The British Embassy Riyadh has a vacancy for an Executive Chef to the Ambassador, job grade Administrative Officer (AO), on a fixed-term contract of one (1) year, with the possibility of renewal.

This is an exciting role at the heart of the British Embassy Riyadh. You will be responsible for feeding the Ambassador and their many high-profile guests. You will be passionate about cooking brilliant food, be creative in your design and delivery of varied menus and thrive in a fast paced environment. You will understand and value your responsibilities to the Embassy and the responsibilities of managing British taxpayer funded resources. 

Duties and responsibilities

Specifically, the role will require you to:

• Plan and prepare creative, appetising, and healthy menus for both formal and informal events, meeting individual stakeholder requirements and budget, in liaison with the Ambassador, Residence Manager and Events Manager. Catering for any special dietary requirements, responding to feedback, and being flexible to last minute changes.
• Source ingredients with attention to minimising wastage, ensuring food service is up to standard and on budget, delivering value for money.
• Cook food for events (including breakfast, lunch, dinner, sandwich lunch, afternoon tea, canapé reception, buffet, working dinner) and varying numbers of guests, consistently to a high standard of quality and presentation, with emphasis on a modern British style of cuisine bringing in culturally appropriate Saudi elements.
• Maintain files of past menus, recipes, and associated costs per head.
• Maintain list of suppliers of fresh food, gastro-services, delivery companies, catering companies, etc.
• Arrange smooth service delivery via effective communication and problem solving, managing any extra kitchen staff as required, and liaising with the Residence Manager/ Events Manager to maintain effective communication between kitchen personnel and front of house staff.
• Follow all appropriate health and safety standards related to food management and professional kitchen processes to ensure a clean, safe, and incident-free working environment.
• Follow Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) health and safety procedures and standards applying them in practise, creating and carrying out weekly/ monthly cleaning schedules.
• Order or directly purchase food for events including any other items necessary in the kitchen.
• Monitor the condition of kitchen equipment and reporting maintenance issues, especially in the Residence kitchen.
• Maintain kitchen inventory, including reporting need for new equipment, reporting any breakages or maintenance issues.
• Maintain food stocks and stock records.
• Maintain accurate and detailed records of expenditure and consumption for every event for month-end accounting purpose, reconciling expenditure accurately and on time.
• Provide advice and support to the Residence and Embassy staff in the delivery of effective and value for money catering solutions.
• Supervise technical staff and external contractors at the Residence, as requested by the Residence Manager/ Events Manager.
• Train Residence Staff as sous-chefs.
• Support external catering procurement/ contracts and contract management if required.
• Provide table service, greeting, and ad-hoc table service if required.
• Undertake other duties from time to time as may be reasonably required, for example (but not limited to) helping with the setup for major residence events, as part of the FCDO’s agile approach to delivery.
• Behave in a professional manner at all times, including acting with discretion and confidentiality.

The above list is not exhaustive, and the jobholder will be required to be flexible as specific responsibilities could change in the future, and this would be at the discretion of the line manager and Senior Management. The job description may be reviewed to meet changes in business needs. The jobholder may also take on other ad hoc tasks as and when required, including participating in the Embassy’s emergency planning and any response to a crisis.

Key behaviours required:

• Managing a Quality Service – Gain a clear understanding of customers’ needs and expectations. Plan, organise and manage your own time to deliver a high quality service which gives taxpayers a good return for their money. Act to prevent problems by identifying issues, reporting them, and providing solutions. Keep customers and all colleagues up to date with progress. Show customers where to access relevant information and support that will help them to use services more effectively.
• Delivering at Pace – Always work with focus and pace to get the job done on time and to a high standard. Follow the relevant policies, procedures and rules that apply to the job. Use own knowledge and expertise to organise work. Keep focused on delivery and take responsibility for the quality of work produced. Keep a consistent level of personal performance. Keep managers and stakeholders updated on how work is progressing.
• Working Together – Proactively contribute to the work of the whole team and remain open to taking on new and different roles. Get to know your colleagues and build supportive relationships. Listen to alternative perspectives and needs, responding sensitively and checking understanding where necessary. Ask for help when needed and support others when the opportunity arises. Be aware of the need to consider your own well-being and that of your colleagues. Understand that bullying, harassment, and discrimination are unacceptable.
• Changing and Improving – Review ways of working and suggest improvements, including how to make full use of new digital technologies. Learn new procedures and help colleagues to do the same. Query any issues that arise from changes in a suitable way. Respond in an effective and appropriate manner when emergencies arise.

• Experience catering for high calibre customers in a hotel, restaurant, or diplomatic environment, ideally for at least five (5) years.
• Strong background and track record in preparing classic and modern British dishes.
• Ability to design and prepare menus from different cultures, particularly Middle Eastern cuisine.
• Demonstrates ability to prepare high quality food and innovative menus whilst delivering good value for money.
• Ability to arrange daily menus as well as dinner/ lunch/ buffet menus and have good understanding of food hygiene standards.
• Experience running food purchasing, budgeting, and financial reporting functions of a busy kitchen.
• Responsible and adaptable, with a strong focus on delivering at pace and effectively managing work and time.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to treat others with respect and courtesy regardless of work pressures. Acts with discretion at all times.
• Holds an appropriate hospitality industry/ culinary/ commercial cookery qualification or degree. Holds a recognised food hygiene/ food handling certificate or qualification.
• Fluent English language skills, both written and spoken. Able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely.
• IT skills and literacy in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams).