Prison Catering

**Prison Catering: Caterer - HMP Elmley and HMP Swaleside - 71311**
**£28,880 - £30,410**
**Sheerness**:
This is not your average catering job. It is a great chance to put your catering qualifications and skills into practice and make an impact far beyond the kitchen.

As part of the prison’s catering team, you’ll be working in a professional industrial kitchen environment, with a good salary, pension and Civil Service benefits including apprenticeship opportunities ‘earn while you learn’. Unlike traditional restaurant jobs, you won’t have to work late into the evening.

You’ll oversee the work of offenders to prepare and cook quality, nutritional meals for the entire prison. Plus, you’ll play your part in helping them turn their lives around - supporting them to learn new skills and work towards gaining qualifications to increase their chances of employment and reduce their likelihood of reoffending when they leave prison.

For the full job description please refer to supporting document 1.

Watch our video on the website to hear from some of our prison caterers about what the role is really like.

**Hours and salary**

Band 3 salary minimum inclusive of 20% unsocial hours allowance - £28,800

Band 3 salary maximum inclusive of 20% unsocial hours allowance - £30,410

**Qualifications and experience**
- Level 2 certificate in food production within hospitality and catering or equivalent
- Food hygiene certificate at Level 2

**In addition, you must be**:

- Familiar with all current health, safety and hygiene related regulations for working in a kitchen
- Able to demonstrate competency within an industrial kitchen environment
- Able to speak with confidence in English

Please note refresher training in food safety (HACCP) should be completed at three year intervals.

**Tips for applying**

You will need to provide an anonymised CV and answer questions which outline your past experience.

You will also need to answer specific ‘behavioural’ questions. We will ask you how you would react in your job.

**Behaviours**:

- Developing self and others
- Managing a quality service
- Communicating and influencing
- Making effective decisions
- Working together

**Salary**:
£28,880 - £30,410

**Additional Information**:
Successful applicants need to be 18 at the point they take up post as an exception under Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010.

**Working Arrangements & Further Information**

Standard working hours for this post are 37 hours per week excluding breaks which are unpaid.

If you are a current NPS employee, this vacancy may be available on a Loan basis for up to 2 years. Applications are invited from suitable qualified staff.

**Benefits**

**Annual Leave**
- The holiday year runs from 1 March. If you work a non standard work pattern your leave entitlement may be expressed in either hours or days as appropriate. Leave entitlement is calculated on a pro-rata basis and you will be advised of your actual entitlement on appointment. If you were appointed internally and your leave was previously calculated in days, this will continue to be the case.

**Bank, Public and Privilege Holidays**

**Pension**
- The Civil Service offers a choice of two pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

**Work Life Balance**

**Season Ticket Advance**

**Childcare Vouchers**

For any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers

**Training**

HMPPS is committed to staff development and offers a range of training and development opportunities, including areas such as Equality and Diversity, Dealing with Challenging Behaviour, Suicide Prevention and Anti Bullying Programmes
- There are opportunities to access promotion programmes and HMPPS provides a variety of training appropriate to individual posts
- All staff receive security and diversity training and an individual induction programme into their new roles

**Eligibility**
- All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a group or organisation which the HMPPS considers to be racist

**Working for the Civil Service**

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order
- To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)