Senior Sous Chef- Aston Villa FC Men's First Team

Senior Sous Chef - Bodymoor Heath Training Ground, Birmingham | Full-Time / Permanent

Competitive salary + excellent benefits including healthcare, wellbeing support, 23 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, life assurance, meals on duty, and more.

Role purpose

The Senior Sous Chef for Aston Villa Men’s First Team plays a key operational and leadership role in delivering a comprehensive nutrition strategy, ensuring performance nutrition and athlete requirements are optimised at every level.

The role will be primarily training ground-based; however, there is an expectation to follow the first-team schedule and provide support where required.

Working closely with the Executive Performance Chef and club nutritionists, the Senior Sous Chef is responsible for leading all first-team training ground operations, ensuring exceptional food quality, consistency, and innovation that directly support player performance, recovery, and first-team preferences.

This role is integral to the performance nutrition “fresh, food-first” philosophy that fuels European performances and Premier League excellence. This is not just another culinary role — it is an opportunity to impact elite athletic performance through world-class nutrition.

The position combines hands-on culinary expertise with leadership responsibility, overseeing service delivery, mentoring junior chefs, and delivering consistent standards across all men’s first-team training ground operations.

The Senior Sous Chef may also play a key role in matchday catering at both Bodymoor Heath and Villa Park, ensuring seamless execution for the first team.

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the continued growth and success of Aston Villa Men’s First Team, aligned with the club’s philosophy: “Proud History, Bright Future.”

About Bodymoor Heath Training Ground

Aston Villa’s Bodymoor Heath Training Ground is one of the most advanced football training facilities in the country. It is home to the men’s and women’s first teams, as well as the academy, serving as a central hub for player development, sports science, and elite performance.

The kitchens and dining areas form a vital part of this environment, providing tailored, performance-focused nutrition that fuels Aston Villa athletes every day.

Aston Villa Key Relationships

Head of Nutrition, Performance Nutritionists, Executive Performance Chef, Catering Manager

Senior Sous Chef - The Role

• Kitchen Leadership: Support the Executive Performance Chef and the Levy Head Chef in leading the day-to-day operations of the men’s first-team training ground kitchen, ensuring high and consistent standards across strategic preparation, planning, and delivery.
• Food Preparation and Service: Lead and actively participate in the preparation, cooking, and presentation of meals to elite standards.
• Performance Nutrition Delivery: Execute menus and nutritional strategies in collaboration with Aston Villa’s nutritionists and Executive Performance Chef, ensuring meals are aligned with the specific needs of the men’s first team.
• Training Ground Operations: Lead and manage all areas of the training ground in the absence of the Levy Head Chef for a short period of time, ensuring standards are consistently maintained and delivered effectively while working efficiently under pressure.
• Team Management & Development: Supervise, mentor, and develop junior chefs, fostering a culture of excellence, learning, and accountability.
• Menu & Strategy Development: Contribute to and lead menu planning and innovation, incorporating modern food trends and performance nutrition principles. Support the creation of a fresh, food-first performance nutrition strategy aligned with the men’s first-team philosophy.
• Food Safety & Compliance: Ensure full adherence to food safety, allergen management, and health & safety standards.
• Stock Control & Cost Management: Assist in managing stock, ordering, and waste reduction to maintain efficiency and cost control.
• Collaboration: Work closely with chefs, nutritionists, sports science, operations, and performance teams to deliver the requirements of the men’s first team.
• Standards & Continuous Improvement: Drive consistency, quality, and continuous improvement across all kitchen operations, both at the training ground and when representing Aston Villa in any capacity.

What we're looking for

• Culinary Qualifications: Professional culinary training, leadership and management training.
• Experience: Proven experience as a Sous Chef or Senior Sous Chef, ideally within elite sport or other high-performance environments.
• Leadership Skills: Strong ability to lead, motivate, and develop a team within a fast-paced sporting environment.
• Technical Expertise: High-level cooking skills with a strong focus on quality, consistency, and presentation.
• Nutrition Awareness: Good understanding of, and strong interest in, sports nutrition and performance-led cooking.
• Organisation & Efficiency: Excellent time management skills and the ability to perform effectively under pressure.
• Food Safety Knowledge: Thorough understanding of HACCP, allergens, and health & safety compliance.
• Communication Skills: Confident communicator with the ability to collaborate effectively across departments.
• Flexibility: Willingness to work flexible hours aligned with the football calendar, including evenings, weekends, and matchdays. This may also include supporting operations across all kitchens at Bodymoor Heath, where required, to meet Aston Villa’s needs.
• Passion & Drive: A genuine passion for food, performance, and contributing to the success of Aston Villa.

What you'll get in return

• Competitive salary with bonus and full company benefits
• 23 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, your birthday off, and a holiday purchase scheme
• Healthcare & wellbeing: Aviva Digicare, Medicash (dental, optical, therapy treatments)
• Mental health support: 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Family benefits: Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave. 2 days additional leave after returning from maternity leave, day off for your babys first birthday, enhanced family leave
• Perks & discounts: Shopping, entertainment, and travel discounts, 20% off Nuffield Health and 10% off PureGym memberships
• Financial wellbeing: Pension scheme, Life Assurance, preferred rates on salary finance products
• Development opportunities: Professional subscriptions, ongoing training and structured career pathways
• Meals on duty included

Why Join Us?

Levy UK & Ireland is part of Compass Group, the worlds largest catering company, and a vibrant leader in hospitality.

We believe in celebrating individuality and building inclusive teams where everyone feels they belong. Our diverse team fuels creativity, innovation, and excellence.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and welcome candidates from all backgrounds to join us in creating a supportive, empowering workplace where everyone can thrive.

As part of Compass you'll help to feed people, fuel progress and forge connections in around 6,000 venues. Join us to grow your career with the industry leader, and get competitive pay, great perks and unrivalled opportunities for learning and development, at one of the UK's biggest businesses.

Job Reference: com/0209/92706002/52803869/SU #Levy UK

Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive - because diversity is our strength!