View Vacancy - Residence Manager Cum Chef, AO, Chennai

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer.  We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Residence and Support Staff)
Cook/Chef

Note : All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details and the behavioural questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.’’

Main purpose of the job:

The jobholder will manage every aspect of British Deputy High Commission’s official residence, ‘Cottingley’. This job is an excellent opportunity to show and build skills in hospitality, cooking, events, leadership and management. Cottingley has been the official residence of the British Deputy High Commissioner since 1947!  The present house which sits on 2.57 acres of lush and verdant beauty was built about 1912, and is one of the best remaining ‘garden houses’ (bungalow plans with villa elevations) in Chennai. Read more about the history of Cottingley.

Cottingley regularly hosts a wide range of meetings and events. From high teas for small groups to high profile receptions for 350-400 guests, Cottingley serves an opportunity to showcase your talent, creativity and leadership skills. We are looking for an energetic, motivated and organised individual who will not only be responsible for the day-to day operations of Cottingley and deliver high profile events involving guests from diverse backgrounds and fields but also have a passion and flair for food and showcasing their culinary skills.

Roles and responsibilities: 

Residence Manager – You will manage and oversee the daily functioning and maintenance of the official residence. You will work closely with other departments in the Mission to deliver events and support in maximising the use of the residence. Assisting the Corporate Service Team, you will:

·       Organise and liaise with external and internal stakeholders for official events and visits held by The Deputy High Commission at the residence or external venues.

·       Plan meal schedules and menus for events and guest nights.

·       Ensure Residence, garden lawns & vegetable garden are well maintained.

·       Share monthly event schedules with necessary teams in advance.

·       Attend official & social events to ensure efficiency.

·       Liaise with Corporate Services Manager on budget forecasting and plan ahead for each financial year.

·       Make regular work requests and liaise with estates team for residence maintenance.

·       Supervise & manage Residence team on daily basis including arranging their learning & development as well as welfare requirements.

·       Be responsible for residence food and drink records, shopping ledger, cost of meals etc. 

·       Maintain inventory of kitchen, store room and all other residence assets.

·       Purchase of alcohol bonded stock for the residence, UK based officers and the BDHC club, including ordering, paperwork for Protocol, distribution to relevant stakeholders and inventory management.                                                         

·       Responsible for Income Generation initiatives at the residence including tracking, maintaining records of contacts used by CS team to manage and promote hiring of residence for events.

·       Ensure GST refund paperwork is documented and filed for Corporate Services for all goods purchased by the residence.

·       Support the Deputy Head of Mission (DHM) with collection of data to calculate the Cost of Living Allowance for UK Based Officers, and also help with the arrival and departure procedures along with the Corporate Services Manager.

·       Engage in Crisis preparedness and Values related initiatives at BDHC Chennai.

Chef – You will exhibit culinary talents by personally performing cooking tasks and ensuring hygiene and presentation standards are met with.

·       Maintain professional relationships with the cooking material suppliers for delivery of items such as raw meat, poultry, sea food, vegetables, fruits, spices, cleanliness equipment etc.

·       Be aware and adaptable to changing food and cooking trends.

·       Understand and strictly adhere to organisational safety standards.

·       Continuously review operations to identify better ways of working to secure best value for money and resource savings including working with the club closely for events.

·       Use good negotiation skills to identify preferred suppliers, to ensure value for money. 

·       Ensure handover of kitchen is in a presentable manner with all equipment cleaned and staged after usage.

·       Determining food presentation and creating decorative and tempting food display.

·       Maintain quality of raw food preservation, cooked food preventability and left over food preservation for future use within its shelf life.

·       Ensure shelfs, drawers, cupboards, refrigerators, deep freezers with their respective items are aesthetically arranged after completion of meal cooking.

·       Ensure organization’s policies are followed fairly and consistently.

·        Any other adhoc duties as assigned by line manager.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

You will directly line manage three staff in the residence team. You will effectively manage their performance, behaviour, annual and sick leave. You will also be accountable for inventory of stocks and assets.

Working patterns:

The successful candidate will be expected to work a maximum of 48 hours per week with a 30 minute lunch break.  Working hours to be discussed and agreed with Line Manager and Resident Family. Candidate will be required to work on shifts and flexible working hours depending on events at the Residence, in consultation with the Corporate Services Manager. He/she must also be a strong team player in the Residence.

Language and other requirements:

Language:   Knowledge of English and Tamil is essential. 

Level of language required:   

English – Excellent written and spoken English skills essential.

Tamil –  Excellent speaking skills required.

Knowledge of any other regional language will be an advantage.

Other requirements:

A written English test will be taken prior to interview.

Short listed candidates will be required to perform a cooking test.

Essential on arrival:

·     A confident self-starter, methodical, organised with energy and initiative to make decisions and overcome obstacles.

·     Knowledge and experience in cooking continental dishes.

·     Knowledge and experience in baking desserts, bread, cookies etc.

·     To have an understanding of wines, food and canapé’s.

·     Initiative in overcoming obstacles, and the ability to handle multiple tasks and prioritise with minimal supervision.

·     A background in hotel management and IT support would be useful, but as important is a willingness to learn and develop.

·     Good interpersonal skills; someone who can build contacts and can negotiate effectively.

·     Excellent team working skills, with strong ability to build co-operative working relationships across our own network, and outside of the British Deputy High Commission office with a wide range of organisations.

·     An innovator who can find creative solutions and identify new more efficient ways of working.

Graduate in Hotel Management with general people management skills.

Education:

Graduate in any discipline with relevant skills and at least 3-5 years of experience in a similar role. 

Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together
6 November 2022
Administrative Officer (AO)
Full-time, Long Term Contract
40
South Asia & Afghanistan
India
Chennai
British Deputy High Commission
1
INR
INR 48,766 per month plus 12% Provident Fund and 6% Special Allowance.
1 October 2022

For BHC candidates, the Local BHC Terms & Conditions will apply.

For other than BHC candidates, Basic Salary will be INR 48,766 per month plus 12% Provident Fund and 6% Special Allowance.

Additionally the BHC offers a great benefits package that includes annual domiciliary medical cover, plus a Group Hospitalisation Scheme with INR 500,000 floater cover for your immediate family.

No relocation or any other related costs or assistance will be provided.

Please note - BHC does not deduct tax at source and employees are required to ensure that any requirements of local income-tax law are complied with in full. Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, eg. some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff, will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.    

The BHC is recognised as a good employer, with a robust, fair and transparent performance management & appraisal system linked to increments and staff bonuses. We have a 5-day working week, plus annual leave, public holidays, maternity leave provision, special leave, paid sick leave provision; ample development opportunities, travel opportunities, a good organisational culture, and excellent work/life balance. 

Around half of our work forces are women.  We treat people with respect and equality and have a policy of zero tolerance for any form of discrimination, bullying, or harassment. 

This is a good opportunity to be part of a strong, diverse team, working in the biggest network that FCO has anywhere across the globe.  We are aiming to make it the best.

To Apply: 

Please note applications without (a) and (b) will not be considered.

A. Complete the Online Application Form

B. Complete the Motivation and Competency Segment in the Online Application Form

Internal candidates applying for this position need to upload their appraisal forms for the previous 2 years (if applicable) and also inform their current line managers, else the applications will not be considered.

We will accept only online applications by 06 November 2022 till 23:55 IST.  

Please note that all the applicants will be required to strictly adhere to the security guidelines for British High Commission.

Please note - Provident Fund Transfer in and out from EPFO is not possible as BHC PF is managed by a private PF trust governed by Indian Income Tax Act, 1961. The staff still has the option to transfer out and in from a privately held PF trust which are not governed by EPFO.

Applicants who do not have the required qualification & experience should kindly abstain from applying, as their applications will not be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and no telephone enquires will be dealt with.

The appointment will be subject to Police Verification and other checks including references, medical, educational and professional.

We welcome all applications irrespective of age, race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or creed. We are also open to applications from people who want to work flexibly.

Any other information:

The British Deputy High Commission in Chennai is an office of 26 people with a focus of supporting UK trade and investment, promoting prosperity, assisting British Nationals in India and bilateral issues.  We help deliver VIP visits, both of Indians to the UK and vice versa. 

The Corporate Services team with the BDHC Chennai is part of the UK government’s pan-India Corporate Services Team which ensures the smooth and efficient running of the British High Commission network in India.   We provide a range of services to all our Posts in India, as well as to representatives from around 17 UK Government departments and bodies working out of our offices.  Our services include Human Resources, Visits & Movements, Finance, IT, Transport, Mails & Diplomatic Bags, Estates and Procurement and Protocol. Our services are delivered within Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) rules and guidance, as well as value for money.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

This opportunity is closed to applications.