Address Location Profile
Background
Applications are invited for the role of ‘Catering Manager’ for the Dinner Plain Campus of The School for Student Leadership (Trading as the Alpine School). This facility and program represent the latest development of 20 years of excellence in residential year nine education, catering to students in Victorian government schools. The original Alpine School at Dinner Plain was opened in 2000, Snowy River Campus Marlo in 2007, Gnurad-Gundidj Campus Glenormiston in 2009, Don Valley Campus in 2021. The school began operating international leadership programs in 2014 with a collaboration between the DET International Education Division and Utahloy International School, Guangzhou, Guangdong, PRC. Nearly 9000 students have attended our campuses in Victoria and China in this time.
Forty-five students live, learn, work, play, recreate and undertake adventures at the schools in a unique (in State Education) highly supported leadership education program. The School has modelled the educational program on an Experiential Education model, and at its core has a project/ enquiry learning and social-enterprise focus.
The Catering manager will be a person who has a love of food and the ability to share that passion with adolescents. They will have responsibility for the safe and appropriate day to day running of the kitchen and dining facilities at the Alpine School. They will work in a close team relationship with in particular the Catering Assistant and all staff at the School for Student Leadership and with their colleagues at the other campuses. This will entail provision of meals seven days a week for the duration of the nine week term that students are in residence. There will be assistance in the form of a Catering Assistant, and the hours of duty will be timetabled by the Daily Organiser with consideration to the residential nature of The School for Student Leadership program. The Catering Manager will have responsibility for (in conjunction with the Head of Campus or Principal and Business Manager ), menus, ordering, cooking and preparing food for students to access in his/her absence or for excursions, cleaning and ensuring the operational safety of all kitchen equipment. The position will entail facilitating students in the preparation and clean-up duties for meal and encouraging students to participate in the kitchen.
The food provision at the School for Student Leadership, of which the Don Valley Campus is one of Four campuses is guided by our Common Kitchen approach. The catering teams at all campuses work collaboratively to ensure that food is delicious, made with care, love imagination and passion, is consistently delivered and planned within a rotating menu. The food provision will be able to happily and excitedly accommodate the variety of food requirements of students: vegan, vegetarian, allergy responsive, respectful and embracing of religious beliefs for example.
The kitchen is the heart of the school. It is open and transparent, welcoming and a fun place to learn. We believe that the work and action in the kitchen will contribute to the learning and growth of the students in residence. Students will be welcome to assist and, after completing their basic food handling course, will be cognisant of work requirements in a commercial kitchen. The kitchen is therefore an extension of the learning environment and hence the catering team will contribute to the learning program of the students through their modelling and behaviour, passion for food and clear enjoyment they will display in the kitchen.
The school subscribes to the Maslow Hierarchy of needs model and it is clear that biological functioning-eating for one-are absolutely essential to the successful learning in our school. The catering team are therefore fundamental to the learning program as the kitchen and food are foundations for progression to maximising students learning outcomes.
The roles and responsibilities
As a result of the multi-campus operation and the residential 9-24/7 operation on each campus, the role requires a person with a flexible, enthusiastic and team-oriented approach. All staff work in a close team environment with their colleagues, and a culture of collaboration, sharing and feedback permeates this relationship.
• The Principal is the instructional leader in the school, the Ex-Officio member of council, direct line-manager to all staff but delegates this responsibility as required.
• The school Principal is primarily based at Snowy Campus and will be often mobile.
• The Campus Principals and the Leading Teachers with the Generalists will form the core of the teaching staff.
• Leading Teachers should be familiar with aspects of contemporary DET management practices.
• The Business Manager has a vital advisory with both the Principal and the Campus Principals in making and supporting resourcing decisions.
• The Overnight and Education Support Staff are intrinsically connected to the successful outcomes that the school aims for.
• The kitchen and catering model is critical to the success of the learning program and the staff follow a “Common Kitchen” approach to healthy food for growing adolescents.
• The school has a Community of Practice approach to ensure high quality outcome for students, to reduce variability between teachers, classes, campuses and days, uses evidence and data and privileging time for inquiry among others.
. The Office Manager work is overseen by the Business manager but also works independently at the Don Valley Campus
The operational budget of the multi-campus school is in the order of $6-7m per annum. The school generates a large cash income through parent contributions from home schools and grants for the international program.
The governance and leadership model of the School for Student Leadership is unique in the Victorian Education system. The Governance and Leadership models comprise one School Council and a single Principal. The school council, nominated by the Education Minister, consists of high profile members of the Victorian community. There are past student and Koorie community representatives on the school council.
The School Principal, Business Manager, Campus Principals and Leading Teachers form the School Leadership Team.
The Business Manager is the Secretary of the School Council and has a close working relationship with the Principal, School Council President and Finance Committee.
A Campus Principal and Leading Teacher comprise the leadership team at a campus. The LT Curriculum oversees the pedagogical program. There is a Learning Specialist at each campus.
A Digital Technologies Coordinator leads and implements the ICT program across the school.
With this model, a member of the leadership team can be on-site at the school most days as the operation of the organisation is 24/7.
The school, as a co-educational residential school, has two gender specific accommodation wings and has a highly trained team of teacher and non-teacher support staff to maximize the desired educational outcomes.
The school has a particular focus on ensure the safety of students through the Child Safe Standards.
Selection Criteria
Demonstrated excellent skills, knowledge, passion, experience or qualifications in the area of delivery of high quality catering quantity food.
Demonstrated awareness of the requirements for safe operation of the Alpine School Campus kitchen, Common Kitchen approach and possession of qualifications, knowledge and experience to be nominated as the Safe Food Supervisor of The Alpine School kitchen.
Excellent ability to relate to young people and in a way that support the care and learning policies of the Alpine School.
Demonstrated awareness of Department of Education and Training guidelines for the supply of nutritious food in school settings.
Highly developed ability to manage budgets, work independently and contribute to the operation of the whole school.
Excellent ability to work in a team
Role
Range 3 is distinguished by the introduction of management responsibility and accountability for the delivery of professional support services. The role will usually impact beyond the work area or professional field. It seeks to gain cooperation of other staff members or members of the school community to achieve specific objectives, such as in school administration, operations or educational programs.
Direction on targets and goals is provided but the position will have some degree of latitude in determining how they are achieved. This latitude will generally be limited by standard procedures and school policy. Deviation from standard procedures and school policy will require guidance and direction from senior management.
The provision of business management responsibilities becomes a feature at range 3. Management of staff to achieve the expected outcomes is a key responsibility. Staff management issues will be resolved with minimal reference to senior management, although guidance will be required in more complex cases. Senior management will be provided with timely reports and advice, although this will generally be confined to matters relating to the immediate work area, service provision or educational program and is unlikely to impact substantially on whole of school operations.
This is the minimum range for positions that carry a mandatory qualification requirement of not less than four years. Professional student support positions become a feature at range 3 (e.g. therapists, psychologists) where standard professional services are delivered. Professional support and guidance will be close at hand and deviation from standard procedures and school policy will require guidance and direction from senior management.
An education support class position supports the educational services being provided to students, but must not include duties of teaching as defined in clause 2.6.1 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) or its successor. Supervision of students cannot be required except where it is an integral part of the employee¿s position or involves supervision of students individually or in small groups, in controlled circumstances, where the responsibility for students remains clearly with a teacher.
Responsibilities
The Catering Manager will be responsible for, in conjunction with the Catering Assistant the following;
Provide lovingly prepared meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner, morning and afternoon tea) and food of uniformly high standard, of high nutritional value, and of a type and quantity appealing and appropriate for 45 teenagers. Be able to enthusiastically provide delicious and nutritious food for the diverse range of needs in the campus such as required by religious observations, vegan, vegetarian, allergy and intolerance to specific food types, diabetic and potentially more. The ordering of all food and provisions using a school order book and through established suppliers/creditors of the Alpine School, including food for excursions and overnight camping expeditions. The latter is in close consultation with the teaching staff. Following the Common Kitchen model of menu and food provision and working with the other campus catering teams to ensure collaboration and maximisation of variety, creativity, diversity and bulk purchasing opportunities to meet the varied needs of all students. Maximise the use of local ingredients as and when available. Encourage student participation in the preparation and provision of food by being approachable, engaging and enthusiastic to and with students. Provision of a hot, baked lunch on the student arrival Sunday (once a term, four times a year) for up to 180 guests (students, families, parents, guardians). Provision of a lunch-time meal on the Community Learning Project presentation day for approximately 80 guests including students, once a term, four times a year. Provision of at least one cooked breakfast per three-week rotating menu. Provision of fresh, homemade snacks for morning tea and excursions, or through support and negotiation, assisting students to do the same. Provision of food for staff on non-student days (week 0 each term), attendance at mid-year conference and on a rotating basis cater for the conference when it is at that home campus, With teaching staff, identifying students with birthdays in the term and making a cake for dessert for all students on that birthday. Unpacking, receipting, storage and rotation of all food stock following internal control practices at the Alpine School. Manage invoices after deliveries of food, with appropriate order forms, in a timely manner for payments, in conjunction with the Office Manager. In conjunction with the Principal/Head of Campus, be responsible for compliance with all local and state government regulations and requirements for food handling plans, staff training, kitchen registration, and food transportation. Manage the kitchen and dining room in a manner consistent with the educational beliefs and values of the Alpine School. Management of the kitchen and dining room area prior to, during and after the meals of lunch & dinner. With the duty staff, supervision of the students assisting in the kitchen, including supervision until the cleaning, washing and mopping is complete. Manage and monitor the fridge and freezer temperatures. Be responsible for the cleanliness of the food preparation areas including the food servery area of the dining room as well as manage supplies of appropriate and safe cleaning agents for the kitchen area including manage the cleaning of tea towels. Manage waste disposal associated with the kitchen. Ensure that all equipment in operational, including shutdown on departure, and that all faults are reported to the appropriate management staff. Conduct a stock take of the kitchen supplies at the end of each term and ensure supplies are ordered in a timely manner. Be available for a weekly meeting with the Head of Campus, to be held in rostered hours. Join the morning meetings with all staff when on campus in the mornings. Other tasks as required and in consultation with the Principal or Head of Campus and determined by DET.
Who May Apply
Individuals with the aptitude, experience and/or qualifications to fulfill the specific requirements of the position.
EEO AND OHS Commitment
The Department values diversity and is committed to workforce diversity and equal opportunity in schools and all education workplaces. The Department recognises that the provision of family friendly, supportive, safe and harassment free workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work, diversity and safety across all schools and Department workplaces.
Child Safe Standards
Victorian government schools are child safe environments. Our schools actively promote the safety and wellbeing of all students, and all school staff are committed to protecting students from abuse or harm in the school environment, in accordance with their legal obligations including child safe standards. All schools have a Child Safety Code of Conduct consistent with the Department’s exemplar available at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/protect/Pages/childsafestandards.aspx
DE Values
The Department’s employees commit to upholding DET’s Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. DET’s Values complement each school’s own values and underpin the behaviours the community expects of Victorian public sector employees, including those who work in Victorian Government Schools. Information on the DET values is available at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/workm/Pages/Public-Sector-Values.aspx
Other Information
No job description available
Conditions of Employment
All staff employed by the Department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements. Appointment of successful applicants will be made subject to a satisfactory pre-employment conditions check. A probationary period may apply during the first year of employment and induction and support programs provided. Detailed information on all terms and conditions of employment is available on the Department's Human Resources website at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/Pages/default.aspx
