Food Service Worker Leader

Veterans Health Administration • New Orleans, LA

14d

About The Position

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

The position leads activities in production and service areas, reviews and adjusts daily work assignments, communicates instructions, reports problems and events to supervisors and managers, and provides and documents on-the-job training. It also conducts safety and sanitation inspections, ensures work areas are set up properly, checks patient trays for temperature and accuracy, observes employee performance, and participates in quality improvement programs.

Food service work includes setting up tray-line stations, serving food cafeteria-style, cleaning assigned stations, preparing dining areas, delivering meal trays to patients, preparing nourishments and supplemental foods and beverages, determining ingredient quantities, converting between metric and standard measurements, performing heavy-duty cleaning, and assisting cooks. The position requires rotation on weekends and holidays. The work schedule is 5:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m. or 11:00 a.m.–7:30 p.m., and may change based on facility needs.

The work involves light to heavy physical activity, including cleaning large cooking utensils and pushing heavy carts and trucks. It requires continuous sitting, standing, and walking, as well as frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending. The worker frequently lifts or moves objects weighing up to 20 pounds without assistance and occasionally handles objects weighing more than 40 pounds with assistance.

Work is performed in kitchen areas that may be hot, humid, and noisy, with slip hazards and exposure to hot liquids, sharp blades, hot surfaces, and extreme temperature changes in refrigeration or freezing units. There may also be exposure to patients with contagious diseases.

Applicants are evaluated under the OPM Federal Wage System Qualifications using the job element method. The initial screen-out element is the ability to lead. No specific length of training or experience is required, but applicants must provide resume details demonstrating sufficient training or experience to perform the work. This job has no education qualification requirement.

Requirements

• Demonstrated training or experience of sufficient scope and quality to perform the work; no specific length of training or experience is required.
• Ability to lead, the prescribed screen-out element.
• U.S. citizenship; non-citizens may be appointed only when qualified citizens cannot be recruited in accordance with VA policy.
• Suitability for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation.
• Selective Service registration is required for males born after December 31, 1959.
• Completion of the required online onboarding process and acceptable identification for pre-employment requirements.
• Successful completion of a one-year probationary period, subject to written certification for continued employment.
• Meet the job elements of Dexterity and Safety; Interpret Instructions and Specifications; Lead or Supervise; Materials; Technical Practices; Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment; and Work Practices.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza program, including annual vaccination or an approved medical or religious exemption; masking is required when an exemption is granted.

Responsibilities

• Lead activities in production and service areas.
• Review daily work assignments and make adjustments as needed.
• Communicate work instructions and information to employees.
• Relay problems and events to supervisors and managers.
• Provide and document on-the-job training for lower-graded food service workers.
• Complete safety and sanitation inspection checks.
• Ensure food production and service areas are properly set up.
• Perform final checks of trays for correct temperature and accuracy against tray tickets.
• Observe employee work performance and provide feedback to supervisors.
• Participate in performance improvement programs and document quality improvement data.
• Set up tray-line stations with the correct supplies and food items.
• Serve food cafeteria-style.
• Break down and clean assigned stations.
• Set up dining room tables for service.
• Deliver meal trays to patients' bedsides and report comments or complaints to a supervisor or dietitian.
• Prepare individual and bulk nourishments and supplemental foods and beverages.
• Determine ingredient quantities and convert measurements between metric and standard systems.
• Perform heavy-duty cleaning throughout food service areas.
• Assist cooks in food preparation areas.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Federal employees receive access to a comprehensive benefits package for themselves and their families. Benefits eligibility depends on position type and employment status.

What This Job Offers

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