver a range of salads, freshly baked breads, and
home-made soups on a daily basis.

•  Management of menus include adhering to an individuals’ dietary requirements and ensuring anyone with

allergies are catered for in accordance their requirements and the law.

•  Regular monitoring of food quality, to ensure high standards are maintained and waste is minimised.

•  Cost control and budget management, ensuring every meal is costed correctly and within the ‘cost per meal’

budget set by the school.

•  Ordering supplies and equipment, maintaining strong relationships with suppliers and local producers.

•  Ensure stock ordering is managed effectively and stock levels are cost efficient.

•  Deliver high quality hospitality for all events, which may include but not limited to:

o  Parent events
o  Fine dining
o

Internal and external meetings

•  Management of the catering team which includes the following:

o  Ensuring high food standards are maintained across all sites
o  Hold monthly meetings with Chefs across all sites
o  Ensure shifts are covered at all times
o  Mandatory training is completed and kept up to date
o  Monitoring staff absences
o  Staff development and industry training opportunities – where relevant
o  Recruiting, organising, developing and motivating the catering staff
o  Undertaking performance management, supervision and appraisal

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•  Actively participate in feedback meetings with pupil user groups.

•  Ensure compliance with food hygiene, COSHH, HACCP and healthy safety; this includes:

Identify areas of potential risk and report where improvements are required

o
o  Catering complies with school policies and procedures
o  Meeting and assisting local Environmental Health Officers

•  Maintain effective  environmental  procedures  and identify  areas that  will further  support  and  improve  the

school’s sustainability plans to reduce our carbon footprint.

•  Attend staff meetings and training as required.

•  Develop strong and positive relationships with the wider staff

The above list is not an exhaustive list of duties, and you may be expected to perform different tasks as
necessitated by your line manager and your changing role within the School and overall business objectives of the
School.

Person Specification

 SPECIFICATION
Qualifications

 ESSENTIAL

DESIRABLE

•  Relevant qualification (for example,

Any of these City & Guilds qualifications:

culinary or cookery)

•

Level 3 Food Hygiene Certificate

•  GCSE level achieved in English and

Maths or equivalent

•  City & Guilds Professional Cookery

(7100) - L1,2 and 3

•  Professional Cookery (6100)
•  Hospitality and Catering Principles

(7091)

•  Professional Food and Beverage Service

(7103)

Other training:

•  COSHH

•  First aid

Qualities and
Attributes

•  Ability to prioritise workloads

•  Diligent and conscientious

•  Reliable and committed

•  Good team worker

•  Enthusiastic, friendly and
approachable manner

•  Patient and calm under pressure

•  Ability to work with people at all levels

•  Ability to work as part of a team, or

alone

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•  Awareness of the need to observe
child protection safeguards at all
times.

Experience,
Knowledge and
Skills

•  Managing a professional kitchen –
Minimum 5 years’ experience

•  Working in an education

environment

•  Basic knowledge of Health and Safety

Personal Values

•  Managing a catering team

•  Costing and budgetary skills

•  Menu design & development

•  A good level of computer skills

including email and Microsoft Office

•  Commitment to the ethos of the

school

•  High expectations for attainment and

conduct

•  Commitment to own personal

development

•  Commitment to a culture of
continuous improvement

•  Readiness to contribute to the whole

school when required

Child Welfare and Child Protection Issues

The interview for this post will include exploring issues relating to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children
including:

•  motivation to work with children and young people;
•  ability to form and maintain appropriate relationships with children and young people;
•  emotional resilience in working with challenging behaviours;
•  attitudes to the use of authority and maintaining discipline.

Any  relevant  issues  arising  from  the  take  up  of  references  will  be  discussed  at  interview.  The  school  is  an  equal
opportunities employer. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people
and  expect  all  staff  and  volunteers  to  share  this  commitment.  Successful  applicants  are  subject  to  an  Enhanced
Disclosure and Barring Check.

Benefits

At  St  Mary’s  you  will  enjoy  an  exceptional  career  and  comprehensive  benefits  including  a  contributory  pension
scheme, 33% discount (pro rata for part-time staff) on school fees, BUPA cash plan, an occupational sickness scheme,
free lunches and refreshments, a season ticket discount and much more.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

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St Mary’s School is committed to ensuring equal opportunities in all aspects of employment and selects staff on merit
irrespective  of  race,  religion  or  belief,  pregnancy  and  maternity,  marital  status,  sex,  sexuality/gender  preference,
disability or age. You are not obliged to complete the Equal Opportunities Form, but any information given will help
us monitor the effectiveness of our policies and procedures.

If you have a disability, you are invited to request any special arrangements that you may require for interview or any
adjustments that you would consider necessary to your working arrangements by contacting our Human Resources
department (hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk, 01223 353253).

Process

Application is welcomed by completing the Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form which can be found on
the Vacancies page  of our website. This may  be  accompanied by a covering letter and a curriculum vitae. We are
unable to accept applications supported by a CV alone.

Interviews will be conducted in person, and they will explore candidates’ suitability to work with children. Candidates
are required to bring with them the necessary ID documentation and any relevant qualification certificate(s), all of
which  must  be  originals.  Further  information  of  the  interview  format  will  be  provided  if  you  are  shortlisted  for
interview.

If you have any question, please contact the HR Team by email: hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk or call: 01223 353253.

Closing date: 5.00pm Wednesday 15 October

Interview date:  to be confirmed

We will review applications on receipt. Suitable candidates may be interviewed before the closing date, and we reserve
the right to withdraw the position if an early appointment is made.

The  school  is  an  equal  opportunities  employer.  We  are  committed  to  safeguarding  and  promoting  the  welfare  of
children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful applicants are
subject to an enhanced DBS check.

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