Business Builder Assistant

Job title: Business Builder Assistant

Salary: C1 £29, 542 - £32,046 per annum

Hours: 37 Hours per week

Contract: Permanent

Location: Various locations

As a Business Builder Assistant, you'll thrive on supporting a wider team with the day to day operation of Catering Services, within a portfolio of approximately 30 sites, to a required standard of excellence. You'll focus on ensuring your portfolio seeks to maintain a high quality of food preparation, presentation and overall customer service.

It's not just about feeding the children of Leeds, it's about providing inclusive meal options that are prepared fresh with a choice for everyone.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

As a Business Builder Assistant, you will bring to the role:

• Ability to work with a wide range of partners including Headteacher, Children's services and other Council Services.
• Ability to supervise the development and performance of Cook Supervisors and General Kitchen Assistants in a consistent and effective manner.
• Ability to ensure service quality in a multi-site environment and to deliver a culture that continuously seeks to improve standards and performance.
• An understanding of the demands of a catering service.
• Experience of supervising and monitoring performance effectively and to set clear objectives for the review of individual and service level performance.
• Committed to excellent customer care and putting the customer at the heart of everything you do, and continually improving customer satisfaction

About the role

As our next Business Builder Assistant, you'll have a desire to seek continual improvement, both personally and for your wider team. You'll provide day to day support to a dedicated Business Builder and assist them in everything they do. As well as what has been listed above, you'll assist in the management of the effective staffing of sites who experience absence or vacancies. You'll work alongside your Recruitment Team to establish exact resource requirements. You'll get involved in training and providing advice to kitchen supervisors and cooks on how to prepare, cook and serve food. You'll be responsible for carrying out effective appraisals and following up on outcomes. We often need to implement new services, and this role is expected to support staff with the relevant training of these new services.

The role is integral to our Catering Operations team. We have approximately 900 members of staff within the service, all of whom are supported by an administration and recruitment function, a specialist food technology department and many operational managers who are continually generating efficiencies to improve the service.

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

• a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
• membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
• flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
• a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
• a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Please complete the online application form. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role, please contact Magdalena Hayton (Office Manager) on 0113 3782323 or email CateringRecruitment@leeds.gov.uk.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children's or Adults' barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visaroute before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose

To give support to Business Builder Teams and all catering staff in order to provide a high specification of service.

Responsibilities

• Assisting the Business Builder lead with the day-to-day operation of Catering Services within a portfolio of approximately 30 sites, to a required standard of excellence. The focus is on quality of food prepared, presentation and overall customer service.
• To assist in the management of the effective staffing of sites who experience absence or vacancies. Working alongside the Recruitment Team to establish exact resource requirements.
• To train and advise kitchen supervisors and cooks to prepare, cook and serve food using the appropriate equipment.
• To train supervisors in areas relating to good supervisory practice including effectively managing kitchen staff, work planning and rotas.
• To provide advice and training on hygiene, health and safety issues and monitoring the implementation of procedures.
• To effectively manage and support on attendance management, including RTW interviews, stage 1 reviews and occupational health actions.
• To coach and mentor our operational teams and work alongside them to establish excellent service skill with particular attention to customer service and care.
• To carry out effective appraisals and midyear reviews for personnel in your area. Appraisals must be effective and meaningful.
• To provide advice and training on the use and care of equipment. This includes new kit to site and ensuring all staff are fully trained on any new kit before use.
• To train new and existing kitchen staff in good working practices and any matters relating to the provision of a good quality Catering service.
• To implement new services giving relevant training to staff as necessary.
• To check and monitor clerical procedures and ensure targets are being achieved within the kitchens. This includes the provision of any book keeping training which sites may need.
• To monitor menus, quality, variety and presentation on routine visits to site. Monitors will be to an agreed schedule.
• To ensure all food orders and clerical returns to head office are received in a timely manner.
• Support kitchens through progress chase on repairs to kitchen equipment.
• Ensuring that services comply with all statutory legislation.
• Responsible for ensuring the ISO 9000/2000 quality assurance procedures are maintained and carried out.
• To be responsible for ensuring all legislation and all council policies and procedures are fully implemented
• To maintain a high level of confidentiality at all times and to ensure all staff adhere to and understand data governance
• To ensure all staff carry out duties in accordance with Council Values and the Manger Habits

The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.

Qualifications

• Hold a full UK driving licence
• A recognised Catering qualification at level 3 or equivalent experience

Essential requirements It is essential that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post. Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential requirements.

• Ability to work with a wide range of partners including Headteacher, Children's services and other Council Services.
• Ability to supervise the development and performance of Cook Supervisors and General Kitchen Assistants in a consistent and effective manner.
• Ability to effectively contribute to internal and external meetings.
• Ability to ensure service quality in a multi-site environment and to deliver a culture that continuously seeks to improve standards and performance.
• Ability to produce written document for a range of audiences.
• Ability to assess risk, and put in place plans / actions to mitigate risks.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• An understanding of the demands of a catering service.
• To maintain complete confidentiality, and to ensure all staff understand and comply with Data Protection legislation.
• Ability to work with a range of services, who may have competing priorities, and to determine the best way forward for the service.
• A recognised Catering qualification at level 3 or equivalent experience
• Hold a full UK driving licence
• Experience of working towards resolving conflict.
• Experience of developing the performance of a team in a consistent and effective manner.
• Experience of supervising the development and delivery of training.

Essential Behavioural and other Characteristics

• Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
• Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
• Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
• Carry out all duties having regard to an employee's responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.
• Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities.
• Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
• Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.
• Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
• Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity policies of Leeds City Council.
• Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person.
• The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.

Desirable requirements

It is desirable that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post. Candidates are not required to meet all the desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between candidates.

• Access to own vehicle
• Experience of ensuring quality and service improvements in a catering environment, and to supervise a culture that improves standards and performance.
• Experience of supervising and monitoring performance effectively and to set clear objectives for the review of individual and service level performance.
• Experience of achieving challenging performance targets, reporting progress and responding to issues raised.