KU Children's Services
Childcare Cook (Qualified) | Kooinda Workbase Child Care Centre
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The Service
Kooinda Workbase Child Care Centre is a purpose-built 56-place long day care service located within the beautiful bushland surrounds of the University of Newcastle campus. Meaning "a happy place" in the local Awabakal language, Kooinda offers a warm, community-focused environment where children and educators thrive.
With spacious natural outdoor play areas, a strong focus on sustainability, and a long-standing team of passionate educators, Kooinda is a supportive and inspiring place to work. Conveniently located with easy access to public transport and parking, it's the perfect setting for those looking to make a meaningful impact in early childhood education.
The Role
No evenings or weekends – enjoy a fantastic work-life balance!
We're looking for a passionate and organised Cook to join our team in a permanent part-time role, working Monday to Friday, 5 hours per day. As our Cook, you'll play an important role in supporting children's health and wellbeing by preparing fresh, nutritious meals while becoming a valued member of our close-knit team.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Independently managing the day-to-day operations of the kitchen.
- Planning and preparing fresh, nutritious meals and snacks from scratch.
- Ordering and maintaining kitchen supplies from preferred suppliers.
- Ensuring all food safety, hygiene, and health standards are maintained.
- Creating positive mealtime experiences for children.
- Engaging children in simple cooking experiences and encouraging healthy eating where appropriate.
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About You
You are organised, reliable and passionate about creating healthy, nutritious meals for young children. You enjoy working independently while being part of a collaborative team and take pride in maintaining a safe, clean and welcoming kitchen.
You'll also have:
- Experience preparing meals in a commercial kitchen, childcare, school or similar setting.
- Knowledge of food safety and nutrition requirements.
- Excellent organisation and time management skills.
- A current Food Safety Supervisor certificate (or willingness to obtain).
- A current Working with Children Check (or willingness to obtain).
- Completed National Child Safety Training
Why join KU?
At KU, you'll be part of a not-for-profit organisation that has been enriching children's lives through high-quality early education for over 125 years. We value our people and provide a supportive culture where you'll be encouraged to grow, contribute and make a genuine difference every day.
We offer:
- Consistent Monday to Friday hours with no evenings or weekends.
- Generous salary packaging to increase your take-home pay.
- Paid professional development opportunities.
- Wellbeing initiatives and an Employee Assistance Program.
- A supportive and collaborative team culture.
- The opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the lives of children every day.
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How to apply:
If you are interested in moving to this our exceeding service, please apply online today.
Upload your updated Cover Letter and Resume via the 'APPLY NOW' button.
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For inquiries, please contact Sarah, HR Partner via careers@ku.com.au (please note: applications are not accepted via this email).
KU is committed to social justice and human rights, inclusion and diversity, and equal employment opportunity. We recognise the voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and promote their participation at KU.
KU Children’s Services is committed to being a child safe organisation. We put children’s safety and wellbeing at the centre of our practices. Child safety is a shared responsibility across the organisation. All KU staff contribute to maintaining our child safe culture and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the children in our services and programs. KU has a zero tolerance of harm or abuse of children.
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