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Catering Officer

Posted By: RAF
Address:
Contact: 0161 832 5822
Date Posted: 1st Dec 2008
Salary: Excellent
Location: Other
Reference Code:
Views Since Posting: 3
Full Description:

Do you want to play a part in providing catering and logistical support to worldwide military operations in the 21st century?

Your Career

Overview
The real need to provide a world-class catering and logistics function whilst serving on operational detachments abroad is where the greatest demands are placed on our personnel. On operations, you may be expected to plan the sometimes protracted logistical requirements of feeding a large population, which will probably include Armed Forces of various nationalities, as well as being responsible for all aspects of managing refrigeration, kitchens, dining areas, accommodation blocks and storage areas,. Primarily you will be a leader of highly-trained and focussed men and women whose key aim is to deliver outstanding catering support to people, often under difficult conditions. This operational aspect is vital to the raison d’etre for RAF caterers and underpins our whole working ethos.
At bases in the UK, Catering Officers manage RAF catering and hospitality services, supported by both military personnel and civilian contractors. You’ll have overall responsibility for the quality of our services – it’ll be up to you to ensure that everything is produced on time, to budget and to a high level of customer satisfaction. On an RAF base, you’ll have up to 150 staff – teams of Chefs and Stewards (our front-of-house staff), MOD Civilians and even contracted personnel, each managed by a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer – and you’ll also have overall responsibility for meals, bars, reception areas and accommodation services. You’ll plan and organise your resources to produce the most efficient and cost-effective service. You could be managing the provision of over 1,000 meals a day, while helping to plan a Summer Ball for 800 people as well as ensuring that a visit of a top VIP, or even a member of the Royal Family, is planned meticulously. Or, as a contract catering supervising officer, you could act as the liaison point between the RAF and the contractors, ensuring value for money and quality.

Like most people in the RAF, you’ll probably move jobs every few years, and each job is known as a tour. Within your first few years, you’ll probably be detached overseas for anything from a few days to a few months. If facilities are limited where you are, you and your team could be using deployed catering skills (the preparation of food and drinks in the field with mobile catering equipment). You could also assume the role of the officer in charge of the Mobile Catering Support Unit – one of the spearhead Air Combat Service Support Units for UK forces - whose personnel are on short notice to deploy anywhere in the world, often ahead of the majority of other units.
Catering Officer 1

Your First Tour

Your first tour will probably be as a Station Catering Officer, where you’ll work with an experienced team of Senior Non-Commissioned Officers to help deliver the goods, but you’ll have control from the outset and you’ll be expected to deliver to tight financial parameters and high customer expectations. You’ll have responsibility for the entire catering and hospitality services on the base – which could range from the Officers’ Mess, to an airfield buffet used by flying squadrons, to catering under canvas using field catering equipment.

Your Training

Initial Officer Training
Like all our officers, you’ll begin your RAF career with Initial Officer Training at the RAF College Cranwell in Lincolnshire. You’ll follow a challenging 30-week course designed to develop your leadership and management skills. The course includes fitness development, military training and academic study as well as practical outdoor leadership challenges.

Specialist Training
After Initial Officer Training, you’ll follow an 8-week specialist training course at RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire. The course is designed to give you a thorough grounding in the RAF system of catering management, personnel issues, wider command tasks and accounting; it also includes an important introduction to catering under canvas in the field. During your career as an RAF Catering Officer, you’ll be fully trained before undertaking any new role.

Ongoing Development
As a Catering Officer in the RAF, you’ll have extensive opportunities for further professional development throughout your career. By using the External Learning Credit System, you’ll have the opportunity to benefit from further professional, vocational or academic qualifications funded through the RAF. Our Interactive Learning Facilities and range of training courses will ensure that you’ll have the opportunity to keep your knowledge of relevant issues completely up-to-date.

Your Future

Career Prospects
You’ll join the RAF on either a Short Service Commission of up to 6 years, or on a Permanent Commission that will normally require a minimum of 18 years’ service. Promotion to the rank of Flight Lieutenant is on a time served/satisfactory service basis. Further promotion to Squadron Leader and above is by competitive selection, though is usually achieved after approximately 6-8 years as a Flight Lieutenant. As you gain in experience and progress through the ranks, opportunities will be available to broaden your range of competencies. Allocation of the most popular appointments is through competition with peers, therefore, it is clear that those with talent can enjoy an incredibly rewarding career within the RAF as well as in the wider UK military community.

Transferable Skills
Catering Officers who have left the RAF have found jobs in the fields of high-level strategic management and planning, personnel, finance and training, as well as the civilian hospitality industry. The experience that RAF Catering Officers develop while interacting with commercial partners and companies evolves into a very attractive skill-set that employers are keen to hire.

How to Join
You can join the RAF at any time, as long as you meet the entry qualifications set out below.

Entry Qualifications

Age Limits
17½–36

Academic Qualifications
A degree/HND in a hospitality-related subject – though professional qualifications can also be considered – plus 5 GCSEs/SCEs at Grade C/3 or equivalent, including English language and maths.

Selection
You must pass selection tests at the Officers and Aircrew Selection Centre at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire. You’ll spend 4 days at the selection centre where we’ll assess your potential to develop officer qualities, including communication skills, self-motivation, maturity, physical fitness and leadership skills.

Nationality
You must have been a citizen of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland since birth.

Residency
Whether or not you were born in the United Kingdom, you should normally have resided there for the 5 years immediately preceding your application. However, providing satisfactory enquiries can be made in your country of residence, we may be able to consider your application even if you have never lived in the UK.

Equal Opportunities
The RAF values every individual’s unique contribution, irrespective of race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or social background.