Catering Manager - Strode Park House

About the Role

Lead with flavour, purpose and care — and make every mealtime something to look forward to.

Are you an experienced catering professional who loves creating good food, leading a team and making a real difference to people’s daily lives? We are looking for a confident, organised and enthusiastic Catering Manager to take the lead in the kitchen at Strode Park House.

We are offering this role on a full-time basis of 38 hours per week, with an annual salary of £26,333.

Job Opportunity

The opportunity

This is a rewarding opportunity to shape a high-quality catering service where excellent standards, thoughtful menus and smooth kitchen operations all come together. You will lead our cooks and catering assistants, plan appealing meals, manage rotas, oversee stock and supplier value, and ensure the kitchen runs safely, efficiently and within budget.

Working closely with the Registered and Deputy Managers, you will play a key role in delivering a catering service that supports wellbeing, dignity and enjoyment for the people who use our services.

What you’ll bring

• Experience in catering, ideally within a care home or similar setting.

• The confidence to lead, motivate and support a busy kitchen team.

• Strong organisational skills, attention to detail and the ability to stay calm under pressure.

• Good knowledge of food safety, hygiene, health and safety regulations and COSHH.

• Experience managing kitchen budgets, controlling costs and delivering best value.

• A passion for preparing good-quality meals that are nutritious, appealing and created with care.

Why this role matters

Great food can brighten a day, bring comfort and support health and wellbeing. In this role, your leadership will help ensure residents and service users receive meals prepared to high standards by a team that feels supported, clear and motivated.

You will help create a positive kitchen culture, champion safe working practices and make sure every plate reflects the care, quality and attention our charity is committed to providing.

As a Strode Park Foundation colleague, you will get comprehensive support from day one and will receive training and development opportunities to develop your skills.

Strode Park House is a residential home with nursing care for 55 adults with physical disabilities and complex needs in Herne, Kent. We’ve been delivering care since 1946, and this residential home is where it all started.

The team at Strode Park House ensures our residents live in a safe and secure environment; each person’s individual wellbeing, dignity and choice is vitally important within the community of residents who live at or come for a short break. Please see our website for further information.

Strode Park House provides care on a 24-hour basis, 7 days a week including weekends and bank holidays. This means we value reliable and flexible staff. We will consider all requests for flexible working and are proud to be a ‘Flex from First’ employer. Please talk to us at interview about the flexibility you need.

Essential Skills

About you

You will hold a Level 2 catering qualification and a basic Food Hygiene certificate, with experience of kitchen management, team supervision, menu planning and budget control. Just as importantly, you will be practical, approachable and passionate about delivering a catering service that people can trust and enjoy.

Ready to make a difference?

If you are ready to bring energy, skill and pride to a role where your work has a meaningful impact every single day, we would love to hear from you. Apply now and help us deliver food, care and quality that truly matters.

Where we receive high numbers of applications, we may close vacancies early. If you think this is the right opportunity for you, please don't delay in applying!

Creating an Inclusive Environment

Strode Park Foundation (“Strode Park”) is fully committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce and the elimination of unlawful and unfair discrimination. Strode Park truly values the differences that a diverse workforce brings to our organisation.

Our aim is for our workforce to be truly representative of all sections of society and for our service users and each employee to feel respected and able to give their best.

Strode Park will not discriminate because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. It will not discriminate because of any other irrelevant factor, and will build a culture that values meritocracy, openness, fairness and transparency.