Why Join Marie Curie?
Food plays a vital role in the comfort and wellbeing of those receiving hospice care. As our Head Chef, you’ll have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact every day, using your skills to create meals that truly matter.
In return, you’ll join a caring and supportive team within a respected national charity, where your contribution will be valued and your work will make a real difference to patients and their families. If you’re ready to lead a talented team and use your culinary skills to make every meal count, we’d love to hear from you.
What you will be doing:
- Leading the day-to-day operation of the catering department, ensuring the delivery of a high-quality food service for patients, visitors, volunteers and staff.
- Creating and developing varied, nutritious and seasonal menus, ensuring all dietary, nutritional and allergen requirements are met.
- Managing and inspiring a team of catering staff and volunteers, overseeing recruitment, training, development, rota planning and performance management.
- Ensuring the highest standards of food safety, hygiene and compliance, including HACCP, COSHH, Natasha’s Law, allergen management and preparation for internal and external audits.
- Managing the catering budget, stock control, procurement and supplier relationships to deliver an efficient and cost-effective service.
- Building strong relationships with patients, clinical teams and colleagues to ensure individual dietary needs are understood and catered for, while acting on feedback to continually improve the service.
- Planning and delivering catering for functions, events and special occasions, while maintaining a safe, welcoming and professional dining experience across the hospice.
What we’re looking for:
- Proven experience leading and motivating a catering team within a busy hospitality, healthcare or catering environment.
- Strong knowledge of current food hygiene legislation, HACCP principles, COSHH regulations and allergen management requirements.
- Experience managing and developing teams, including staff supervision, training, rota planning and performance management.
- A recognised catering qualification, such as City & Guilds 706/1 and 706/2 or an equivalent Professional Cookery qualification (SCQF Level 5 or 6).
- A minimum Level 3 Food Handling qualification, along with Basic and Intermediate Food Hygiene certifications.
- Experience delivering high-quality catering services and maintaining exceptional standards of food quality, safety and customer service.
- A positive, flexible and proactive approach, with excellent organisational skills and the ability to adapt to changing priorities.
- A collaborative team player who can build strong relationships with colleagues, patients, volunteers and visitors.
- A commitment to continuous professional development and a willingness to work towards higher-level catering and management qualifications.
What’s in it for me?
Salary: Marie Curie Clinical Pay Scale Band 5 £34,544 to £43,039 per annum plus enhancements
Contract: Permanent 37.5 hours per week Shift patterns which will include some weekends
Based: Marie Curie Edinburgh Hospice, Frogston Road West EH10 7DR
Benefits You’ll Love
- Annual leave allowance 27 days plus 10 public holidays (pro rata)
- Competitive Policy for parental/sick Leave
- Industry leading training programmes
- Season ticket loan for travelling to and from work
- Defined contribution schemes for Pension
- Loan schemes for bikes; computers and satellite navigation systems
- Introduce a friend scheme
- Help with eyecare cost
- Entitled to Marie Curie Blue Light Card
- Entitled to Benefit-Hub Discount Scheme
- Life assurance – for all employees
Application Process
- Close date for applications: 23rd August 2026
- Interview Dates: W/C 31st August 2026
We reserve the right to close this advert early should we receive a sufficient number of applications.
At Marie Curie, our values are central to everything we do. They guide how we care for people, how we work together, and how we make decisions every day. We are committed to creating a workplace that is safe for everyone — staff and volunteers alike — supportive, inclusive and rewarding. We take stringent steps to ensure that anyone who joins our organisation are suitable for their roles and are committed to safeguarding all our people from harm. We actively consider our impact on the planet, embedding sustainability into everyday decisions to create a lasting, positive difference for the individuals we care for and the world we share.
We believe everyone should have the opportunity to thrive and fulfil their potential. Marie Curie is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, recognising both the social justice imperative and the strength a diverse workforce brings. We actively encourage applications from people of all cultures, perspectives and lived experiences.
We are happy to make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process. If you require any support, please contact us at recruitment@mariecurie.org.uk.
Every application we receive is personally reviewed by a member of our Talent Acquisition team, and in return, we ask that your application authentically reflects you — your experience, perspective and voice.
#J-18808-Ljbffr…