Catering Manager

Catering Manager

Salary: St Paul’s Pay Range 7 Point 34 – 40

(£44,075 – £47,181FTE)

Actual Starting Salary £43,472)

40 hours per week, 41 weeks per year

Hours of work (typically) Monday 7.00-4.00pm, Tuesday- Thursday 7.30-4.00pm and Friday 7.30am – 3.30pm

Are you an experienced catering leader with a passion for delivering outstanding food services at scale? Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment where quality, innovation and leadership make a real difference? If so, we’d love to hear from you.

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Catering Manager to lead our successful in-house catering operation.

Our catering team provides fresh, nutritious meals and refreshments to approximately 1,900 students every day, while also delivering high-quality catering services to eight primary schools across Milton Keynes. This is a diverse and rewarding role where no two days are the same.

As Catering Manager, you will lead and inspire a dedicated team across our main site and catering assistants operating from primary schools. You will be responsible for ensuring exceptional food quality, outstanding customer service, operational excellence and full compliance with food safety legislation.

Working closely with your team, you will continue to develop an exciting, modern food offer that meets the nutritional needs of children and young people aged 4-19, while maintaining excellent value for money.

We are looking for someone who has:

• Proven experience managing a high-volume catering operation.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate and develop teams across multiple sites.
• Excellent knowledge of HACCP, food safety management, Environmental Health and Trading Standards requirements.
• A thorough understanding of the School Food Standards and a passion for creating healthy, balanced and appealing menus.
• Experience of logistics and multi-site catering operations.
• Strong financial awareness, including budgeting, cost control and stock management.
• Excellent organisational, IT and catering administration skills.
• A commitment to delivering an exceptional customer experience every day.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a thriving, forward-thinking organisation where you’ll enjoy an excellent work-life balance alongside a rewarding career.

Our benefits include:

• Daytime working hours with very limited evening or weekend commitments.
• 41 weeks working per year, providing generous school holiday time.
• Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with significant employer contributions.
• Opportunities for professional development and training.
• The chance to shape an innovative, sustainable and student-focused catering service.
• A supportive leadership team and the opportunity to make a genuine impact on the wellbeing of thousands of young people every day.

If you’re an ambitious catering professional ready to lead a successful operation and drive continuous improvement, we’d love to receive your application.

St. Pauls is a thriving and successful Catholic school with an excellent reputation.  All staff members are committed to the care and success of pupils and working in a setting where values of forgiveness, concern for others and respect are shared as the core values of St. Paul’s regardless of faith.

For further details and an application form please visit the school website https://www.st-pauls.org.uk/vacancies/support-staff-vacancies, e-mail enquiries@st-pauls.org.uk or call 01908 669735

Closing date for applications:  Monday 13th July 2026 at 9.00am

Interview date: Tuesday 14th July 2026

Previous Applicants Need Not Apply

We will review applications on receipt.  Suitable candidates may be interviewed before closing date and reserve the right to withdraw the position if an early appointment is made.

St. Paul’s Catholic School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.  All references will be requested and Online Searches prior to interview.  The successful candidate will be subject to satisfactory Enhanced DBS Check.