Patient Services Manager (Catering) in Preston

Are you passionate about making a positive difference to patients and service users every day? Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a dedicated Patient Services Manager to lead and inspire our catering team. You’ll be part of a supportive, collaborative environment where experienced management will guide you, and your drive, passion, and motivation will directly enhance patient care and wellbeing. This is a role where your leadership will truly matter, ensuring high standards of service and patient satisfaction across our hospitals.

Main duties of the job

• The Patient Services Manager will support the Trust Catering Manager in the daily operations of the department, providing leadership and direction to the catering team while ensuring full compliance with Food Hygiene and Health & Safety standards.
• They will deputise for the Catering Manager when required, oversee HR processes including recruitment and training, and act as a role model by promoting equality and positive workplace culture.
• The role involves organising staffing and food ordering, maintaining effective communication between catering and ward teams, and engaging directly with patients to gather feedback, driving continuous improvement in service delivery.

Working for our organisation

At Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, you’ll be part of one big team where every role matters. We are proud to provide hospital services to over 390,000 people locally and specialist care to 1.5 million people across the region. With more than 7,000 dedicated staff, we know our people are the driving force behind our success, whether they’re on the front line or working behind the scenes. We value and celebrate our colleagues at every opportunity, recognising the vital contribution they make to delivering safe, high-quality care and ensuring our hospitals run smoothly for the communities we serve.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Patient Services Manager will play a vital role in ensuring the safe, efficient, and high-quality delivery of catering services across Lancashire Teaching Hospitals. Working closely with the Trust Catering Manager, the post holder will lead and manage the Patient Services Catering team, overseeing daily operations, rota planning, and compliance with food hygiene and health and safety standards.

Responsibilities include managing HR processes, recruitment, and training, while acting as a role model to promote equality and positive workplace culture. The role also requires direct patient engagement to gather feedback, drive service improvements, and ensure meals meet dietary and allergen requirements.

Person specification

Qualifications & Education

Essential criteria

• NVQ Level 3 in Hospitality Leadership and Supervision or equivalent experience managing a large catering team for a minimum of 2 years
• Advanced Food Hygiene Certificate
• Good General Education
• Level 2 Certificate in H.A.C.C.P
• Level 2 Certificate in Allergen Awareness

Desirable criteria

• Member of HCA (Hospital Caterers Association)
• Training qualification
• IOSH
• Manual Handling Trained
• Food service / cookery qualification

Values & Behaviours

Essential criteria

• Ability to show leadership, motivate and organise staff

Desirable criteria

• Ability to deal with challenging situations with sensitivity

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

• Budgetary Control
• Understanding of the 14 Key Allergens as stated in the food information for consumer regulation 2014
• Ability to organise a range of operations simultaneously
• Ability to show leadership, motivate and organise staff
• Knowledge of IDDSI Framework

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working within a large scale NHS catering operation
• Knowledge of information governance and its application within the NHS
• Experience of PLACE auditing
• Understanding of information governance and its application in the NHS