Museum Cafe Volunteer

Are you a keen or aspiring cook? Do you enjoy working as part of a team? Are you eager to learn about Jewish food & culture?

We are looking for volunteer support in our award-winning café to work alongside our Café Team leaders. Open 7 days a week serving delicious Vegetarian & Vegan food, our small and simple menu takes inspiration from traditional Sephardi & Ashkenazi recipes which we adapt with a playful twist. 

At times the café can be incredibly busy, so volunteers need to be able to work well under pressure. Although volunteers will always be working with a café team leader or a duty manager, volunteering in the café also includes some physical tasks which volunteers need to be confident & capable of completing. 

General day to day tasks include: assisting with food preparation, taking customer orders, preparing drinks, processing payments through the till and general cleaning tasks. This is a great opportunity to support the Museum and to get experience of working as part of a small & dynamic team. Café volunteers will also get the opportunity to complete their Level 2 Food Hygiene & Safety certificate. 

This is a great opportunity to get involved with the amazing work we are undertaking at Manchester Jewish Museum by supporting our cafe team. Having re-opened last July after a 2 year redevelopment project, our space has doubled in size and includes a relaxing & welcoming Cafe space. 

Our Manifesto and our Values are at the heart of everything we do. They are our anchor and our compass. We use them to make decisions, and ensure we stay on track. For all staff, trustees and volunteers, they are at the core of what we do and we examplify our manifesto & values through our attitudes and action. 

Our Manifesto:

• A place to experience and explore how we are different, together
• Manchester Jewish Museum is common ground; a hospitable place that makes connections by showing and sharing universal experiences through the stories of one particular culture.
• We connect Jewish stories to the world and to our society, in order to explore both our differences and similarities and to celebrate that which makes people unique and that which connects us all.
• In doing so we look to spark reaction and change and to make real the knowledge that there is more that binds us together than separates us.
• We boldly explore and combine educational, cultural and artistic experiences to encourage those with whom we come into contact to feel and believe that we are all better together.
• We make connections to make things better.

Our Values:

Imagination: we are creative, playful and daring; we open minds and generate energy.

Bravery: our ambitions are motivated by development, growth and change; we are open-minded.

Belonging: we actively celebrate diversity, and we promote acceptance.

Impact: our mission is to be relevant, useful and to make an impact on audiences, neighbourhood, our sector and on society.

About the role:

Volunteers are integral to the day-to-day running of our cafe, which recently won a Museum & Heritage award for 'Best Cafe or Restaurant of the Year'. 

Our cafe serves a small but delicious kosher-style menu of vegetarian meals which are inspired by traditional Ashkenazi & Sephardi Jewish recipes. We work with local suppliers and cook everything on-site, apart from our baked, bread goods which are delivered by a local Kosher bakery. 

Cafe Volunteer duties to include (but not limited to):

• Assisting with food preparation. 
• Loading & unloading the dishwasher. 
• Taking customer orders.
• Preparing hot and cold drinks.
• Clearing and wiping down tables.
• Processing payments through the till. 
• Offering consistent and confident customer service.
• Answering customer questions about the menu

During busy times, cafe volunteers will need to be confident in working in a fast-paced environment. Volunteers will be offered a full training process to ensure they feel confident in representing the Museum and can work in a way which is compliant to food hygiene and safety standards.

Cafe Volunteers will always been on shift with a cafe team leader/ front of house assistant/duty manager and will not be expected to work independently. 

Working in the cafe can be physically tiring, so we would encourage applicants to consider their own physical ability before applying. 

All cafe volunteers will be asked to complete a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate (with support if necessary) and will also be provided with a DBS check.