Food Service Worker (Full-Time)

Summary

This position is located in the Nutrition and Food Service of the VA Providence Healthcare System. This position is a permanent Food Service Worker, full-time position at 40 hours per week. THIS OPEN & CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT (OCA) ESTABLISHES A STANDING REGISTER OF ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.

Duties

The Food Service Worker WG-03 does tasks with several steps or a sequence of tasks that require attention to work operations. Some duties include: Provides on-going instructions and demonstrates proper work methods to lower grade personnel. Prepares and delivers between meal nourishment and necessary tube feedings. Conducts hydration and snack deliveries to patients twice daily as requested. Checks menus, unit orders and portioning guide for completeness and accuracy. Assist patients with diet restrictions with daily meal choices. Sets up cold food items such as salads, desserts and cold beverages. Performs basic food preparation activities such as toast, egg and coffee preparation. Assists cooks by weighting and/or measuring ingredients and labeling them for use in the production area. Makes salads including molded salads from prepared vegetables and fruits. Responsible for correct portioning of salads, desserts, condiments, and beverages for tray serving units and cafeteria. Checks work in progress to insure compliance with written guidelines and instructions from the supervisor. Responsible for placing the regular selective or modified diet cards and menu during serving operations. Checks food as it comes from preparation area to determine correctness, quality, and temperature. Responsible for sanitation and proper handling of equipment, supplies, utensils and dishes used in preparation areas. Participates in cleaning the work area, serving unit, and/or dining room including floors, equipment, tables, etc. Maintains familiarity with all equipment in the unit and reports maintenance issue to the supervisor. Reads and interprets regular and modified menu, individual diet cards, or patient selections and places correct items on patient trays. The incumbent has a high level of skills and abilities for providing patient centered care and exceptional customer service. Daily interaction with veterans to obtain menu selections. Work Schedule: Full-time 6:00am-7:30pm, rotating shifts, holiday and weekends. Position Description Title/PD#: Food Service Worker (Full-Time)/PD99920S Notification: This is a bargaining unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Selectee may be required to work at any VA Providence Healthcare System campus, as needed. Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified Veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position. THIS OPEN & CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT (OCA) ESTABLISHES A STANDING REGISTER OF ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS, which closes on 18th December 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be on or about 2nd, December 2026 with subsequent reviews every other week as additional vacancies occur, or on an as-needed basis, until positions are filled. Please see the "What To Expect Next" area of the announcement which provides additional information on the referral process for this type of announcement.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required, but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards. SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements: Dexterity and Safety Interpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading) Materials Technical Practices Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment Without more than normal supervision Work Practices Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements/Working Conditions: Food Service Workers perform work requiring light to moderate physical effort. They may be required to perform heavy work, such as scouring and scrubbing large size cooking utensils and pushing heavy carts and trucks in unloading, storing, and delivering supplies. They are subject to continuous standing and walking, and frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending. They frequently lift or move objects weighing up to 20 pounds unassisted and occasionally lift or move objects weighing more than 40 pounds with the assistance of others. The work is performed in kitchen areas where the steam and heat from cooking and dishwashing equipment often cause uncomfortably high temperatures and humidity. The work area is well-lighted but usually noisy from food service activities, and there is danger of slipping on floors where food or beverages have been dropped. Food service workers are regularly exposed to hot liquids, sharp cutting blades, hot working surfaces, and extreme temperature changes when entering walk-in refrigeration or freezing units.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.