Jobs Durban 2026: R8,000-R12,000 Salary + Career Growth – Food Service & Hospitality Opportunity

Quick Apply: Empact Group Food Solutions | Contract Position | Posted: 14 January 2026

Are you seeking stable employment with a clear path to career advancement in South Africa’s essential services sector? Professional Cleaner positions in Durban offer competitive starting salaries of R8,000-R12,000 monthly with potential to earn R15,000-R45,000 as you advance into supervisory and facilities management roles. This Empact Group Food Solutions contract position provides comprehensive training in commercial cleaning, food safety protocols, and hospitality operations—launching your career in one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most recession-proof industries.

Professional cleaning in food service environments represents far more than basic janitorial work. Corporate and hospitality cleaners maintain critical hygiene standards ensuring food safety compliance, customer satisfaction, and operational excellence. Working with Empact Group, South Africa’s leading food service provider, offers exposure to world-class facilities management practices, professional development opportunities, and advancement pathways unavailable in basic cleaning positions.

Quick Job Overview

Position: Professional Cleaner (Food Service & Corporate Facilities)
Location: Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Employer: Empact Group Food Solutions
Salary Range: R8,000-R12,000 monthly (experience-based, with clear advancement to R15K-R45K)
Employment Type: Fixed-term contract (conversion to permanent possible)
Posted: 14 January 2026
Experience Required: Previous corporate cleaning experience advantageous; training provided
Education: Matric (Grade 12) essential
Key Skills: Attention to detail, hygiene consciousness, reliability, customer service orientation
Career Path: Cleaner → Team Leader (R10K-R14K) → Supervisor (R12K-R18K) → Facilities Coordinator (R15K-R25K) → Manager (R25K-R45K)

About Empact Group Food Solutions: Industry-Leading Career Development

Empact Group Food Solutions operates as one of South Africa’s largest and most respected food service and hospitality providers, serving corporate clients, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and hospitality venues across all nine provinces. Managing over 150 locations nationwide, Empact maintains rigorous quality, safety, and cleanliness standards requiring professional, well-trained cleaning teams.

What sets Empact apart as an employer is their documented commitment to employee development and internal promotion. Over 70% of Empact’s supervisory and management positions are filled by employees who started in entry-level roles, demonstrating genuine advancement opportunities for dedicated, reliable team members.

Why Empact Group Offers Superior Career Opportunities

Comprehensive Training Programs – All new cleaners receive professional training in commercial cleaning techniques, food safety and hygiene protocols, chemical safety and handling, customer service in hospitality environments, and health and safety compliance. This training provides nationally-recognized skills transferable across industries.

Clear Career Advancement Pathways – Empact’s structured advancement system rewards performance with documented promotion criteria, regular performance reviews identifying development opportunities, internal job postings giving current employees first opportunity, mentorship programs connecting entry-level staff with successful managers, and skills development support including certifications and qualifications.

Competitive Benefits and Stability – Beyond competitive salaries, Empact provides uniform provision and laundering services, comprehensive onboarding and ongoing training, stable employment in recession-resistant food service sector, possible medical aid contributions (permanent positions), and pension/provident fund access (permanent employees).

Durban Operations Advantage – Durban represents one of Empact’s major operational hubs serving corporate, hospitality, and healthcare clients throughout KwaZulu-Natal. The city’s thriving business sector, tourism industry, and healthcare facilities create substantial long-term employment opportunities and career growth potential.

Understanding the Professional Cleaner Role: Your Daily Responsibilities

Professional Cleaners in food service environments perform essential functions ensuring hygiene compliance, food safety, and positive customer experiences. This position combines cleaning expertise, attention to detail, and customer service into a critical operational role.

Daily Responsibilities and Core Functions

Comprehensive Cleaning of Assigned Areas

Your primary responsibility involves maintaining impeccable cleanliness across designated facility areas including customer-facing dining and service areas meeting premium hospitality standards, food production zones requiring strict hygiene compliance, restrooms and common areas ensuring sanitation and positive user experience, and back-of-house operations areas supporting kitchen and service teams.

Professional cleaning demands systematic approaches ensuring thorough coverage, consistent standards regardless of time pressures, and understanding how cleanliness impacts food safety, customer perception, and regulatory compliance. Your work directly affects health inspection scores, client satisfaction, and Empact’s reputation.

Stocking and Supply Management

Beyond cleaning, you’ll ensure continuous supply availability including restocking restrooms with hand soap, toilet paper, paper towels, and sanitation supplies; maintaining cleaning supply stations with necessary chemicals, tools, and equipment; monitoring inventory levels communicating replenishment needs to supervisors; and organizing storage areas ensuring efficient access to supplies.

Effective supply management prevents service disruptions, demonstrates organizational capability, and prepares you for inventory management responsibilities in supervisory roles.

Food Production Support Tasks

Supporting kitchen and food service operations, you’ll perform various tasks including maintaining production area cleanliness throughout service periods, assisting with equipment cleaning following food safety protocols, removing waste and maintaining sanitation standards, supporting food preparation areas enabling efficient operations, and responding to urgent cleaning needs during service rushes.

Understanding food production workflows allows you to work efficiently without disrupting operations, anticipate cleaning needs during different service periods, and recognize food safety concerns requiring immediate attention.

Front and Back of House General Support

Versatile support across all facility areas includes maintaining customer-visible areas to premium standards, supporting back-of-house operational cleanliness, responding quickly to spills or sanitation issues, and adapting to varying needs throughout shifts.

This flexibility demonstrates reliability and initiative—key qualities for advancement to team leader and supervisory positions.

Inspection, Documentation, and Reporting

Professional facilities management requires systematic inspection and record-keeping including conducting regular inspections using standardized checklists, documenting cleaning completion and compliance, identifying and reporting maintenance needs or equipment issues, completing cleaning logs required for health inspections, and reporting safety hazards or facility concerns to management immediately.

Accurate documentation demonstrates professionalism, supports regulatory compliance, enables preventive maintenance, and develops organizational skills essential for supervisory advancement.

Special Cleaning Projects

Beyond daily routines, you’ll participate in special initiatives including deep cleaning projects (quarterly or seasonal), facility renovation or refurbishment support, special event preparation ensuring pristine facilities, and equipment maintenance cleaning extending asset life.

Special projects provide skill development, visibility with management, and opportunities demonstrating capability for increased responsibility.

Salary, Benefits, and Realistic Career Progression

Starting Salary Range: R8,000-R12,000 Monthly

Initial compensation varies based on relevant experience (no experience: R8,000-R8,500; 1-2 years corporate cleaning: R8,500-R10,000; 3+ years with food service experience: R10,000-R12,000), customer service background (premium of R500-R1,000), shift availability (evening/weekend flexibility valued), and location of assignment (some facilities pay slightly higher).

Total Compensation Package

Immediate Benefits: Professional uniforms and safety equipment provided (no cost to you, valued R2,000-R3,000), cleaning supplies and tools (no personal expense), structured training worth R3,000-R5,000 in commercial value, and shift transport assistance in some locations.

Progressive Benefits (Permanent Conversion): Medical aid contributions (employer pays 50-75% of premiums, valued R1,500-R3,000 monthly), pension/provident fund (employer contributions building retirement security), paid annual leave (increasing with tenure), and sick leave and family responsibility leave.

Realistic Career Progression Timeline

Year 1: Professional Cleaner (R8,000-R12,000) – Focus: Master cleaning procedures and safety protocols, build reliability and performance record, complete all training and certifications, demonstrate customer service excellence. Success markers: Perfect attendance, positive supervisor reviews, initiative in identifying improvements.

Years 1-2: Senior Cleaner/Team Leader (R10,000-R14,000) – Focus: Guide and mentor new cleaners, coordinate small teams during shifts, assist supervisors with scheduling and quality checks. Advancement criteria: Demonstrated leadership, thorough knowledge of procedures, strong communication skills.

Years 2-4: Cleaning Supervisor (R12,000-R18,000) – Focus: Manage teams of 8-15 cleaners, oversee quality and compliance, handle scheduling and performance management, report to facilities manager. Requirements: Proven leadership, organizational skills, basic computer literacy.

Years 3-5: Facilities Coordinator (R15,000-R25,000) – Focus: Coordinate cleaning across multiple areas or shifts, manage supply ordering and budgets, ensure regulatory compliance, support multiple facility operations. Requirements: Supervisory experience, strong administrative skills, certification in facilities management.

Years 5-8: Facilities/Operations Manager (R25,000-R45,000) – Focus: Oversee facilities management for large site or multiple locations, manage budgets and vendor relationships, ensure compliance and quality standards, lead teams of supervisors and coordinators. Requirements: Proven management track record, relevant qualifications or certifications, strategic thinking capability.

This career trajectory is documented reality at Empact Group, not aspirational theory. Current facilities managers include numerous individuals who began as cleaners, demonstrating genuine advancement potential.

Essential Requirements and Qualifications

Educational Requirements

Matric (Grade 12) – Mandatory – Secondary education demonstrates literacy for reading safety protocols and documentation, numeracy for chemical dilution calculations and supply counts, ability to follow written procedures and complete forms, and communication capability for team coordination and reporting.

While some cleaning positions accept lower education levels, Empact’s professional standards and advancement opportunities justify the Matric requirement. This qualification also enables future educational advancement like facilities management certificates.

Experience Requirements

Corporate/Professional Cleaning Experience – Advantageous – Previous relevant experience strengthens applications including corporate office or building cleaning, hospitality or food service cleaning, healthcare facility cleaning (highly relevant hygiene standards), retail or commercial cleaning, or any professional environment cleaning demonstrating reliability.

Customer Service Experience – Advantage – Food service and hospitality environments require customer service orientation including positive attitude and friendly demeanor, professional conduct in visible public areas, ability to interact respectfully with diverse clients and employees, and understanding service quality expectations.

Customer service background from retail, hospitality, reception, or any client-facing role demonstrates the interpersonal skills essential for food service environments where cleaners often interact with facility users.

Critical Skills and Competencies

Knowledge of Cleaning Chemicals and Supplies – Professional cleaning requires understanding various cleaning agents including general-purpose cleaners and their applications, disinfectants and sanitizers (crucial for food environments), specialized food-safe cleaning chemicals, proper dilution ratios ensuring effectiveness and safety, and chemical safety protocols including PPE use, storage, and handling.

Comprehensive training provided, but existing knowledge accelerates your effectiveness and advancement potential.

Strong Communication Skills – Effective operation requires clear verbal communication with supervisors, team members, and occasionally facility users; ability to report issues, concerns, or maintenance needs professionally; understanding and following both verbal and written instructions; and basic written communication for completion of logs and documentation.

Pride in Personal Appearance and Hygiene – Food service environments demand impeccable personal presentation including neat, clean appearance throughout shifts, proper uniform wear and maintenance, excellent personal hygiene (non-negotiable in food areas), and professional conduct reflecting Empact standards to clients.

Your appearance represents Empact to clients and facility users. Professional presentation demonstrates respect for your work and commitment to excellence.

Additional Valued Qualities

Reliability and Punctuality – Operations depend on consistent staffing requiring regular attendance and minimal absenteeism, punctuality for shift starts, dependability completing assigned responsibilities, and accountability for quality and thoroughness.

Attention to Detail – Excellence requires noticing cleanliness issues others miss, maintaining consistent standards across all areas, identifying maintenance needs early, and delivering thorough, complete cleaning.

Physical Capability – Professional cleaning involves physical demands including standing and walking majority of shift, bending, squatting, reaching, and stretching, lifting supplies and equipment (typically 10-15kg), pushing cleaning carts and equipment, and working in various temperatures including cold storage areas.

Initiative and Problem-Solving – Success requires identifying and addressing issues independently, prioritizing effectively during busy periods, finding efficient approaches to challenges, and maintaining standards without constant supervision.

Application Process and Interview Preparation

How to Apply Successfully

Prepare a simple, professional CV including personal details and contact information, educational background with Matric details, work history with dates and employers (all relevant experience), skills and competencies, and references from previous employers.

Even without extensive experience, emphasize reliability, work ethic, willingness to learn, attention to detail, and commitment to professional growth.

Submit complete application through Empact recruitment channels, respond promptly to any contact from recruiters, and be available for interviews typically scheduled within 1-2 weeks of application.

Interview Preparation Tips

Prepare to discuss why you’re interested in professional cleaning with Empact, examples demonstrating attention to detail or reliability, your understanding of hygiene and food safety importance, availability and flexibility regarding schedules, and your career goals and interest in advancement.

Dress professionally demonstrating pride in appearance, arrive 10-15 minutes early showing punctuality, bring ID, Matric certificate, and reference contacts, and ask thoughtful questions about training, expectations, and advancement.

Why This Opportunity Deserves Serious Consideration

This position offers more than basic employment—it provides career foundation in the essential services sector with genuine advancement potential. Empact’s documented internal promotion practices mean dedicated, reliable cleaners advance to supervisory positions earning R15,000-R25,000 within 3-5 years, and facilities management roles earning R25,000-R45,000 within 5-8 years.

The food service industry’s essential nature ensures employment stability even during economic downturns. Businesses, hospitals, schools, and hotels always need professional cleaning maintaining hygiene standards. This recession-resistance provides long-term security.

Skills developed in food service cleaning transfer effectively to hospitality management, healthcare facilities, property management, corporate facilities services, and commercial cleaning operations—creating diverse career options beyond Empact if desired.

Ready to launch your facilities management career? Apply today and join one of South Africa’s leading food service companies.

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Application Open – Submit Your CV Now

Related Career Resources:

• Facilities Management Career Guide South Africa 2026
• How to Advance from Cleaner to Facilities Manager
• Food Safety Certification for Cleaning Professionals
• Hospitality Careers KwaZulu-Natal Salary Guide