Catering Assistant Team Leader

At the John Lewis Partnership, we believe that food isn’t just about sustenance; it’s about bringing people together. As a Team Leader Catering at our Waitrose & Partners locations, you will be a vital brand ambassador, leading a busy hospitality team to provide an exceptional dining experience for both our external customers and our internal Partners.
This is a "hands-on" leadership role where you will blend a passion for food with a sharp commercial eye. You will oversee the smooth running of our Partner Dining Room (PDR) and function services, ensuring every plate meets our high standards of presentation. Beyond the service line, you will manage the essential administrative "engine room"—from stock control and ordering to wastage management. If you are a supervisor who leads by example and thrives in a fast-paced environment where quality and compliance are non-negotiable, we would love to hear from you.

In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £4.00 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

Salary: £28,4,00/

Contract type: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time, Mon–Fri, 07:00–15:00. Includes an on-call Duty Manager rota approximately every 6 weeks (Fri evening–Mon morning), covering Bank Holidays and festive periods. On-call duties begin after a successful three-month probation.
 

Location: Bracknell - Head Office Campus
 

Key Responsibilities

• Operational Leadership: Leading and supervising a busy catering brigade to deliver market-leading customer service. You will act as a "Critical Friend," challenging poor performance and mentoring your team to achieve their best.

• Service Excellence: Ensuring the seamless delivery of the Partner Dining Room and function services, maintaining impeccable standards of product presentation and cleanliness.

• Commercial Management: Driving sales targets and managing food and sundry costs. You will identify opportunities for continuous improvement and greater efficiency within the catering operation.

• Administrative Oversight: Taking ownership of catering admin, including stock control, wastage recording, and staffing requirements to ensure a profitable and efficient section.

• Compliance & Risk: Supervising and delivering all due diligence checks. You will ensure 100% compliance with Waitrose Food Hygiene and Health & Safety policies at all times.

• Duty Management: Taking accountability for the wider site during your rota’d on-call periods, responding to operational needs outside of standard catering hours.
   

Essential Skills/Experience You’ll Need

• Supervisory Experience: A minimum of one year’s experience in supervising catering teams or kitchen brigades.

• Food Expertise: Experience working with all food types and a genuine passion for hospitality.

• Commercial Awareness: A strong understanding of how to manage sales, stock, and wastage to protect the bottom line.

• Leadership Qualities: The ability to lead by example, foster trust within a team, and remain flexible to support other departments when required.

• IT Literacy: Proficient computer skills to manage administrative tasks and ordering systems.
   

Desirable Skills/Experience You May Have

• A Food Safety Level 3 (Intermediate) qualification. (Note: Full training will be provided within the first 3 months if not already held).

• Experience working in a high-pressure, customer-facing selling or service environment.

• Previous experience in a dedicated administration or logistics function.

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.  

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.   

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. 

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.  

Important points to note:  

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.  

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.