Catering Assistant - Cold Room - (Part time)

Job summary

A vacancy has arisen for a motivated person to join the "Cold Prep Section" in the Catering department at University Hospitals Dorset.

This is a very demanding job and requires a good level of physical fitness, flexibility, and good organisational skills.

You should be able to work with minimal supervision on your own initiative in this busy location.

Duties include, making sandwiches, salads, baguettes, Panini's and salad bar preparation. In addition, some general cleaning is required and a possibility of helping on the patient production line.

Due to working in the cold room, cold weather clothing will be provided including:

Boots , socks, thermal garments, snoods and sweatshirts as required.

Please note: this role is part time for 18.6 hours per week working 4 days on and 2 off over a 6 week rota.

Base Location: Poole Hospital

Interview Date: 2nd September 2026

Please note if you previously applied and were not successful we will not be able to reconsider your application within 3 months.

Main duties of the job

To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert.

About us

UHD are investing, developing and transforming Trust services in line with the New Hospital Programme. As part of this, some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or permanently. Recruiting Managers will be happy to answer any service-specific questions at interview.

If a role or service relocates as part of a planned move, excess mileage will not bereimbursed. Travel from home to the new work base will be classed as a normal commute. Any other changes will be managed under Trust or national terms and conditions.

UHD has active networks including Women's, DEN, Pride, EU, Pro Ability, and Armed Forces. We support Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant interview schemes.

AI tools may be used, but applications must honestly reflect your own skills and experience. Integrity is key to our recruitment process

Job responsibilities

To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Good standard of Education (GCSE's Grade D or above)
• Basic Food Hygiene

Desirable

• Aware of relevant trg upgrades E.G. Allergen info

Experience

Essential

• Prior Work Experience within Catering Industry
• Prior Experience in food handling

Desirable

• Previous Cold/Prep Room experience

Knowledge

Essential

• Good general understanding of food safety regulations

Personal Skills

Essential

• Ability to identify opportunities for improvements within your area of responsibility
• Openness to change and ability to respond to this to improve performance
• Be able to work in a cold environment

Desirable

• Proven reliability

Other skills

Essential

• Willingness to be flexible in your working hours and able to work on weekends.
• Able to work as part of a team and mix with other members of staff