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- Tasks: Lead and develop education catering contracts while ensuring health, safety, and food quality.
- Company: Join Chartwells, a leader in catering for the education sector.
- Benefits: Enjoy exclusive travel discounts, wellness classes, and a contributory pension scheme.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on students' lives through nutritious meals and excellent service.
- Qualifications: Experience in managing multiple sites with strong leadership and communication skills.
- Other info: Be part of a diverse team that values your unique talents and promotes career growth.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
We ensure you're rewarded for all your hard work, which is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:
- Exclusive travel discounts with TUI, Expedia, Booking.com and many more
- Monday to Friday
- Car or Car Allowance
- Save money on your food shop with discounts on Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and many more
- Quick access for you and your immediate family to a Digital GP, and wider healthcare benefits
- Up to 44% off cinema tickets to enjoy your favourite blockbuster
- Regular emails filled with the best discounts and savings available
- Receive Wow Points every time you spend and use them on a wide range of brands
- Un-wind with us with free wellness, mindfulness and exercise classes
- You can share all discounts and offers with your friends and families
- Contributory pension scheme
- Grow your career with our Career Pathways and MyLearning programmes
About the role
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Regional Manager to lead, support and develop a portfolio of education catering contracts. This is a senior operational role with full accountability for health & safety, food quality, people leadership, financial performance and client relationships across multiple sites. You will play a key role in driving standards, ensuring compliance, improving customer experience and delivering sustainable commercial growth, while inspiring teams to deliver great food and service every day.
Key responsibilities
- Health, Safety & Compliance
- Ensure full compliance with HSE and food safety policies across all units
- Conduct regular safety walks, hazard spotting and risk assessments
- Ensure effective implementation of food safety procedures and hazard analysis
- Oversee responses to food safety audits and ensure timely follow-up actions
- Complete new unit and temporary catering facility assessments prior to opening
- Operational Excellence
- Lead and support site teams to deliver efficient, safe and high-quality food services
- Regularly visit sites, reviewing customer journeys and operational productivity
- Ensure compliance with standards, training records and operational documentation
- Manage mobilisations for new and retained contracts
- Resolve food buying, stock control and waste issues
- Nutrition & Food Quality
- Support compliance with School Food Standards and Chartwells food strategies
- Ensure menus meet FIR guidelines and allergen requirements
- Coach and develop teams to deliver consistent food quality
- Drive engagement with students, parents and schools to maximise uptake
- Attend and contribute to SNAG meetings and similar forums
- People Leadership
- Lead, coach and develop Unit Managers and wider teams
- Ensure 100% compliance with DBS checks and mandatory training
- Support recruitment, staffing levels and workforce planning
- Manage performance, wellbeing, employee relations and development plans
- Champion career pathways and continuous improvement
- Financial & Commercial Management
- Manage budgets, forecasts and financial performance cycles
- Control labour, overheads and spend against benchmarks
- Identify and propose investment and growth opportunities
- Negotiate and deliver additional services
- Ensure robust cash handling and sales compliance
- Client & Stakeholder Relationships
- Build strong, proactive relationships with clients and key stakeholders
- Deliver client retention plans and support tender and ITT processes
- Work closely with senior leadership to plan contract renewals
- Capture and share success stories, case studies and references
- Consumer & Marketing
- Deliver pricing strategies and identify opportunities for growth
- Support theme days, food education and cultural events within schools
- Collaborate with central marketing and support functions
- Champion innovation, customer insight and brand standards
About you
Essential:
- Proven experience managing multiple sites or contracts within catering, hospitality, facilities, retail or a similar environment
- Strong commercial acumen with a track record of delivering results
- Excellent stakeholder management, communication and negotiation skills
- Confident leader who can engage, develop and motivate teams
About Us
Part of Compass Group UK&I, Chartwells is the leading provider of catering and support services to the education sector. For over a quarter of a century, Chartwells has been focusing on helping those in education to build strong bodies, sharp minds and lead long healthy lives. Every week, Chartwells serves millions of nutritious and delicious meals to pupils and students in primary and secondary schools, academies, independent schools, colleges, and universities across the UK. Chartwells is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all employees to share this commitment. Any offer of employment will be subject to successfully completing pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS disclosure and a Children's Barred List check. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and we ask applicants to declare all previous convictions and cautions in order to assess their suitability to work with children. Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive - because diversity is our strength!
Regional Manager - Cheshire employer: Chartwells
Contact Detail:
Chartwells Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Regional Manager - Cheshire
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend local events, and don’t be shy about letting people know you’re on the hunt for a Regional Manager role. You never know who might have the inside scoop on an opportunity!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its values. Familiarise yourself with their catering services and think about how your experience aligns with their mission. This will help you stand out as a candidate who truly gets what they’re about.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your pitch! Be ready to talk about your past experiences managing multiple sites and how you’ve driven results. Use specific examples that highlight your leadership skills and commercial acumen to impress the interviewers.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining our team at Chartwells.
We think you need these skills to ace Regional Manager - Cheshire
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that match the Regional Manager role. Highlight your experience in managing multiple sites and your strong commercial acumen to catch our eye!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to tell us why you're passionate about education catering and how your leadership style can inspire teams to deliver great food and service every day.
Showcase Your Achievements: Don’t just list your responsibilities; share your successes! Whether it's improving customer satisfaction or driving financial performance, we want to see how you've made a difference in your previous roles.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website for a smoother application process. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets into the right hands quickly!
How to prepare for a job interview at Chartwells
✨Know Your Stuff
Before the interview, dive deep into the company’s values and mission. Understand their approach to education catering and how they ensure compliance with health and safety standards. This will show that you’re genuinely interested and prepared.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As a Regional Manager, you'll need to lead and inspire teams. Prepare examples of how you've successfully managed multiple sites or contracts in the past. Highlight your experience in coaching and developing teams to deliver high-quality service.
✨Be Ready for Scenario Questions
Expect questions about how you would handle specific situations, like managing food safety audits or resolving stock control issues. Think through potential scenarios beforehand and be ready to discuss your thought process and solutions.
✨Engage with Stakeholders
Demonstrate your excellent communication and negotiation skills by discussing how you've built strong relationships with clients and stakeholders in previous roles. Share success stories that highlight your ability to retain clients and drive commercial growth.
