General Catering Assistant (Platewash)
Job description
Salary: £13,921 for 20 hours per week p.a. (plus benefits)
Job type: Permanent
Hours: 20 hours per week
St John’s College, one of the largest Colleges within the University of Cambridge, is seeking to appoint a General Catering Assistant (Platewash) to support the smooth running of the College kitchens by maintaining a clean, safe and hygienic working environment. This includes washing cutlery, crockery, glassware and kitchen equipment, cleaning the platewash area and surrounding spaces, and carrying out general kitchen portering duties. You will also remove waste safely and follow Food Safety, Health and Safety, and Fire Regulations at all times, while assisting colleagues as needed to ensure an efficient service.
The College offers a competitive benefits package including membership of a defined contributory pension scheme, 36 days’ annual leave (inclusive of Bank Holidays), access to a ‘cash plan’ healthcare scheme currently provided by Simplyhealth, free lunch, free use of an on-site Gym and free parking close to the College site, subject to availability.
Before You Apply – Please Read
To help you submit the strongest possible application, we’ve created a Candidate Information Pack that provides further information about the role and how to apply. It outlines what we’re looking for, how to structure your CV and covering letter, and tips to stand out. We strongly encourage all applicants to read this guidance before applying. You can find it here:Platewash Assistant Candidate Info
The closing date for the receipt of completed applications is 9.00am on 3 June 2026.
Please be advised that you will receive system-generated updates regarding the status of your application after it is submitted directly through our recruitment system to the email address you provided. To ensure you receive all communications without interruption, we kindly ask that you:
Add the following email addresses to your safe sender list
peoplexd@accessacloud.com
recruitment@joh.cam.ac.uk
Regularly check your junk or spam folders, as emails may occasionally be filtered there.
Early applications are encouraged as we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we find a suitable candidate.