Cook/Baker I-Correctional Facility

King County•Multiple jail facilities in King County, WA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD) is hiring a Cook/Baker to prepare food services for approximately 1,400 jail residents and staff, including three meals daily. This role is part of the Food Services Section and operates in a 24/7 institutional correctional environment at either the King County Correctional Facility in downtown Seattle or the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. The position involves direct contact with and supervision of jail resident workers in a secure facility, and requires providing customer service to staff and residents from diverse backgrounds. The recruitment may also create an eligibility list for future Career Service, Term Limited Temporary, or Special Duty Assignment vacancies. The Cook/Baker plans, prepares, cooks, bakes, portions, and serves meals, including special-diet meals. The role maintains food inventories, kitchen equipment, cleanliness, health-code compliance, and quality controls. It also supervises and trains work crews and resident workers, responds to conflicts and safety concerns, and completes reports. The position has a 40-hour work week, is overtime eligible, and requires availability for any shift, including evenings, weekends, holidays, and overtime as needed. Schedules and assignments depend on department staffing needs and collective bargaining unit bid processes.

Requirements

Be at least 21 years old by the announcement closing date.
Hold a Food Handler's Permit issued by the Seattle-King County Health Department.
Have a high school diploma or GED.
Hold a valid Washington State driver's license.
Have experience using and maintaining food-service equipment.
Know Washington State health and fire codes.
Know food-service techniques, including menu preparation, supply ordering, inventory, quality control, and food preservation.
Have basic math and computer skills.
Be able to work a 40-hour week and be available for any shift, including evenings, weekends, holidays, and overtime as needed.
Complete the required background investigation and associated assessments, including an extensive questionnaire, oral board interview, DCYF Neglect Founded Findings Request, fingerprinting, criminal background check, reference checks, and pre-employment physical examination.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated full-time paid experience in large-quantity food preparation, cooking, and baking for at least 500 people per meal.
Experience providing full meal service in a large-scale commercial, military, or institutional setting.
Ability to understand, speak, read, and write English to follow and give instructions, read menus and recipes, follow policies and procedures, write reports, and maintain inventory.
Physical ability to perform operator-level maintenance of commercial food-service equipment, stand for prolonged periods, and lift, carry, and move supplies and equipment weighing up to 50 pounds.
Food-service experience in an institutional, military, or corrections/criminal justice environment.
Knowledge of special dietary needs.
Experience cooking medical, special, and religious diets.
Proficiency in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, or Somali may qualify for additional bilingual premium pay, subject to demonstrating sufficient proficiency.

Responsibilities

Estimate meal orders, plan meals, assemble ingredients and supplies, and prepare, cook, and bake food for meals.
Supervise and train work crews or jail resident workers; provide clear directions and organized work and training.
Train and help develop new-hire cooks in Cook/Baker I kitchen positions.
Portion and serve food, and supervise food-serving activities.
Prepare reports and record the amount of food used and leftovers for each meal.
Make timely decisions about whether substitute foods are needed.
Maintain inventories of food, supplies, and equipment.
Keep the work site organized and clean and ensure health and safety standards are met.
Maintain health-code standards and quality controls.
Plan and prepare special-diet meals, verify diet orders on a computer, prepare meal tags, verify meal locations, and cook and serve meals.
Address conflicts and potentially dangerous situations promptly to maintain a secure and safe environment.
Perform operator-level maintenance of commercial food-service equipment.
Prepare incident reports as required by department policy.
Provide customer service to staff and jail residents.
Drive DAJD kitchen vehicles for assigned duties and load and unload trucks.
Perform other duties as assigned to support the Food Services Section.
Lift, carry, and move supplies, boxes, bags, and equipment weighing up to 50 pounds, and stand for prolonged periods.