Kitchen Assistant - Bank Linwood House

Kitchen Assistant - Bank

Location: Linwood House (Barnsley, South Yorkshire)

Contract: Bank

Hours: Hours vary by centre and rota (flexibility required across shifts including mornings, evenings, weekends, and bank holidays)

Hourly rate: £12.71 per hour

About Linwood House & UKAT

Linwood House is a leading residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre set in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and is part of the UK Addiction Treatment Centres (UKAT) network. At UKAT, we treat addiction as an illness, not a choice, delivering compassionate, evidence-informed care that supports individuals towards lifelong recovery.

Our daily work and kitchen operations are guided by four core values:

• Understanding: Listening, empathising, and responding to individual client needs.
• Kindness: Treating everyone with dignity, respect, and compassion.
• Accountability: Taking responsibility for our actions and maintaining high standards.
• Teamwork: Working collaboratively to achieve the best outcomes for our residents.

The Role

As a Bank Kitchen Assistant at Linwood House, you will play a vital role in supporting the safe, efficient, and welcoming operation of our kitchen and dining areas. You will assist with food preparation, meal service, hygiene, and stock management, helping to ensure our residents receive wholesome, nutritious meals in a warm, respectful, and supportive environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Understanding & Kindness in Action: Interact with residents in a polite, compassionate, and non-judgemental manner while maintaining appropriate boundaries. Help create a calm mealtime environment and assist sensitively with individual dietary requirements, food allergies, and preferences.
• Accountability & Food Safety: Prepare, peel, chop, and plate ingredients, meals, and snacks. Maintain high cleanliness standards across kitchen surfaces, equipment, utensils, and dining areas. Adhere strictly to food safety regulations, COSHH, temperature logging, infection prevention, and health & safety protocols.
• Teamwork & Operations: Work alongside the Chef and the multidisciplinary team to deliver an efficient meal service. Receive and store deliveries, follow first-in, first-out (FIFO) stock rotation, help reduce waste, and accurately maintain paper or digital kitchen logs.

About You

We are looking for a reliable, compassionate individual who is:

• Reliable & Hardworking: Dependable, punctual, and comfortable carrying out practical kitchen and cleaning duties.
• Hygiene & Safety Focused: Dedicated to maintaining high standards of personal hygiene, kitchen cleanliness, and food safety standards.
• Compassionate & Respectful: Mindful of the sensitive healthcare setting, treating residents and team members with patience and dignity.
• Adaptable & Collaborative: Calm under pressure during busy service periods and effective at communicating in a team.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Experience: Previous catering, kitchen, hospitality, or residential/healthcare care experience is desirable (full training can be provided).
• Food Hygiene: Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene qualification is essential.
• Communication & Safety Awareness: Good verbal communication skills, basic digital literacy for simple record-keeping, and an understanding of food allergens, COSHH, and safe manual handling.

What We Offer

• Blue Light Card: Access to thousands of discounts across retail, dining, and travel in the UK.
• Free On-Site Parking: Complimentary parking available on-site at Linwood House.
• Learning & Development: Ongoing role-specific training, supervision, and guidance.

Additional Requirements

• Enhanced DBS Check: Appointment is subject to a satisfactory Enhanced DBS check and pre-employment screening.
• Shift Flexibility: As a Bank team member, flexibility to cover various shifts (mornings, days, evenings, weekends, and bank holidays) is required.
• Physical Demands: Ability to perform physical kitchen tasks, including standing for extended periods and handling catering supplies (reasonable adjustments considered).

The Recruitment Process:

• You will have an initial phone conversation with the talent acquisition specialist which will be an informal chat and opportunity to ask questions about the position
• If you are successful in your initial phone conversation, you will be required to undertake an interview on-site or via video conference. (please note that if you have a video/in-person interview, you will be required to visit the centre at a later date for our 2nd stage interview)
• Our shortlisted candidates will be notified if they are successful within 5 working days post interview.