Food Production Instructor
Location: Minstead, New Forest
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Salary: £26,539 per annum
Closing Date: 27 July 2026
This is much more than making jam.
At The Real Jam & Chutney Company, you’ll work alongside adults with neuro disabilities, supporting them to create delicious handmade jams, marmalades and chutneys while developing confidence, independence and valuable vocational skills. Every jar tells a story. From preparing fruit and creating seasonal recipes to labelling jars, meeting customers and delivering products to local shops, you’ll help people gain real work skills through meaningful, hands-on experience.
We’re looking for someone who enjoys working in a busy preserves kitchen, loves encouraging others and believes everyone deserves the opportunity to learn, contribute and succeed.
What you’ll be doing:
- Supporting adults with neuro disabilities to learn practical jam and preserves-making skills
- Producing high-quality handmade jams, marmalades and chutneys for our social enterprise
- Maintaining excellent food hygiene and quality standards throughout production
- Supporting people to package, label and prepare products for sale
- Helping develop new seasonal preserves and product ideas
- Delivering products to local retailers, markets and events
- Supporting people to build confidence through customer service and selling their products
- Working alongside volunteers and colleagues to create a fun, inclusive and supportive workplace
- Celebrating achievements and helping people develop confidence, independence and employability skills.
We’re looking for someone who is:
- Warm, enthusiastic and encouraging
- Organised and able to work in a fast paced production kitchen environment
- Creative and enjoys making high-quality handmade products
- A great communicator who enjoys working with people and customers
- Flexible, practical and positive
- Passionate about helping people achieve their potential.
You’ll ideally have:
- Experience supporting adults with neuro disabilities
- Experience in jam making, preserves, catering, baking or artisan food production
- A Level 2 Food Hygiene qualification (or willingness to obtain one)
- A full UK driving licence
- Good organisational and IT skills.
Experience in retail, customer service or supervising volunteers would be an advantage.
Why join us?
At Minstead Trust, you’ll become part of a friendly, welcoming team where people are valued, ideas are encouraged, and every day brings something different.
You’ll help create beautiful handmade products that people love to buy, while supporting others to gain confidence, develop new skills and achieve things they never thought possible.
If you’re looking for a role that’s creative, rewarding and full of purpose, we’d love to hear from you.
What benefits can we offer you?
- 33 days holiday per annum inclusive of Bank Holidays
- Refer-a-Friend scheme worth £750!
- A Celebration Day’s Leave for Your Birthday
- Death in Service Insurance
- Company Pension
- An easy to access Health Care Scheme
- Cycle to Work
- Free Parking on-site
- Blue Light Card Eligibility
- Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay
- Company Sick Pay
We are not licensed to sponsor employees for visas; therefore, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. You need to have, or be able to obtain, right to work in the UK in order to take up this position
All staff working for, or on behalf of Minstead Trust, understand their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding adults at risk and know who to escalate concerns to within Minstead Trust.
Due to the nature of this employment section your application is subject to a successful Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS).
No terminology in the advert you have seen is intended to discriminate on the grounds of age, gender, race, colour, religion, disability of sexual orientation, and we will gladly accept applications from all sections of the community.
We are only able to accept direct applications at this time; no agencies please.