Catering Assistant in St Ives

OCS UK & Ireland is a leading facilities management company with 50,000+ colleagues and a turnover in excess of £2bn. We deliver innovative, award-winning services within facilities management, hard services, cleaning, security and catering. Our mission is to make people and places the best they can be for our colleagues, customers and the communities we serve. Our commitment to doing business the right way is rooted in our TRUE values - Trust, Respect, Unity, and Empowerment.

About The Role:

Days of Working: This position will be based at The Hub, St Ives (Cambridgeshire), working normally weekdays, but weekend work will be required to cover annual leave and sickness leave. There is also another shift pattern option where some staff members work every other weekend. That can be decided at the interview stage if successful.

Applicants must have a full driving license as driving is part of the role. The role varies from receiving and dispatching frozen meals and fresh sandwiches for two NHS trusts. Picking and packing in our chilled sorting room for meals to ward level and if required driving the food delivery vans.

As a Catering Assistant, you will play a vital role in ensuring that meals are accurately prepared, packed and presented in line with individual requirements. Working to detailed picking sheets and menus, you will help ensure that the right meals reach the right people, supporting dietary needs and service quality. This is a busy, hands-on role that involves sustained physical activity, attention to detail and working to clear procedures to ensure accuracy, safety and consistency throughout food production and service.

As part of your role, your key responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Ensure relevant menus are available and appropriate, taking account of dietary and nutritional requirements
• Use picking sheets to accurately select food items and correct portion sizes
• Pack meals into insulated food trolleys in line with procedures and sign off trolleys as correctly packed
• Carry out sustained picking and packing activities, requiring moderate physical effort for extended periods
• Load ovens from insulated food trolleys, ensuring only required meals are heated for service
• Operate regeneration ovens, following cooking guidelines to ensure food quality and safety
• Return unused food items to designated storage areas, including freezers, in line with food safety requirements
• Plate meals for service, ensuring trays match individual requests and are presented to a high standard
• Maintain cleanliness of work areas, equipment and trolleys throughout the shift
• Follow all food safety, health & safety and hygiene procedures at all times

The ideal candidate should meet the following criteria:

• Right to Work in the UK and willingness to undergo a DBS check.
• Experience in a catering, food production or healthcare food service environment (desirable but not essential)
• UK driving licence.
• Ability to follow written instructions, menus and picking sheets accurately
• Good attention to detail, particularly where dietary requirements are concerned
• Physical capability to undertake repetitive manual tasks for extended periods
• Understanding of food hygiene and safe food handling practices
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team in a fast-paced environment
• Reliable and professional approach to work

Desirable:

• Level 2 Food Safety / Food Hygiene Certificate (or willingness to complete training)
• Experience working within Facilities Management (FM), healthcare or contract catering environments

Why join OCS? ⭐ OCS are ranked 36th on Glassdoor’s Best Companies to Work For in 2025, reflecting our commitment to creating supportive and inclusive workplaces. 🚀 Through the OCS Academy, we offer training and development opportunities to help you build skills and progress your career. 🙂 With the Hapi app, you’ll have access to a wide range of discounts, rewards and wellbeing resources.

How to Apply:

If you are interested in joining a business that encourages professional development, career progression and the chance to work with inspirational people then please click apply and register your interest! You can also sign up to our job alerts when registering which will notify you when other suitable vacancies are available.

We are an equal opportunities employer and rely on a diverse workforce with a broad range of knowledge, skills, and backgrounds to deliver our goals. We offer an inclusive and welcoming environment and actively encourage applications from all individuals regardless of race, gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age.