Head of Catering
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust
Salford, M8 6HD
Salary
£57,528 to £64,750
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Not specified
Closing date
20 September 2026
20 days left
In plain English
What this job actually involves
As Head of Catering, you'll lead a team to provide safe, nutritious food to patients, manage budgets and contracts, and work with other departments to improve services. This role suits someone with leadership experience, good communication skills, and a passion for food and healthcare. You'll work in a large NHS trust in Salford, with a competitive benefits package.
What you'll need
- You'll need a strong background in food production and service systems, with experience in leading teams and managing budgets.
- You should have good leadership and communication skills, with the ability to work under pressure and manage difficult situations.
- A background in hospital catering or a related field is desirable, with a membership of the hospital catering association being a plus.
- You'll need to be able to work with data, compile reports, and present information to others.
- A high level of flexibility and willingness to innovate is essential for this role.
How to boost your chances
- Consider taking a course in food safety and hygiene to enhance your skills and knowledge.
- Look at the Northern Care Alliance's website to learn more about their values and culture.
- Practice your presentation and communication skills by joining a local Toastmasters group or taking a public speaking course.
- Network with other professionals in the hospital catering field to learn about best practices and new developments.
- Make sure you're familiar with the NHS values and how they apply to this role.
Written by AI to help you understand this advert in plain English. It can get things wrong — always check the original advert before you apply.
Job description
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) is seeking an ambitious, innovative and values-driven Head of Catering to lead and transform caterin...
As Head of Catering, you will provide strategic and operational leadership for all catering services, ensuring delivery of safe, nutritious, cost-effective and sustainable food services that meet the highest standards of quality, compliance and patient satisfaction.
You will lead large multidisciplinary teams, manage significant budgets and contracts, and play a key role in delivering the Trust's wider estates and facilities ambitions.
To read more information about the advertised role, and the main job duties/responsibilities please open the Job Description and Person Specification located under the supporting documents heading. You can also read more information about working at the Northern Care Alliance within the attached Candidate Information Pack or by visiting our careers website: www.careers.northerncarealliance.nhs.uk
The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) provides hospital and integrated health and social care services to over one million people living across Greater Manchester. Our 20,000 colleagues care for people in hospital and in the community, working across Bury, Rochdale, Oldham and Salford, to save and improve lives.
As a large NHS trust we are committed to enhancing the health of our local population by delivering consistently high standards of care and working closely with local authorities and key partners. We believe in our power and potential to make a difference and we're always looking for people who demonstrate our three core values - care, appreciate and inspire - to join our team.
In return, we can offer you a job role with purpose and flexibility. The size and scale of the NCA means we can provide more challenge and opportunities so your career can always be moving in the right direction. By joining us you can also access a competitive benefits package, including, a fantastic annual leave allowance, flexible working opportunities and protected hours for health and wellbeing activities, helping you to achieve more personal downtime and a better work-life balance.
Learn more about us in our Candidate Information Pack.
Registration
Desirable
- Member of hospital catering association
Skills
Essential
- Key leadership skills and ability to drive future development of service
- Experience of successfully leading and implementing change and service improvement projects
- Extensive specialist knowledge of food production and food service systems including
- Strong liaison skills with multi-disciplinary departments and contacts
- Ability to work to tight deadlines under pressure
- Data analysis skills and ability to compile reports.
- High level of communications and presentation skills
- Confidence in managing difficult situations
- Flexibility and provide innovative service solutions
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of NHS catering agenda in respect of facilities and up-to-date knowledge and awareness in key issues in Catering Management
- Understanding of essential aspects of Customer Service in Catering
- Good understanding of legislation governing the provision of Catering services and ability to translate this into practice knowledge and understanding of Hospital Food Standards and the BDA
- Professional Leadership
- Knowledge of Human Resources policies and excellent staff and management skills
- Commercial experience gained in management of outsourced contracts in a healthcare setting
- Extensive experience in catering management and significant senior level management experience
- Direct line management experience in large scale multi-site operations with a large and diverse workforce
- Business case writing skills and ability to draw up action plans and ensure deadlines are met in compliance with overall strategy
- Evidence of achieving financial targets and significant budgetary management
- Evidence of excellent innovation and achievement in management practice
- Ability to carry out effective negotiation with diplomacy
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to degree level or equivalent management experience
- Management/Professional qualification or extensive experience at a senior level in Catering Management
- Evidence of continuous professional development
- Food Safety Level 4
- Further post graduate qualification in catering/facilities management or sufficient experience gained in practice to equate to this level of training
Desirable
- Recognised Management Qualification
- Evidence of post graduate food study
How to apply
Applications are handled entirely by the employer on the original advert. We do not collect CVs, supporting statements or application data.
Provenance
Source
NHS Jobs
First seen
10 August 2026
Last checked
12 August 2026
Salary, closing date and description are taken from the employer's advert. The original advert always takes precedence.
About the employer
NHS organisation
This listing was structured from NHS Jobs. Vacancy details and the application process remain the responsibility of the original source.
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