Head Chef in Birmingham

We are looking for a hardworking and talented Head Chef to lead our Kitchen team at Midlands Arts Centre (MAC). Located in the leafy Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham, MAC offers a range of catering and hospitality across the business, including our restaurant, bar and event catering. Our Head Chef role offers a great work-life balance with a 37.5 hour week spread across 5 days and with 33 days of holiday per year.

Job Purpose

• Lead the day-to-day planning and delivery of an excellent catering and hospitality offer across all areas of the business.
• Coach and train the team to deliver consistently excellent standards of service whilst remaining compliant with all legal requirements.
• Lead on stock control and contribute to effective staff rostering.
• Deputise for the Head of Catering Operations when required.

Operational

• Lead daily kitchen operations from the pass, ensuring consistent delivery of food to a high standard whilst maintaining excellent cleanliness and organisation across the kitchen and all back-of-house areas.
• Develop fully costed menus aligned with MAC’s vision, values, and food strategy.
• Ensure they remain profitable and include clear allergen, dietary and preparation information for all dishes.
• Oversee timely and efficient ordering and management of all required stock, including non-kitchen items, ensuring full menu availability while minimising wastage.
• Manage staff scheduling to ensure the kitchen is always adequately staffed and costs remain in line with budget.
• Respond professionally and in a timely manner to any customer feedback received.

People

• Support the training and development of the back-of-house team by implementing structured onboarding processes, effective training materials and ongoing development opportunities.
• Manage back-of-house HR, covering recruitment, timesheets, leave, appraisals and performance, ensuring fair, consistent and policy-compliant processes.

Financial & Administration

• Manage catering budgets and performance to meet financial targets, using management accounts and systems to monitor results, address variances and optimise margins.
• Analyse sales and negotiate supplier pricing to ensure a profitable food offer.
• Maintain and manage all operational kitchen systems e.g. Navitas Food Safety, Opus Compliance Cloud.
• Manage stock control administration by checking invoices to confirm deliveries, ensure products are correctly coded and prepare paperwork and stock for monthly stocktakes.
• Ensure accurate monthly stocktakes take place.

Compliance

• Implement and manage all responsibilities outlined in MAC’s Food Safety Management System, ensuring full compliance in the kitchen and back-of-house areas enabling MAC to maintain a 5* EHO food rating.
• Manage responsibility for Health & Safety in the kitchen and back-of-house areas.
• Ensure training and records are up to date, risk assessments and daily checklists are maintained and all maintenance issues, accidents and near misses are promptly logged and followed up.
• Ensure the back-of-house team are always ‘fit to work’ and have adequate uniform to carry out their duties.

Person Specification

Core (You should meet most of these requirements)

• Proven experience managing a complex and high-volume kitchen operation over several years.
• Experience managing budgets and profit & loss (P&L), with the ability to monitor financial performance and implement cost controls.
• Skilled in negotiating supplier pricing to achieve cost efficiencies.
• Strong leadership and people management skills, including team development, performance management and staff scheduling.
• Experience in stocktaking and inventory control.
• Extensive product and ingredient knowledge, with a strong understanding of dietary and allergen considerations.
• Well-informed on current food trends and innovations.
• Strong knowledge of food safety principles e.g. HACCP.
• Proficient verbal and written English.
• Can demonstrate excellent modern cooking techniques and presentation skills.
• Strong leadership and training capabilities.
• Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to remain calm and lead effectively under pressure.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced kitchen environment.
• Excellent organisation and planning skills.
• Genuine passion for high-quality food and exceptional service.
• Proven ability to build trust, motivate and inspire teams.
• Commercially astute, with a solid understanding of business operations.
• Excellent personal hygiene standards.
• Highly focused on customer satisfaction and audience engagement.
• Proactive, solutions-oriented approach to problem-solving.
• Dedicated to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion across the team and food offering.
• Passionate about sustainable and ethical produce.
• Availability to work flexibly to the needs of the business including evening and weekend work.

Desirable (You should meet some of these requirements)

• Level 3 – Managing Food Safety.
• Level 3 – Managing H&S and/or IOSSH.
• Professional Cookery qualifications such as City & Guilds diplomas, BTEC, HND or a Foundation degree in Culinary Arts.
• Experience managing kitchens across a variety of settings, including cafés, coffee shops, bars and commercial event catering.
• Experienced in implementing and managing a Food Safety Management System (FSMS).
• Experience with fresh pizza preparation.
• IT literate, with experience using sales data to evaluate and improve financial performance.
• Knowledge of H&S principles including COSHH.
• A creative mindset with an interest in a variety of art forms.