General Catering Assistant/ Kitchen Porter (2176) in Sidmouth

The Donkey Sanctuary is an international animal welfare organisation, offering care and protection to donkeys worldwide. Our vision is a world where every donkey has a good quality of life, and our mission is to improve the lives of donkeys every day. We will achieve this by transforming the lives of donkeys in need worldwide by fostering greater understanding, collaboration and support, and by promoting lasting, mutually life-enhancing relationships.

We are heading into our busy season and are looking for a self‑motivated and flexible team player with a strong customer service ethic to join our team at our award‑winning restaurant, The Kitchen. As General Catering Assistant/Kitchen Porter, you will maintain a clean and safe environment in the restaurant, kitchen, and “back of house” in accordance with food hygiene regulations, and ensure that all pots, pans, crockery, cutlery, and other equipment used in The Kitchen are washed up to a high standard.

About you:

• Experience of working as part of a team.
• Excellent interpersonal skills – able to establish, build and maintain successful relationships with staff, supporters and visitors.
• Adaptable to all environments.
• Experience of working front of house in a high‑volume catering operation.
• Good organisational skills.

About the role:

• Maintaining kitchen cleanliness in accordance with food hygiene regulations.
• Washing up all pots, pans, crockery, cutlery, and other equipment used in the kitchen to a high standard.
• Assisting the Head Chef and members of the team with the basic preparation of food as directed.
• Ensuring that the kitchen and other areas are cleaned and the floors swept and mopped at the end of each shift.
• Ensuring “back of house” is kept clean and safe.
• Emptying bins, keeping bin areas neat, clean and tidy, and taking recycling to the designated point.
• During busy periods, and as requested, helping Front of House staff in collecting and sorting dirty crockery and cutlery.

What we offer in return:

• This is a part‑time, variable hours, permanent contract starting as soon as possible, working a minimum of 12 hours per week.
• The working hours and pattern will be agreed between the line manager and post‑holder, but flexibility will be required for weekend working.
• Please note: This role will not include evening working or split‑shifts.
• Please note: This role is based on site at our Sidmouth location, which is not easily accessible via public transport, therefore a current UK driving licence would be desirable.
• Life Assurance.
• 31 Days holiday (including Bank holidays), rising to 34 with each full year of service.
• Recorded Pilates classes.
• Long Service Awards.
• Healthshield Plan – including reimbursement of some medical expenses up to the specified limits per membership, offers, discounts and cashback on shopping, travel and entertainment from participating outlets and access to a 24/7 GP and counselling service.
• Free Parking.
• Subsidised restaurant and shop.

Before submitting your application, please ensure you read our candidate journey page, in particular our FAQs section – The Donkey Sanctuary is a Disability Confident Employer. The Donkey Sanctuary is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable people (children and adults), and expects all staff and volunteers to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to safer recruitment processes, including an application for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check where required for the post. The Donkey Sanctuary also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and, for relevant posts, may request information from applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. Please note: The Guaranteed interview scheme is only applicable to candidates who consider themselves to have a disability applying for roles based within the United Kingdom.

NOTE TO APPLICANTS: We look forward to receiving your application, but we do ask you to complete this in your own words, and not to employ an Artificial Intelligence (AI) writing tool or assistant. Applications that are considered not to be an applicant’s own work may not be shortlisted for interview.