Hospitality

Residential Cook

Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children · 5001+ employees

Palmerston North, Manawatū-Whanganui2 days ago
Full timeEntry level

What the role involves

  • Planning menus
  • Preparing quality meals
  • Cooking meals independently

What they ask for

Proven experience as a cook for large groups; understanding of health and safety, including food hygiene; full clean valid New Zealand driver’s licence without conditions

  • Professional licence or registration
  • Driver licence

About the job

Mō mātou | About us:

Oranga Tamariki — Ministry for Children is the Ministry that supports children and young people in New Zealand. Oranga Tamariki has a commitment to putting tamariki and rangatahi at the heart of what we do and works to advance the wellbeing and positive long-term outcomes of children and young people.

Mō te tūnga | About the role:

In this busy role, you will be working with the Residence Chef in planning menus for the Tamariki and rangatahi in our care, and you will usually be working independently to prepare and cook those meals on your rostered days at work.

Your great organisational skills will see you prepare quality meals on time, supporting the operations of our secure residence.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about preparing quality meals to a group of people of all ages, and for someone who takes pride in their work and in their working environment.

This is a rostered position that will include every 2nd weekend and rostered early and late shifts. This will be a mix between 6:30am-2:30pm and 9am-5pm.

Ngā pūmanawatanga ōu | What you will bring:

Key requirements of the role include:

  • Proven experience as a cook for large groups
  • Understanding of health and safety, including food hygiene
  • Strong relationship building skills
  • Effective organisation, planning and time management skills
  • Ability to work well as part of a team
  • Ability to work unsupervised and able to use your initiative
  • Full clean valid New Zealand driver's licence without conditions
  • Understanding and appreciation of cross-cultural practices in particular; knowledge of tikanga Māori, and Pacific peoples' culture

Nōu te rourou | What's in it for you

If you want to work in a meaningful role where you can really make a difference to the lives of young people, apply now!

Oranga Tamariki offer an impartial remuneration package, that offers progression annually for experience through tenure. We offer training and professional development so that you can thrive and grow. We welcome diversity and are committed to working in an inclusive and respectful way. This is your opportunity to apply your skills and experience to the wellbeing of tamariki and rangatahi.

To see all the benefits of working for Oranga Tamariki, please visit

Me pēhea te tuku tono | How to apply:

Apply online with your CV and cover letter. For reporting and transparency, it is important that all applications are submitted through our careers site, please do not email through applications and/or CVs.

If you are an Oranga Tamariki employee, please register or log in using your Oranga Tamariki e-mail address.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact

If you are interested in any of our vacancies, please ensure that you make yourself familiar with our code of conduct as it sets out our expectations for our kaimahi and requires you to present at work free from the influences of both drugs and alcohol.

Applying for this job

What to show on your CV

  • It needs a professional licence or registration. Put yours near the top, with its number if the profession uses one.
  • It asks for a driver licence. Say which class you hold, and whether it's full.
  • For the work it describes, like "Planning menus", give an example from your own experience, with a result you can talk about at an interview.

Our guides to the New Zealand CV format, cover letters and interview questions cover the rest.

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