Prison Catering

**Prison Catering: Caterer - HMP Maidstone - 58932**
**£23,144 - £25,697**
**Maidstone**:
**Band 3 Caterer in Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS)**:
This is not your average catering job. It is a great chance to put your catering qualifications (level 2 certificate in food production and level two food hygiene certificate as a minimum) 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 see the supporting attachment.

Watch our video on the website (details also on the attachment below) to hear from some of our prison caterers about what the role is really like.

**Salary and hours**:
**Band 3 salary minimum inclusive of 17% unsocial hours allowance - £23,144**:
**Band 3 salary maximum inclusive of 17% unsocial hours allowance - £25,697**:
You will work a 37 hour week and shift patterns are in place which will include:

- hours outside of 07:00 -19:00 Monday to Friday
- weekends
- bank holidays.

A small number of posts will not require shift pattern working. In these cases, the 17% unsocial hours payment will not be made

**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.

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

An ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence through the medium of English or (where specified in Wales) Welsh is also required

**Are you an armed forces veteran with catering experience and qualifications?**:
The ‘Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans’ initiative provides ex-service personnel with an opportunity to secure a rewarding job in the Civil Service.

This includes a guaranteed interview to individuals with catering experience who meet the minimum criteria.

**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**:
£23,144 - £25,697

**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 r