Community chef jobs

Head Chef

Felix

E14, London (On-site)

£40,000 - £45,000 per year

Full-time

Permanent

Charity Support ∙ Community Development ∙ Social Welfare

Actively Interviewing

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Job description

Job Title: Head Chef – Felix’s Kitchen (Production Kitchen)

Reporting To: Kitchen Manager

Salary Range: £40,000 – 45,000

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: Felix’s Kitchen, Thomas Road, Industrial Estate, Poplar, London

Hours/Days per week: 37.5 hours per week, 4-day compressed hours pattern available Monday – Saturday operation, (mainly Monday – Friday role)

We are Felix

We bring people together to rescue, repurpose, and share surplus food that would otherwise go to waste, turning an environmental problem into a social opportunity.

Together with 16 other independent charities, 18,000 volunteers, and thousands of partners, we are the UK’s food rescue network, supporting 1.5 million people across the country.

We are about fuller plates, fuller communities, and fuller lives.

Our Mind Sets

SAFETY FIRST – ONE TEAM ONE MISSION – BUILD TRUST IN EVERY INTERACTION – GROWING TOGETHER

Purpose of the Job

We are looking for the Head Chef to play a key role leading the team at Felix’s Kitchen to continue and grow on the success of the last four years of operations.

Felix’s Kitchen opened in 2021 and has grown its impact and output since then, to now be a one-of-a-kind kitchen producing 4.5-5 thousand ready meals 6 days a week made from surplus ingredients.

No two days will ever be the same, we work with surplus ingredients meaning each dish is unique and based on the incredible seasonal surplus ingredients we have received into out Poplar Depot based next to the kitchen. We have a core team of staff who run the operation but our work force in made up volunteers who support all aspects of our kitchen operations.

The new Head Chef will line manage the chef team of roughly 10 people and be working in our main production kitchen every day, leading the team from the front, setting the standards and organising the days production.

Whilst managing, planning and leading are the core of the role it is a hands-on role working in the kitchen to achieve the daily production targets, setting the standards and cooking new recipes each day.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the Kitchen side of the operation on a day-to-day basis, setting the prep, packing and cooking schedules for the day(s) ahead

• Support the team from the front in delivering the days output objectives and problem solving across the kitchen operation

• Line Manage the Kitchen team, focussed on the daily management but also working on people and team management alongside the kitchen manager

• Work alongside the kitchen management team to ensure all H&S, Food Safety and HACCP standards are met & monitored effectively

• Participate in all external Health & Safety and Food Safety audits and carry out internal audits/checklist

• Be accountable for the creation of unique recipe and spec sheets every day and managing the team to do so

• Create and monitor the packing list for the packing team to produce the final meal products, ensuring accurate labelling and allergen information is given Monitorand control inbound food supplies, ensuring the ingredients are used effectively and safely

• Maintaining cleanliness standards throughout the kitchen and food storage areas

• Working alongside the kitchen manager on improving quality, quantity and consistency of Felix Meals

• Ensure the team can provide a hot lunch for the staff at Poplar each day from our surplus ingredients

• Working to support the volunteers in the kitchen, with hands on instructions and overall experience management.

Your normal duties and responsibilities will be set out in your job description. However, the charity may require you to perform other duties from time to time.

Person Specification

Felix’s Kitchen is a truly unique operation; we are looking for someone with experience cooking in a large production operation however people skills, working style and personality are the most important part of this role.

Being able to adapt and plan on the go is essential, enjoying knowing that each day will require a tweak to the plan and approaching this in a posistive manner is key. Being excited by the joy and the challenge of working with surplus food, adapting recipes and plans with the team.

You will be working with a diverse team of staff and volunteers, being open to meeting new people everyday and supporting them with your experience and knowledge. Ensuring our standards are always met but the volunteer experience is enjoyable and productive.

Being passionate about food insecurity, supporting communities and surplus food is essential, we are passionate about what we do and even more importantly why we do it.

Driving the standards within the team and operation whilst maintaining a posistive working environment and a culture of inclusivity throughout everything you do.

Research shows some people, especially women and marginalised groups, may hesitate to apply unless they match all the criteria. However, we want to assure everyone that we encourage applications from all individuals, regardless of whether they fulfil every point in the job description. Your unique perspective matters to us – please apply with confidence

Essential Criteria

• Experience leading a team as a head chef (or similar) in a kitchen operation

• Cooking in a professional production kitchen or large-scale operation

• Level 3 or higher Food Safety Training (fresh courses will be provided)

• Current or previous training in HACCP, Risk Assessments, Allergen awareness

• Knowledge on how to create and/or implement a HACCP Plan

• Confidence in the ability to create recipes daily, with a base experience and knowledge to facilitate this

We reserve the right to close advertisements early and we might assess candidates and arranging interview as applications come in, so please apply as soon as possible, to avoid missing out on this opportunity.

Recruitment timeline

Due to the anticipated large number of applicants, if you do not hear from us within four weeks of your application, we regret to inform you that your application has been unsuccessful. Consequently, will not be able to provide feedback.

Organisation

Felix View profile

Registered Charity

21 - 50

We deliver this surplus food to charities and schools so they can provide healthy meals and help the most vulnerable in our society.

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Refreshed on: 16 July 2026

Closing date: 31 July 2026 at 00:00

Tags: Food / Nutrition

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Content & Social Media Officer (Maternity Cover)

Chefs in Schools

London, Greater London (Hybrid)

£36,408 per year

Full-time

Contract (Fixed-term maternity cover (approx. 12 months))

Community Development ∙ Education ∙ Health ∙ Social Welfare ∙ Youth and Children

Actively Interviewing

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Job description

Who we are

Chefs in Schools is a young, ambitious charity that’s rapidly growing. Our mission is to improve kids’ health, through improving school food & food literacy. We support and train schools and their kitchen teams to serve the best, freshest and tastiest food possible, all with the aim to improve health and wellbeing where needed most.

Through school kitchens, we work to reset a broken food system that damages children’s health and sets them up to fail.

We’re backed by some of the biggest names in food and have ambitious targets. Join us and help us feed the future well.

About you and the role

This role will see you creating engaging content and running our social media feeds. This is a highly autonomous role requiring creativity, problem solving and analytical skills.

You’ll thrive in a fast-paced, varied working environment and be full of creative ideas. You’ll be as happy filming and editing reels, as you are contributing ideas for campaigns . You’ll be confident writing reactive posts for LinkedIn and you’ll have an eye for making designs as beautiful as the food we serve in schools.

You’ll be good with people - able to work with high profile patrons, to reassure any nervous first time interviewees and capable of a cool head in busy kitchens or at events. You’ll juggle multiple projects and know how to unearth stories that bring our mission to life. A collaborative approach will be at the heart of your approach as you help position Chefs in Schools as an innovative changemaker in education and child health.

What else do you need to know?

The responsibilities, skills and experience listed below are intended to give you an idea of what we need for this role. If you don’t meet every requirement but feel you would be able to work with us to deliver the majority of them, we urge you to apply.

We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds, especially those from underrepresented communities.

We want to get to know you at the interview and understand we can do this best if you’re at ease. We’re an inclusive employer and work hard to create a welcoming working environment for everyone. If you need adjustments to the interview process please let us know.

As we work with children & young people, an offer of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and DBS clearance, in line with our safeguarding policy.

Key responsibilities:

Create exciting, constantly evolving content, including videos, photos, graphics and copy that drives specific actions and conversions that support our cause
Planning, filming and editing of reels to our house style - including recipe videos, kitchen tips, patron visits to school kitchens and shoulder to shoulder interview style films.
Plan, pitch and deliver social media campaigns end-to-end, from concept through to launch and beyond — including production coordination, communications planning and stakeholder management
Support the growth of our patron and ambassador work, proactively identifying opportunities and ensuring prominent placement on a variety of owned and external platforms
Champion diversity, equality and inclusion in all social media content
Develop and implement social media content planning aligned to organisational priorities
Lead regular creative brainstorms to build a bank of content ideas and champion creative innovation
Lead our conversations on social channels, proactively sharing sector news with organisational commentary to position us as a thought leader in key online debates. You’ll also build and maintain strategic relationships with relevant networks, schools, chefs, partners and influencers
Keep across trends and industry best practice to ensure our feeds stay fresh and relevant. Make data-driven decisions about where we invest our time
Oversee photography and video shoots when we use external agencies

Essential skills & experience:

At least two years of demonstrable experience creating content and managing social media feeds
Proven ability to plan and deliver content end-to-end with minimal oversight
Strong creative skills - video, editing, sound edits, design, writing and interviewing
Strategic thinker who links social media activity to organisational goals
Excellent attention to detail and commitment to quality standards
Confident working autonomously and making independent judgements
Experience using analytics
Solutions-focused approach in line with our values
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with diverse stakeholders
A proven commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion
Belief in our mission to improve children’s health through better food and food education in schools

Desirable skills & experience:

Knowledge of child health, nutrition or education
Understanding of brand application
Experience using social media scheduling and management tools

Benefits

You would be joining a friendly, supportive team who work hard but believe in a healthy work/life balance. We were voted one of CODE Hospitality’s happiest places to work in 2024. We seek a diverse range of perspectives, skills, experience and knowledge. Joining a small, collaborative team means you’ll be able to contribute to and draw on various projects and strategic insights.

We offer 33 days of holiday per year including bank holidays, 3 additional office closure days over the Christmas period as well as wellbeing days over the summer school holidays. We also have a Cycle to Work scheme, hybrid working, enhanced parental leave, and free access to the CODE app for discounted restaurants & hospitality venues. We are committed to developing our team and will support you with relevant training opportunities including £250 towards elective training and development of your choice.

We also offer Bupa Dental Insurance, Income Protection Insurance, as well as access to the Aviva Smart Health Platform which offers health benefits including free rapid access online GP appointments, free counselling and wellbeing support.

Application process

In line with our commitment to ensuring a fair and unbiased recruitment process, we invite candidates to answer a series of questions related to their day-to-day job.

We recommend that you develop your answers offline and copy them in when you’re ready to ensure you don’t lose your work if interrupted.

Your answers will go through our sifting process: all answers will be anonymised, randomised and then reviewed by a panel of reviewers. A long list of candidates will then additionally have their CVs reviewed. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a 30-minute online interview. Successful candidates will be invited to attend a second, in-person interview at our office in Brixton, London.

Expected duration of this application process: 4 weeks

Role closes midnight Sunday 26th July

First interviews will be held online w/c 3rd August

Second interviews in person at our Brixton office w/c 10th August

Candidates will be asked to complete a practical task & presentation as part of the second interview.

Organisation