ISS Facility Services UK
Head Chef
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Head Chef
Contract: Banking
Location: London, EC2M 2AT
Hours of work: 40
Contract Type: Permanent
We are seeking a highly experienced Head Chef to take full responsibility for the culinary leadership, commercial performance, and operational delivery of the kitchen and food offer. This role is accountable for menu strategy, recipe development, food quality, service standards, food safety, team leadership, and cost control, ensuring a consistently high-quality dining experience.
Job Description
We are looking for a proactive and commercially minded leader who can drive continuous improvement across the food offer, customer experience, and financial performance. Reporting to the Assistant Manager and Catering Manager, the Head Chef will lead the catering team across FOH, BOH, and Hospitality while ensuring compliance with client, company, and statutory requirements at all times.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the planning, development, and delivery of menus, recipes, and food production standards.
- Drive culinary innovation through seasonal menus, trend-led dishes, and high-quality food presentation.
- Oversee the day-to-day kitchen operation, ensuring efficient preparation, production, and service delivery.
- Maintain full compliance with food safety, hygiene, health & safety, fire safety, and company HSEQ standards.
- Take ownership of kitchen financial performance, including food costs, labour costs, stock control, wastage, and budget management.
- Manage supplier relationships, purchasing decisions, and stock usage to maximise value and minimise waste.
- Lead, coach, develop, and performance manage the kitchen team, creating a high-performance culture.
- Build strong relationships with clients, customers, and stakeholders, supporting events, food activations, and continuous innovation.
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Professional and Personal Competencies/Qualifications
- Experience as a Head Chef or in an equivalent leadership role within a high-volume commercial catering operation.
- Experience in a high-volume, commercially driven catering environment, preferably within B&I or a similarly complex operation.
- Proven ability to lead kitchen teams, manage performance, and deliver strong business results in a fast-paced environment.
- Demonstrable experience of managing budgets, food costs, labour costs, and overall kitchen profitability.
- Strong knowledge of food safety, health & safety, and statutory compliance requirements.
- Experience of menu innovation, recipe development, and maintaining high culinary standards.
- Excellent communication, planning, organisational, and leadership skills.
- Creative, customer-focused, commercially aware, and motivated to deliver continuous improvement.
- Experience of team development, succession planning, and mentoring future talent.
The Company
ISS is a world-leading workplace and facility management company, connecting people and places to make the world work better. Working with customers day by day, side by side, we understand every aspect of the user experience.
Through a unique combination of intelligent solutions, high standards and people who care, to help our customers achieve their purpose, whether it’s hospitals healing patients, businesses producing the next great innovation, or airports bringing passengers home to their families. ISS is committed to doing business the right way, taking its corporate responsibility very seriously. Our passion is people.
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We offer you a challenging and exciting career in an organisation with people at its heart. In ISS, everyone has the opportunity to develop, grow and make a difference. #Becomewhoyouwant, #Bepartofsomethingbigger, #aplacetobeyou, #facilitiesmanagement
ISS is proud to be a diverse and inclusive employer.
ISS welcomes all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender identity or gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race (which includes race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin and caste), religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or educational background.
We are proud to be a Gold Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) award holder and a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, recognising our commitment to supporting veterans, reservists, and military families. Through our Joint Forces Programme, we provide mentoring and support to members of the Armed Forces community and their spouses as they transition into civilian careers.
We are a Disability Confident Committed (Level 2) employer, proudly supporting and promoting inclusive hiring practices in line with the UK government’s Disability Confident scheme.
Our passion for inclusivity and diversity makes ISS a more creative, productive and happy place to work.
If you have any further queries regarding this role, please contact the Resourcing Team by emailing resourcing.team@uk.issworld.com
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