Catering Assistant

Purpose of the Post

To Support the Catering Department in meeting the food service needs of all Patients/Clients and Staff of Cork University Hospital 365 days a year

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

·        To assist with the preparation and service of all aspects of meals and snacks on a daily basis to patients, staff and visitors in all outlets and areas of the Campus.

·        Respect patients/ clients and their families showing dignity, courtesy and professionalism at all times.

·        Assist in the provision of a quality Catering service and work in line with national and locally devised policies and regulations.

·        Maintain the confidentiality of all information made available to him / her during the course of his / her work.

·        Maintain a strict code of personal and general hygiene in the work place as per work schedules and existing policies and procedures.

·        Assist in attending to the nutritional needs of the patients and customers.

·        Assist with the preparation of foods and cleaning of all areas and equipment in Catering.

·        Prepare snacks, sandwiches as required.

·        Prepare counter area and assist with counter services.

·        Assist with the food and beverage service in all food and beverage outlets on campus and any new areas that are added.

·        Make beverages and serve as required.

·        Operate the cash tills.

·        Prepare trolleys for service for Patients, Staff and visitors.

·        Assist with patient food production on the belt system.

·        Transfer of trolleys to and from wards.

·        Collect and wash up.

·        Be contactable at all times while on duty.

·        Report any equipment faults to person in charge and ensure all equipment is stored safely.

Health & Safety

·        In accordance with Health and Safety at work policy, it is each staff members responsibility to observe all rules relating to Health and Safety and Conduct at Work and to use any equipment provided in a safe and responsible manner.

·        Understand and adhere to all relevant HSE policies, guidelines and procedures, comply

·        with health and safety, infection control and risk management procedures, comply with statutory obligations

·        Report any incident or potential incident which may compromise the health and safety of patient/ clients / residents, staff or visitors and take appropriate action.

·        Report any accidents, near misses to the person in charge and ensure completion of incident / near miss forms.

·        Not undertake any duty related to patient/ client / resident care for which he/she is not trained.

·        Attend training courses as required e.g. Hygiene, HACCP, Fire Prevention etc.

·        Conduct his / herself in a manner that ensures safe patient/ client care .

Education & Training

·        Attend induction and mandatory in-service education.

·        As directed participate in the induction of new staff.

·        Maintain continuous personal and participate in team based development, education, training and learning.

Administrative Duties:

·        Attend staff meetings and contribute constructively to the smooth running of the unit.

·        Contribute to the maintenance of updating of HACCP documentation.

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Eligibility Criteria

Qualifications and/or experience

Each candidate must, at the latest date for receipt of completed application form for the post:

1.      Have relevant experience in a Catering Environment in the Healthcare/Hospitality Sector.

And

2.      Have attained such standard of education as would enable him/her to discharge the duties of the post satisfactorily.

Health

A candidate for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.

Character

Each candidate for and any person holding the office must be of good character.

Post Specific Requirements

Candidate must:

Demonstrate depth and breadth of experience as relevant to the role.

Skills, competencies and/or knowledge

The following are the skills, competencies and/or knowledge considered essential to carry out the post:

Ø  Demonstrate a good knowledge of catering duties and in particular, hygiene principles.

Ø  Demonstrate evidence of effective planning and organisation skills.

Ø  Demonstrate ability to manage tasks/deadlines and effectively handle multiple tasks.

Ø  Demonstrate effective communication skills.

Ø  Demonstrate awareness and appreciation of the service user.

Ø  Demonstrate the ability to work with multi disciplinary team members and capable of working on their own initiative.

Ø  Demonstrate evidence of ability to empathise with and treat patients, relatives and colleagues with dignity and respect.

Ø  Demonstrate understanding and/or experience of catering services.

Ø  Have relevant experience in a catering environment in the healthcare/hospitality sector.

Campaign Specific Selection Process

Ranking/Shortlisting / Interview

A ranking and or short listing exercise may be carried out on the basis of information supplied in your application form. The criteria for ranking and or short listing are based on the requirements of the post as outlined in the eligibility criteria and skills, competencies and/or knowledge section of this job specification. Therefore it is very important that you think about your experience in light of those requirements.

Failure to include information regarding these requirements may result in you not being called forward to the next stage of the selection process.

Those successful at the ranking stage of this process (where applied) will be placed on an order of merit and will be called to interview in ‘bands’ depending on the service needs of the organisation.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion

The HSE is an equal opportunities employer.

Employees of the HSE bring a range of skills, talents, diverse thinking and experience to the organisation. The HSE believes passionately that employing a diverse workforce is central to its success – we aim to develop the workforce of the HSE so that it reflects the diversity of HSE service users and to strengthen it through accommodating and valuing different perspectives. Ultimately this will result in improved service user and employee experience. 

The HSE is committed to creating a positive working environment whereby all employees inclusive of age, civil status, disability, ethnicity and race, family status, gender, membership of the Traveller community, religion and sexual orientation are respected, valued and can reach their full potential. The HSE aims to achieve this through development of an organisational culture where injustice, bias and discrimination are not tolerated.

The HSE welcomes people with diverse backgrounds and offers a range of supports and resources to staff, such as those who require a reasonable accommodation at work because of a disability or long term health condition

For further information on the HSE commitment to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, please visit the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion web page at https://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/resources/diversity/

Code of Practice

The Health Service Executive will run this campaign in compliance with the Code of Practice prepared by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA). The Code of Practice sets out how the core principles of probity, merit, equity and fairness might be applied on a principle basis. The Code also specifies the responsibilities placed on candidates, facilities for feedback to applicants on matters relating to their application when requested, and outlines procedures in relation to requests for a review of the recruitment and selection process and review in relation to allegations of a breach of the Code of Practice. Additional information on the HSE’s review process is available in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, Information for Candidates”.

Codes of practice are published by the CPSA and are available on www.hse.ie/eng/staff/jobs in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, Information for Candidates” or on www.cpsa.ie.

Tenure

The current vacancies available are permanent & whole time.

The post is pensionable. A panel may be created from which permanent and specified purpose vacancies of full or part time duration may be filled. The tenure of these posts will be indicated at “expression of interest” stage.

Appointment as an employee of the Health Service Executive is governed by the Health Act 2004 and the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointment) Act 2004.

Remuneration

The Salary scale for the post is (as at 1/10/24)

€34,195, - €36,039 - €37,147 - €37,905 - €38,562 - €39,412 - €39,931 - €40,815 - €41,723

Salary Scales are updated periodically and the most up to date versions can be found here: https://healthservice.hse.ie/staff/benefits-services/pay/pay-scales.html