Food Service Worker

Veterans Health Administration • Albuquerque, NM

11d • Onsite

About The Position

The New Mexico VA Healthcare Network is recruiting a Food Service Worker assigned to Nutrition and Food Services. The position supports food service operations for Veterans and may work in one or more functional areas, including food preparation, dish and pot washing, dry and refrigerated storage and receiving, and the serving area. Work in the serving area may include portioning cold food, dipping hot food, working in the dish room, and passing trays.

The role involves preparing and serving meals, supporting cooks with food preparation, delivering meal trays to patients, and cleaning food-service areas. The position is scheduled Sunday through Saturday, 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., with rotating days off. Food Service Workers perform light to moderate physical effort and may also perform heavy work, including scrubbing large cooking utensils and pushing heavy carts and trucks. The job involves continuous standing and walking, frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending, and may require working on ladders and using powered cleaning equipment. Workers frequently lift or move objects weighing up to 20 pounds without assistance and occasionally handle objects weighing more than 40 pounds with assistance.

Applicants must meet federal employment conditions, including suitability for federal employment and required pre-employment procedures. Specific training or experience length is not required, but applicants must provide evidence of training or experience demonstrating the ability to perform the work. The job has no education qualification requirement. A one-year probationary period is required. VA Health Care Personnel must participate in the seasonal influenza program or obtain an eligible exemption; face masks are required when an exemption is granted.

Requirements

• Meet the federal employment conditions stated in the announcement, including U.S. citizenship except where non-citizen appointment is permitted under VA policy, and suitability 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 required online onboarding process and provide acceptable identification and application documents.
• Serve a one-year probationary period, subject to written certification for continued employment after its completion.
• No specific length of training or experience is required; applicants must demonstrate through detailed resume descriptions training or experience of sufficient scope and quality to perform the work.
• Meet the applicable OPM Federal Wage System qualification standards and demonstrate the relevant job elements, including dexterity and safety, interpreting instructions and specifications, materials, technical practices, use and maintenance of tools and equipment, working without more than normal supervision, and work practices.
• Meet the physical demands of the work, including continuous standing and walking; frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending; and lifting or moving objects as described in the announcement.
• VA Health Care Personnel must receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain a medical or religious exemption; those granted an exemption must wear a face mask.

Responsibilities

• Set up and break down the assigned station with the correct supplies and food items.
• Portion food items into standard serving sizes using appropriate utensils and specified dishware.
• Select and place the correct items on patient trays.
• Decide which food items to serve for common diets.
• Identify obvious discrepancies between prescribed diets and menu-designated food items.
• Set up dining room tables for service; place food and beverages on tables and replenish items as necessary.
• Deliver meal trays to patients’ bedsides and report patient comments and complaints to a supervisor or dietitian.
• Assist cooks with food preparation, including weighing, measuring, and assembling ingredients according to standardized recipes.
• Prepare fresh fruit, cold salads, dressings, sandwich fillings, cold sandwiches, and simple cold desserts.
• Read and interpret regular or modified menus, individual diet cards, tray tickets, or patient selections.
• Perform heavy-duty cleaning tasks throughout food-service and related areas.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Federal employees and their families have access to a comprehensive benefits package.
• 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, if requested and approved before appointment; this is not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

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