Role profile
| Job title | Kitchen Assistant |
| Reporting to | Centre Director with support of Kitchen Lead & Café Lead |
| Has reporting | None |
| Starting salary | Grade A £13.24 per hour |
| Job type | Part-time or Full Time – Seasonal Fixed Term Variable Hours |
| Location | Dundreggan Rewilding Centre Café - Onsite |
| Additional requirements | None |
Trees for Life
Trees for Life stands at the forefront of rewilding in the Scottish Highlands. Hopeful and bold, we are committed to creating nature-rich landscapes that include and support people. Working on a grand scale, we aim to close the gap between people and nature.
Focusing on Scotland’s spectacular Caledonian forest, we foster biodiversity and encourage natural processes essential to life. From the iconic red squirrel to the elusive lynx, we are working to bring more life back to our landscapes.
Rewilding is a shared journey. Together with communities, we are restoring Scotland’s natural and cultural heritage while supporting local livelihoods. Join us on this path of hope and positive action. Rewild the Scottish Highlands.
Dundreggan and the Rewilding Centre
Dundreggan is our 10,000-acre estate in Glenmoriston between Loch Ness and Skye. Since 2008, the estate has been transformed by Trees for Life and its volunteers into one of the best examples of forest restoration in Scotland. It includes a ground-breaking tree nursery and is where many volunteers come to take part in rewilding projects.
The Rewilding Centre opened in April 2023 and serves as a gateway to make Dundreggan, and the work being done here, more accessible to a broader audience. It operates under the Enterprises arm of Trees for Life and is a commercial, revenue-generating business.
The site includes an innovative visitor centre, a café, 40-bed accommodation, events and educational facilities. The Rewilding Centre welcomes visitors of all ages, interests and backgrounds to explore the natural, Gaelic and cultural heritage of the Highlands and be inspired by rewilding initiatives, including the restoration of the Caledonian forest.
Join the Trees for Life team!
Join our friendly, values-driven team, taking practical steps to rewild the Scottish Highlands. We offer competitive pay and benefits, flexibility, great working culture, and much more. We welcome applicants from all walks of life, with diverse backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, and experiences. If you require any adjustments during our recruitment process, that would enable you to do as well as possible in the process, please let us know.
Don’t meet every single requirement? That’s okay. We’re committed to building an inclusive team, and we know that skills and experience come in many forms. The right mindset, attitude, and potential to grow are just as important to us as ticking every box. If you’re excited about this role, meet the core criteria and feel you can make a meaningful contribution – please apply.
Our values
Our values are at the heart of our mission to rewild the Scottish Highlands, guiding us in everything from the daily rhythms of office life to the development of our landscape-scale initiatives.
We are Bold
We are an ambitious charity with a critical purpose. For us, being bold means thinking about landscape restoration on a grand scale, embracing innovative rewilding methods and challenging the status quo. This approach ensures that every step we take is a bold stride toward a revitalised, thriving natural landscape.
We are Collaborative
Our approach, deeply rooted in community and collaboration, involves working closely with local communities, conservation groups, landowners, and volunteers. Finding common ground and working together we will initiate positive solutions to the twin climate and biodiversity crises.
We are Pragmatic
We embrace pragmatic and sustainable solutions in everything we do. We are always mindful of our duty to our supporters, our volunteers, our staff and above all to Scotland’s wild forest. By adopting practical solutions, we safeguard our efforts and ensure a resilient future for our initiatives.
Overall purpose of the job
Provide vital support to the cook making sure they have everything they need, performing a variety of tasks that ensure the smooth and efficient daily kitchen operation. This includes food preparation, deep cleaning, and maintaining safe and organised workspace. Require the ability to work in a faced paced environment, with clear communication skills, able to take direction when delegated tasks.
Key liaisons
In the role you will work directly with the Kitchen Lead and Café Lead, you will also work with the café hospitality team, supporting at times out front serving customers and maintaining the restaurant area.
Key responsibilities
Availability to work weekends and evenings. Must be flexible.
Understanding the various types of catering sold at An Nead, and the use of local/seasonal ingredients.
• A passion for food, supporting the cook to provide a range of homecooked, wholesome meals, and support them in developing the menu.
• Preparation activities, such as cleaning, peeling and chopping ingredients and cooking dishes.
• Preparing a wide variety of soups, pastries, etc, using vegan, vegetarian and meat ingredients.
Proficiency in using all kitchen equipment needed for the role and ensuring that equipment is maintained and cleaned to high standards.
Maintaining health and safety to industry standards by following procedures and hygiene schedules and controlling stock.
• Occasional heavy lifting, when replenishing stock and take deliveries.
Person specification
The successful candidate for the role will be:
Passionate about cooking, sustainability, local produce and customer service.
• Motivated, proactive, willing to learn, able to use initiative, and not afraid to ask questions.
• An excellent team worker who can follow instructions.
• Positive and supportive to their colleagues.
Knowledge and experience
Essential:
Experience of working in a commercial kitchen setting
Strong understanding of food hygiene regulations.
Experience in creating menu items and understanding which items sell well.
• Preparing food to a consistently high standard.
Customer service/hospitality at a high standard
• Working safely with a range of equipment and following procedures and risk assessments.
Desirable:
• Level 2 Award in Food Safety and Hygiene (In date certificate) Training can be provided.
Experience in the tourism and hospitality sector.
Personal attributes
Self-motivated, with a passion for cooking food.
• Flexible and adaptable, comfortable working in a fast-moving environment.
• Physically fit, with the energy to be active for long periods and perform safe manual handling.
Committed to the values of Trees for Life, promoting them in their daily work.
Skills and competencies
Excellent communication skills, clear, professional demeanour.
Good planning and organisational skills.
• Confident in using different appliances, or able to pick this up quickly with training.
• Able to follow a recipe correctly.
Working conditions and special demands
Includes evening and weekend work for evening dinners and events. Must be flexible with hours. (including bank holidays)
Based on site at Dundreggan Rewilding Centre Café.
• Full driving licence (or ability to travel independently to the centre)
All staff share responsibility for health and safety and for minimising the organisation’s environmental footprint.
• Full online and practical training will be provided to the successful candidate.