Catering Officer 1

Purpose of the Post

They will provide day-to-day operational management of the catering department of Louth County Hospital. They will strategically manage, co-ordinate and develop the catering services for all patients and staff on campus.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Professional

·        Provide leadership throughout the catering service to meet the standards required in keeping with best practice, HSE policies and legislation.

·        Manage the service ensuring that the needs of all residents are met in a responsive, individualised manner such that it meets the nutritional and hydration needs of the clients.

·        Knowledge of IDDSI guidelines.

·        Be responsible for the organisation and control of kitchen work in the main kitchen and at ward level from production to delivery.

·        Lead on change ensuring safe, efficient and effective use of all resources.

·        ‘Walk the floor’ during service periods to ensure excellent service levels.

·        Professional knowledge of a cook/ chill system.

·        Ensure the prompt provision and efficient service of all meals and catering requirements at the specified time to the standards laid down in the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

·        Manage the quality and hygiene of the food cycle from preparation through to delivery, including presentation.

·        Participate on national accreditation / nutritional project(s) where appropriate/ directed

·        Risk manage all aspects of the service and control the identified risks.

·        Ensure adequate cleaning programmes are adhered to.

·        Attend to and take all necessary action, statutory or otherwise, in the event of incidents or accident, fire, theft, loss, damage, unfit food, or other irregularities and take such action as may be appropriate.

·        Organise and cater for special functions at the request of management

·        Oversee stock levels and ordering systems through IFMS.

·        Be the point of contact for the EHO.

Staff Management and Supervision

·        Be involved in the recruitment/ induction of catering staff, and assign appropriate duties to staff under his/her control.

·        Ensure mandatory training is attended and manage records for all staff for e.g. Hand Hygiene, Manual Handling, Fire Safety, Food Safety (HACCP), Infection Control, Children’s First, Open Disclosure, Cyber Security, GDPR and any other training as requested by management.

·        Develop systems and processes that will ensure best practice on rosters and skill mix.

·        Plan and control holidays within the operation to ‘self cover’

·        Monitor and manage absenteeism in accordance with HSE guidelines for e.g. sick leave, annual leave and undertake the back to work interviews etc.

·        Ensure that all employees project a positive, approachable, friendly and professional image.

·        Be responsible for maintenance of attendance records and pay-roll return on NISRP.

·        Promote good industrial relations with staff and staff representatives and deal with industrial relations in accordance with hospital policy.

·        Ensure regular scheduled meetings between all grades of staff.

·        Keep all cleaning schedules and audits updated and accessible to all staff.

·        Drive, support and promote a performance and achievement culture within their team

Quality & Standards

·        Put in place the documentation and records required in keeping with legislation and HACCP, EHO and the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) residential standards.

·        Audit areas to ensure compliance with above and educate staff accordingly.

·        Ensure proper work practices in relation to food handling and food safety.

·        Develop and monitor quality assurance programmes.

·        Ensure all food hygiene regulations are strictly adhered too

·        Conduct monthly food sampling and check results for compliance and trending.

Financial:

·        Identify and implement best practice in order to optimise the best use of resources.

·        Control and monitor cash collection points

·        Responsible for procurement application for new / replacement equipment etc.

·        Monitor and control the budget and prepare budget estimates

·        Provide statistics on all aspects of catering services in respect of all activities.

Information Technology:

·        Operate existing / new technology as appropriate.

·        NISRP and IFMS management for the department

·        Be aware of modern developments within the industry and assist in the introduction/implementation of new/updated technologies.

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

1. Professional Qualifications, Experience, etc.

a. Have one of the following qualifications (or equivalent):

(i) Hold the Bachelors of Arts. NFQ Level 7 in Hospitality Management awarded by

Technical University Dublin

OR

(ii) Hospitality Studies (Higher Certificate) (Level 6) awarded by the Munster Technical University

OR

(iii) A Diploma in Dietetics

OR

(iv) An equivalent qualification

OR

(v) Be currently employed in the HSE or funded agency as a Catering Officer

b.      Have at least three years’ satisfactory experience in the direction and control of the catering arrangements for an institution or other establishment catering for a minimum of 200 persons per day.

Or

Have a total of at least five year's satisfactory experience in the direction and control or in assisting in the direction and control of the catering arrangements for an institution or other establishment catering for a minimum of 200 persons per day.

And

c.      The requisite knowledge and ability (including a high standard of suitability and management ability) for the proper discharge of the duties of the office.

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.

Note1: Candidates must achieve a pass in Ordinary or Higher level papers. A pass in a foundation level paper is not acceptable. Candidates must have achieved these grades on the Leaving Certificate Established programme or the Leaving Certificate Vocational programme. The Leaving Certification Applied Programme does not fulfil the eligibility criteria.

Post Specific Requirements

·        Catering experience managing staff in a healthcare setting

·        Awareness of HSE policies and procedures

Skills, competencies and/or knowledge

Candidates must demonstrate the following:

Professional Knowledge and Experience

· Demonstrate a high level of knowledge and experience in catering production and / or distribution, as relevant to the role, including issues, practice and procedures including HACCP.

· Demonstrate knowledge of regulations and the application of policies and procedures relevant to safe practice within the Catering Services environment as relevant to the role

·   Demonstrate knowledge of management principles involved in strategic planning and coordination of people and resources and an ability to supervise, manage and motivate a team.

·   Demonstrate knowledge of health and safety and employment legislation.

· Demonstrate excellent knowledge of up to date catering management skills

· Demonstrate MS Office skills to include, Word, Excel, Outlook.

Building and Maintaining Relationships, including teamwork and leadership skills

· Demonstrate leadership and team management skills, including the ability to work within a multidisciplinary team.

· Demonstrate the ability to work on own initiative, without close supervision.

· Demonstrate excellent organisational skills including the ability to plan and manage resources.

· Demonstrate ability to cope with challenging deadlines and effectively handle multiple tasks.

· Demonstrate innovation and creativity to deal with any crises which may arise.

· Demonstrate a flexible adaptable approach to work.

· Demonstrate an ability to recognise the training needs of others

Planning and Managing Resources

· Demonstrate evidence of effective planning and organising skills including awareness of value for money in the performance of work and the ability to carry out duties to best practice.

· Demonstrate knowledge and experience of managing budgets, including the ability to adhere to deadlines within budgetary levels.

· Demonstrate experience of the development of work schedules for personnel and contractors.

· Demonstrate the ability to manage deadlines and effectively handle multiple tasks.

· Evidence of experience in control and supervision of staff and record keeping.

Evaluating information, Problem Solving and Decision Making

· Demonstrate the ability to evaluate information, solve problems and make decisions in a timely manner.

· Demonstrates sound practical judgement and decisiveness including evidence of ability to empathise with and treat patients / relatives and colleagues with dignity and respect.

· Demonstrate experience in working effectively under pressure

Commitment to Providing a Quality Service

· Demonstrate evidence of initiative and innovation, identifying areas for improvement, implementing and managing change

· Demonstrate a commitment to providing a quality service; including an awareness and appreciation of the service user such as patients, the general public, clinical staff etc.

· Demonstrate ability to contribute to the development of the service and openness to change.

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

 · Demonstrate effective communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to negotiate and communicate with different stakeholder groups.

· Demonstrate the ability to present information in a clear and concise manner, written and verbal.

Competition Specific Selection Process

Shortlisting / Interview

Short listing may be carried out on the basis of information supplied in your application form. The criteria for 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 shortlisting stage of this process (where applied) will be called forward to interview.

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 Codes also specifies the responsibilities placed on candidates, feedback facilities for candidates 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 in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, Information For Candidates” or on www.cpsa-online.ie.

Tenure

The current vacancy is permanent and 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 Appointments) Act 2004 and Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Amendment Act 2013.

Remuneration

The Salary scale for the post is as at: 01/06/2024

Enter Scale

New appointees to any grade start at the minimum point of the scale. Incremental credit will be applied for recognised relevant service in Ireland and abroad (Department of Health Circular 2/2011). Incremental credit is normally granted on appointment, in respect of previous experience in the Civil Service, Local Authorities, Health Service and other Public Service Bodies and Statutory Agencies.

Working Week

The standard working week applying to the post is: 35 Hours

HSE Circular 003-2009 “Matching Working Patterns to Service Needs (Extended Working Day / Week Arrangements); Framework for Implementation of Clause 30.4 of Towards 2016” applies. Under the terms of this circular, all new entrants and staff appointed to promotional posts from Dec 16th 2008 will be required to work agreed roster / on call arrangements as advised by their line manager. Contracted hours of work are liable to change between the hours of 8am-8pm over seven days to meet the requirements for extended day services in accordance with the terms of the Framework Agreement (Implementation of Clause 30.4 of Towards 2016).

Annual Leave

The annual leave associated with the post will be in line with HSE annual leave entitlements and will be outlined at job offer stage.

Superannuation

This is a pensionable position with the HSE. The successful candidate will upon appointment become a member of the appropriate pension scheme. Pension scheme membership will be notified within the contract of employment. Members of pre-existing pension schemes who transferred to the HSE on the 01st January 2005 pursuant to Section 60 of the Health Act 2004 are entitled to superannuation benefit terms under the HSE Scheme which are no less favourable to those which they were entitled to at 31st December 2004

Age

The Public Service Superannuation (Age of Retirement) Act, 2018* set 70 years as the compulsory retirement age for public servants.

* Public Servants not affected by this legislation:

Public servants joining the public service, or re-joining the public service with a 26 week break in service, between 1 April 2004 and 31 December 2012 (new entrants) have no compulsory retirement age.

Public servants, joining the public service or re-joining the public service after a 26 week break, after 1 January 2013 are members of the Single Pension Scheme and have a compulsory retirement age of 70.

Probation

Every appointment of a person who is not already a permanent officer of the Health Service Executive or of a Local Authority shall be subject to a probationary period of 12 months as stipulated in the Department of Health Circular No.10/71.

Infection Control

Have a working knowledge of Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards as they apply to the role for example, Standards for Healthcare, National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene Standards etc. and comply with associated HSE protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role.

Health & Safety

It is the responsibility of line managers to ensure that the management of safety, health and welfare is successfully integrated into all activities undertaken within their area of responsibility, so far as is reasonably practicable. Line managers are named and roles and responsibilities detailed in the relevant Site Specific Safety Statement (SSSS).