Café Assistant

Join the Energy at Freedom Leisure – Do Good Feel Good!

At Freedom Leisure, we’re all about positive vibes, great people, and making a real impact. Yes, we run leisure and cultural facilities, gyms, and swimming pools—but at the heart of it all, it’s our people who make the difference.

As one of the UK’s leading charitable leisure trusts, we’re proud of our mission: Improving Lives Through Leisure. We’re here to help communities live healthier, happier lives by making our centres welcoming, inclusive, and accessible to everyone—because everyone deserves to feel good. We’re all about delivering amazing customer service with a smile—every single day. We create spaces where people feel at home, supported, and inspired. If you’re passionate about helping others and love creating great experiences, you’ll feel right at home with us.

You don’t need to be an expert to get started—we’ll give you all the training and support you need. With over 130 centres across England and Wales, there’s loads of room to grow. Many of our team have built amazing careers doing what they love, helping customers day-to-day and making people feel good - one smile at a time

We’re proud to be a workplace where everyone is welcome, valued, and supported to thrive—because when our team reflects the communities we serve, we all grow stronger together.

This is your place, this is where you matter.

Tenterden Leisure Centre provides an exciting range of activities for residents and visitors alike. Including a leisure pool, a fitness suite, exercise studios and sports hall providing a wide range of activities. The centre also boasts a lovely café providing a focal point for the community.

About the Role

We are looking for an enthusiastic, approachable and customer-focused Café Assistant to join our café team. In this role, you’ll be providing a warm welcome and will deliver excellent service in our café. If you enjoy working with people and thrive in a fast-paced environment, we’d love to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities:

Customer Service

• Welcome all visitors with a smile in a friendly and professional manner.
• Accurately operate till systems.
• Provide up-to-date information on centre facilities

Café & Retail Service

• Prepare and serve hot and cold drinks, including barista-style coffee.
• Offer a range of light snacks and pre-packaged food items.
• Always ensure compliance with food hygiene and health & safety standards.
• Replenish café stock and vending machines as required.
• Keep café spaces clean, well-organised and customer friendly.

Teamwork & Operational Support

• Work as part of a collaborative, multi-skilled team.
• Support the delivery of events and activities within the centre.
• Follow Freedom Leisure’s policies on safeguarding, health & safety and customer care.
• Participate in relevant training and ongoing professional development.

Please note: If a high volume of suitable applications is received, we may close this vacancy earlier than advertised. Early applications are encouraged.

Hours: 17.5 - 21 hours per week, Monday - Sunday (rota basis)

Requirements

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Passionate about delivering outstanding customer service.
• Comfortable using till systems and handling cash/card payments.
• Barista experience is desirable but training can be provided.
• Able to multitask and remain calm in a busy environment.
• A proactive, flexible and reliable team player.

Desirable Skills & Experience:

• Previous experience in a customer-facing role in leisure, fitness or community service settings.
• Hospitality or Retail experience delivering customer excellence.

Benefits

We want you to love coming to work, feeling healthy, happy and valued. That's why we've developed a benefits package with you in mind, so what can we offer you?

• Company pension
• Cycle-to-work and car leasing tax-efficient schemes
• Discounted staff membership (including family members)
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 confidential, independent and professional counselling
• Financial advice
• Incremental annual leave entitlement
• My Staff Shop employee benefits scheme, offering discounts on cinema tickets, travel, high street e-vouchers, gift cards, days out, leisure activities and everyday spending
• Fully funded training and development, with career progression opportunities
• Various insurance and savings schemes

Closing date: 23rd October 2026

Salary: up to £12.71 per hour

At Freedom Leisure, we believe a diverse workforce strengthens our organisation and enhances the services we provide. We welcome applications from suitably qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.