Food Service Worker Leader

Veterans Health Administration • Martinsburg, WV

19d • Onsite

About The Position

This position is located in Nutrition and Food Services within the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Administration in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The primary purpose is to perform and lead employees in food service operations, including food handling, preparation, storage, and delivery.

The position performs food service tasks such as setting up tray-line stations and dining room tables, serving food, delivering meal trays to patients, preparing cold foods and simple desserts, assisting with food preparation, and operating and cleaning food-service equipment. It also leads production and service activities, communicates instructions and information to employees, helps resolve operational problems, provides on-the-job training, conducts safety and sanitation inspections, adjusts work assignments, and checks work for compliance with procedures, quality standards, and deadlines.

The work schedule is Sunday through Thursday, 5:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The work involves light to moderate physical effort and may include heavy tasks such as scrubbing large cooking utensils and pushing heavy carts. The employee may sit, stand, and walk continuously and frequently stoop, reach, push, pull, bend, and lift or move objects. Objects weighing up to 20 pounds are frequently lifted without assistance; objects weighing more than 40 pounds may occasionally be lifted with assistance.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship; non-citizens may be appointed only when qualified citizens cannot be recruited in accordance with VA policy.
• Suitable for federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
• Applicants tentatively selected for a testing-designated position must undergo urinalysis for illegal drug use before appointment; refusal results in denial of employment.
• Selective Service registration is required for males born after December 31, 1959.
• Complete the online onboarding process and provide acceptable identification for pre-employment requirements.
• Serve a one-year probationary period and receive written certification that continued employment advances the public interest to remain employed after the period.
• No specific length of training or experience is required, but applicants must demonstrate training or experience of sufficient scope and quality to perform the work; supporting details must be included in the resume.
• Meet the prescribed screen-out element and demonstrate the relevant job elements: Dexterity and Safety; Interpret Instructions and Specifications; Lead or Supervise; Materials; Technical Practices; Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment; and Work Practices.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza program by receiving the annual vaccination or obtaining a medical or religious exemption; employees with an exemption must wear a face mask.
• Applicants seeking experience credit must clearly describe duties and responsibilities and hours worked per week.

Responsibilities

• Set up assigned tray-line stations with the correct supplies and food items.
• Serve uniform portions of food cafeteria-style to customers, patients, or residents.
• Break down and clean assigned stations.
• Set up dining room tables, place food and beverages, and replenish items as needed.
• Return soiled trays and dishes to the dish room.
• Deliver meal trays to patients' bedsides and report patient comments and complaints to a supervisor or dietitian.
• Prepare fresh fruit, cold salads, dressings, sandwich fillings, cold sandwiches, and simple cold desserts in specified quantities.
• Sort, wash, peel, and cut cold foods using knives or other equipment.
• Assist cooks by weighing, measuring, and assembling ingredients according to standardized recipes.
• Prepare uncooked food items such as sandwich spreads and salad dressings.
• Operate, break down, and clean assigned food-service and related equipment.
• Communicate instructions and information to employees about starting and completing work.
• Communicate with supervisors, managers, and employees about problems and events, and participate in resolving problems after obtaining needed information or decisions.
• Maintain current knowledge of procedures, policies, written instructions, and directives, and answer workers' questions about them.
• Lead production and service activities and lead food-production activities when a supervisor or Food Production Manager is absent.
• Work alongside employees as needed to demonstrate proper work methods and establish and sustain work pace.
• Follow facility customer-service standards in interactions with staff and patients; follow up on patient feedback when a supervisor is absent.
• Provide and document on-the-job training for lower-grade food service workers.
• Complete safety and sanitation inspection checklists, document problems, and initiate corrective action, including communicating instructions to employees.
• Review daily assignment sheets and adjust assignments and work sequence to ensure coverage and productive work.
• Assign tasks to individual employees or employee groups.
• Check work in progress and ensure completed work follows instructions, work sequence, standard operating procedures, quality requirements, and deadlines.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Federal employees and their families have access to a comprehensive benefits package; specific benefits depend on position type and should be confirmed with the hiring agency.
• VA may grant newly appointed federal employees credit for job-related non-federal experience or active-duty uniformed military service when determining annual-leave accrual; approval must be requested before appointment and is not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed