About the job

Job summary

House of Commons

The House of Commons is a unique and exciting place to work right at the heart of the UK's thriving democratic system. 

Behind the scenes, the House of Commons Service is made up of more than 3,000 employees who support and facilitate the smooth day to day running of the House. They provide professional services to Members of Parliament, their staff, and the wider parliamentary community.

House of Commons

The House of Commons is a unique and exciting place to work right at the heart of the UK's thriving democratic system. 

Behind the scenes, the House of Commons Service is made up of more than 3,000 employees who support and facilitate the smooth day to day running of the House. They provide professional services to Members of Parliament, their staff, and the wider parliamentary community.

Staff Benefits

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including: 

• 30 days’ annual leave (increasing to 35 days after first full leave year). 
• Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%. 
• Access to training and development. 
• Flexible working. 
• Interest free season ticket loan and bicycle loan. 

Introduction 

The Customer Experience and Service Delivery team aims to deliver a comfortable, safe and efficient environment for Members, their staff and staff of the House to work in; as well as providing a welcoming and functional environment for all visitors to the House of Commons.

Catering Services sits within the Customer Experience and Service Delivery team and aims to deliver the best quality service with an enthusiastic and professional team for the benefit of all our customers.  We are responsible for the efficient operation of the House of Commons catering facilities within the agreed financial framework.

Job description

The Kitchen General Assistant is required to work within the kitchens and still room areas assisting and supporting the kitchen teams chefs, front of house staff and managers with the catering department.

You will be responsible as part of a team in the preparation and service of daily food and drinks as required while upholding impeccable standards of food hygiene and cleanliness you will have a keen interest in food and delivering to the highest standards and adapting to customer needs.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• Ensuring that all Still Room fridges, freezer spaces and cupboards are kept tidy, correctly labelled and stock rotation is implemented in line with the Food safety management policy.
• Assisting the kitchen teams in preparations and service of food, drink and soup items for events, banquets, and restaurant services.
• Preparation and service of hot and cold beverages for restaurants and banquets and events throughout the day.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Relevant Still Room kitchen experience in a similar position with experience of a high standard of service in a high volume, similar establishment.
• Experience of good customer service and dealing with all customers at all levels and from all backgrounds.
• A high level of flexibility and able to work effectively in a busy environment under pressure.
• Ability to work within a team actively helping and supporting others while contributing with ways to improve current working and procedures, whilst upholding the values of equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Must be able to deliver good quality and service and uses own initiative to anticipate and deliver business requirements.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £25,957, House of Commons contributes £7,008 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

• CV & Supporting Statement – If you would like to apply for this role, please submit your CV and covering letter with a 500 word limit. 

More information on the role and the full criteria can be found in the Job Description. 

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.