Part-Time Cook - Homelessness Support Service

Location: North Belfast
Salary: £13.83 per hour
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 14 Hours per Week (2 Days Per Week, 7-Day Rota)

Are you a passionate cook who enjoys preparing nutritious, home-cooked meals and making a genuine difference in people's lives?

We are recruiting for a Part-Time Cook to join a well-established homelessness support service in North Belfast. This rewarding role is ideal for someone who takes pride in preparing high-quality meals, maintaining excellent kitchen standards, and supporting vulnerable adults within a supportive and welcoming environment.

The Role

As Cook, you will play a vital role in supporting residents by preparing nutritious, home-cooked meals tailored to a range of dietary requirements. Working as part of a dedicated support team, you will help promote health and wellbeing through food while ensuring the highest standards of hygiene, food safety and kitchen management.

The service supports adults with a history of homelessness and complex needs, operating within a harm reduction and person-centred approach.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare and cook nutritious home-cooked meals and snacks
• Cater for varying dietary, medical and cultural requirements
• Monitor meal uptake and support residents' nutritional wellbeing
• Maintain exceptional food hygiene and cleanliness standards
• Ensure compliance with food safety legislation, HACCP procedures and Environmental Health requirements
• Complete all required food safety and kitchen records
• Order food supplies and manage stock levels effectively
• Work within agreed catering budgets
• Carry out regular stock takes and inventory management
• Provide catering support for meetings, visits and service events
• Participate in training, supervision and team meetings

Essential Criteria

• Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering (or willingness to complete)
• A minimum of 1 year's experience preparing fresh, home-cooked meals in a professional catering environment
• Ability to maintain high standards of kitchen hygiene and food safety
• Experience accommodating specific dietary requirements
• Understanding of HACCP processes and food safety monitoring
• Strong communication and teamwork skills
• Ability to build positive relationships with residents and service users
• A compassionate and non-judgemental approach
• An awareness of homelessness and the challenges experienced by vulnerable adults

What We're Looking For

The ideal candidate will be:

• Passionate about good food and nutrition
• Organised and able to work independently
• Reliable and flexible
• Comfortable working within a busy support service environment
• Able to support a diverse group of individuals with respect and dignity
• Committed to maintaining excellent standards in food preparation and kitchen operations

Benefits

• 35 days annual leave (pro rata), increasing with service
• Paid sick leave
• Enhanced maternity and paternity benefits
• Contributory pension scheme
• Health Cash Plan and reward programme
• Blue Light Card discounts
• Christmas savings scheme
• Ongoing training and development opportunities
• The opportunity to make a real difference within your local community

Apply Now

If you're an experienced cook who enjoys preparing quality home-cooked meals and would like to work in a role where your contribution has a direct impact on the wellbeing of others, we'd love to hear from you.