Cook / Housekeeper

The starting salary for this position is £10,634.50 per annum based on an 18-hour working week, pro-rata to £21,269. Please note the hours are flexible and can be discussed further at interview.

We want our Residential homes to be exceptional for the children we are entrusted to care for. It's what we strive to provide and what our children want and need!

If you are passionate about cooking and creating healthy, nutritious meals and want to make a real difference in the lives of some of Surrey's most vulnerable children - we'd love to hear from you!

We are looking for a part-time Cook who shares our dedication and will take pride in our home; helping create a clean, homely environment and cook healthy meals for our children and staff on shift. The home looks after up to 6 young people aged between 5 -18 years old. Some of our children have special dietary needs, therefore the right candidate must be thorough, confident and have great time management.

As a Cook at our home, you will be joining a dedicated and energetic team who provide the best possible quality of personalised care that meets each child's needs and promotes their welfare.

This is a very rewarding role, where your work will make a real difference to the lives of the children we support. As a Cook you'll be at the heart of ensuring a holistic healthy, balanced diet is provided daily. This will include:

• Food planning and preparation with a flair for creativity! Including healthy menus that ensure nutritional requirements are met (including allergies)
• Online shopping (making sure budgets are adhered to)
• Stock rotation and daily temperature checks on fridges and freezers
• Maintaining a high standard of cleanliness and hygiene (where necessary, using powered equipment e.g., vacuum cleaners, weekly deep clean of kitchen etc)
• Ensuring all necessary repairs are reported and that health and safety guidelines are always followed

As a team, we work closely together to ensure we are providing the best possible care for some of Surrey's most vulnerable young people and at times, this can be challenging, so you'll need to be adaptable and resilient to work in this environment.

To be considered for shortlisting for this position your application will need to clearly evidence the following:

• Current CIEH e-learning Food Safety in catering OR willingness to obtain this qualification with an awareness of Health and Safety issues and COSHH
• Flexibility, organisation and a methodical approach
• Great interpersonal skills and ability to develop appropriate relationships with young people
• Ability to work well as part of a team but also confident working individually
• A commitment to undertaking relevant training and development

All of our homes are inspected regularly by OFSTED and have been judged as either 'Good' or 'Outstanding'. We are very proud of the quality of our residential services for some of Surrey's most vulnerable children. As a result, we have invested in our homes and staff and plan to continue this to achieve a service that is ambitious, innovative, and responsive to the needs of young people in our care.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 29th November 2023 with interviews to follow.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Benefits

From flexible working to job sharing we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. You will benefit from 26 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service (pro-rata for part-time), a generous local government salary related pension, as well as the option to join our car lease scheme.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.