Nursery Kitchen Assistant in Leighton Buzzard

Join Childbase Partnership and help launch something extraordinary.

Location: NEW Linmere Day Nursery | Hockcliffe | LU5

Contract: Permanent | 37.5 hours/week | 52 weeks/year

Working pattern: Varied shifts Monday-Friday between 07:30-18:30

Salary: £25,096.50 per annum (pro-rata) | £12.87 per hour

Be part of a brand-new beginning. This isn't just another Kitchen Assistant role. It's an opportunity to become one of the founding members of a brand-new Childbase Partnership nursery, helping create an exceptional environment for children, families and colleagues from the very first day. Working alongside our Nursery Cook, you'll help prepare fresh, nutritious meals for our very first children, ensuring every mealtime is safe, enjoyable and supports healthy development. From helping establish our kitchen routines to creating a welcoming dining experience, you'll play an important role in shaping this exciting new nursery from day one.

If you've ever wanted the opportunity to help build something special while being supported by one of the UK's leading early years providers, this is your opportunity. We've been delivering childcare excellence since 1989. Across our 44 day nurseries, Head Office and Training Academy, EduBase, our ethos is simple: we all belong, we all matter, and we all contribute. We don't just offer jobs, we build careers.

Here's what you can look forward to:

• Generous annual leave – 23 days' annual leave (pro-rata), rising to 28 days with service, plus paid bank holidays.
• Work-life balance – Earn up to 20 additional paid Partnership Reward Days every year. Take them as leave or sell them back tax-free.
• Childcare discount – 75% discount on childcare (or 40% grandparent discount) from your very first day.
• Exclusive partner benefits – Long-service rewards, qualification bonuses and discounts with leading retailers.
• Wellbeing support – Free meals, mental health support, occupational health, eye care vouchers, flu vaccinations and a free will-writing service.
• Career development – Access to apprenticeships, online learning and ongoing development through our award-winning Training Academy, EduBase.

About you

You're passionate about preparing healthy, nutritious food and enjoy being part of a busy team where your work makes a real difference every day. You'll bring:

• Experience working in a professional kitchen or catering environment, helping prepare meals using fresh ingredients.
• Knowledge of Food Hygiene, COSHH, allergens and safe manual handling practices.
• Excellent attention to detail, helping maintain our exceptional five-star kitchen hygiene standards.
• A positive, flexible approach, supporting the Nursery Cook with food preparation, stock management and the smooth running of the kitchen.
• The confidence to take responsibility for meal preparation and cooking when the Nursery Cook is away.
• A genuine commitment to safeguarding and ensuring every child's dietary needs, health and wellbeing are always at the heart of what you do.

Be there from the very beginning. Opportunities to help launch a brand-new nursery don't come along often. If you're excited by the chance to become part of a founding team, help create a safe, welcoming kitchen and play an important role in giving children the very best start through healthy, nutritious meals, we'd love to hear from you.

We are an inclusive employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We're committed to FREDIE (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement) and will make any reasonable adjustments needed throughout the recruitment process. Applicants must live within a commutable distance of the nursery and have the Right to Work in the UK. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. Safer recruitment is central to everything we do. This role is subject to an Enhanced DBS check and all appropriate pre-employment checks.