Catering Assistant

YHA Ambleside, Waterhead, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 0EU

Seasonal, flexible contract - June to November 2026

Minimum 25 hours per week

£12.71 per hour (applies to all, including those under the age of 21)

Staff accommodation is available at a rate of £74.62 per week

Are you looking for a fun and varied job in hospitality? YHA Ambleside are looking for a Catering Team Member to join their team!

As a Catering Team Member, you'll play a key role in making our guests' experiences memorable. Your efforts will be at the core of our mission to provide exceptional hospitality.

Why work for YHA?

Join our team and enjoy a range of exclusive staff benefits that support your well-being and career growth:

10 nights free hostel stays per year for you and up to 3 friends or family
Access to YHA’s staff discount and cash back portal
Free YHA Membership each year
Access to support via our Employee Assistance Program

There are many more benefits to working for YHA so please visit our YHA Jobs website for more information.

What will you be doing as a Catering Team Member?

While this role primarily focuses on the catering aspects of our hostel, you may also be called upon to assist in other hostel departments.

We are a friendly team and will provide the training required for you to undertake the role. However, there is plenty for you to get stuck into from day one, including:

Ensuring adherence to food hygiene standards in food storage, preparation, and delivery.
Upholding health and safety regulations, ensuring timely and accurate completion of kitchen checks.
Taking pride in the preparation, presentation, and service of high-quality food.
Recording food wastage in accordance with your hostel's procedures, focussing on minimizing waste to maximize profit.
Assisting in the preparation of food and serving food and drinks with genuine warmth, hospitality, and pride that will influence in more sales.

What Skills and Experience do you need to be a Catering Team Member?

Our Catering Team Members undertake a wide range of customer facing duties within the hostel, delivering an excellent service to all guests and visitors.

To provide this service to our guests we are looking for the following qualities in our Catering Team Members:

Experience of working face to face with customers
Experience of working in hospitality or customer service (desirable)
Food Safety Level 2 Certificate (desirable) – otherwise will be required to complete within hostel
Experience of working in a team – can help others to achieve a common goal
Excellent timekeeping, with flexibility to cover different shifts – punctual, can work to deadlines
Ability to manage varying pressures, include peaks in workload demands – can prioritise, able to deal with conflicting duties
Basic IT skills (ideally Microsoft Office) – able to use Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel
Knowledge and understanding of the core purpose of YHA – what YHA does and how we do it
Demonstration of our HEART values – they’re part of everything we do, and we look for team members who bring them to life in their everyday work

For more information about the role and the skills and experience required, please refer to the job description.

At YHA, we understand the richness of life experiences, and we place just as much importance on lived experiences as we do on skills and knowledge. We provide a robust induction, ongoing training, and opportunities for personal growth. While certain roles may require specific skills, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. For more information about how we are creating an inclusive workplace please visit our jobs website.

Who are YHA?

YHA is a social enterprise with a mission to enrich the lives of all, especially young people. YHA does this by providing brilliant hostel stays and experiences that improve physical health, mental wellbeing and life skills.

If you would like to find out more about YHA the charity, the culture, the heritage and so much more please visit our jobs website.

How do you apply?

Submit your CV and complete the application form. For more information about our recruitment process, visit the job website. If you need any assistance, please email jobs@yha.org.uk

Once the hiring manager has reviewed your application we will contact shortlisted candidates. We aim to get in touch within a reasonable amount of time after the closing date. You can also check on the progress of your application if you have signed up to Connect - our online candidate portal

If you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please get in touch by emailing jobs@yha.org.uk.

PLEASE NOTE All relevant checks are in place to ensure safeguarding and legal requirements of safer recruitment are adhered to. We do reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

YHA Job Title: Team Member

YHA England & Wales

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