Role Overview

This role is crucial for the Trust's leadership and influence in South East London, and for achieving Essentia's strategic goals. The role is highly autonomous and responsible for interpreting legal and national catering policies into a strategy and operational practice that ensures GSTT sites are compliant.

Key Responsibilities

• Set the catering strategy, provide expert advice, and deliver an operational service covering all areas of catering, including food service provision.
• Lead on all matters relating to the operational management of catering, including central production kitchen, producing 4+ million patient meals annually for GSTT and external NHS contracts, retail, hospitality, sports, and recreation.
• Review, implement, and manage all processes to ensure services are delivered in accordance with Trust-wide policies and statutory compliance.
• Lead a team of nearly 350 catering specialists directly employed GSTT staff.
• Establish and deliver operational performance targets against agreed service standards, including compliance with Financial & Procurement Regulations.
• Continuously monitor and review services; identify and implement service, operational, and financial improvements to deliver within allocated budgets, improving value for money, including responsiveness to changing business needs.
• Demonstrate compassionate, inclusive, and values-led leadership, role modeling integrity, accountability, and collaboration in all decision-making and professional interactions.
• Lead through clear objectives, coaching, feedback, and development of others, supporting high performance and inclusive career progression across the team.
• Use data, audit, incidents, complaints, feedback, and lived experience to inform improvement priorities, reduce inequity, and strengthen service assurance.