Education Catering Operations Manager

Company Description

Caterlink is the education sector catering specialist. For over 20 years, the Company has delivered fresh food solutions to pupils and staff at Primary Schools, Secondary Schools and Colleges across the UK. The company caters more than 1,000,000 meals a week. Our “Fresh Food Policy” is the foundation of our success and growth in the market coupled with a desire to truly deliver on the promises we make to our clients and support our site-based teams.

Job Description

We’re looking for an experienced Operations Manager to lead a portfolio of 32 educational sites, including 2 nurseries, 29 primary schools, and 1 secondary school – all conveniently located in the Reading area with minimal travel required. Based close to our Head Office, you’ll benefit from direct access to our dedicated Support Teams.

At Caterlink, we believe that people work for people. That’s why we’re seeking someone with strong leadership skills, confidence, and credibility – someone who can inspire and develop teams, build lasting client relationships, and drive operational excellence across their sites.

What You’ll Bring

• Proven experience in education catering and operational management
• A hands‑on approach with the ability to support location based teams
• Commercial awareness and a focus on delivering results
• A passion for team development and client satisfaction

This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real impact in a well‑supported environment, working with a diverse group of schools and a company that values its people.

We believe that living by our KPIs is key to success - Health & Safety, Retention, Quality and Finance. In addition to this, if you believe that People, Perception, Passion and Pride could also enhance your growth, success and development then this may be the role for you and we would love to hear from you!

Successful applicants will be required to complete an enhanced DBS disclosure. Salary dependant on experience

Caterlink strives to always provide a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment for all our teams where every individual is treated with respect, integrity and has the opportunity to grow and be treated equally and with fairness at all times.

Additional Information

• Competitive salary plus a performance‑related bonus
• Monthly car allowance or company car
• 33 days holiday inclusive of bank holidays
• You will be eligible to join our Workplace Pension Scheme with Aviva
• Private health care with BUPA
• Fully expensed company laptop + mobile phone
• Virtual GP for you and your family (eligibility rules apply)
• We offer you access to our Employee Discount Platform where you can make great savings at supermarkets, cinema, restaurants as well as holiday discounts, family days out and many more!
• Our Employee Assistance Program and Virtual GP benefits are there for you and your family to use free of charge at any time
• With Caterlink you have the opportunity to a blended learning programme that can include formal qualifications including Apprenticeships, classroom training, eLearning and on‑the‑job training to support and encourage your development and enable you to be the best you can be. Everyone who joins us is provided with an induction where they learn more about us and enable them to be the best they can be. We invest in development opportunities and are always looking to recruit, train and retain the best people for our own future talent and your own future development.
• As our core business is mainly in term time, the school breaks do enable the opportunity to catch up and plan for the next term, which isn’t always a luxury in a business operating 52 weeks of the year

Seniority level

• Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

• Full‑time

Job function

• Management and Manufacturing

Industries

• Food and Beverage Services

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