Food Service Worker

About the role

This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) – Veterans Health Administration (VHA) – Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6) – Fayetteville, NC. Food Service Workers perform tasks with several steps or a sequence of tasks that requires attention to work operations. They follow set‑up procedures in accomplishing repetitive assignments and follow an established sequence of work. Position Description Title/PD#: Food Service Worker/PD99920A.

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 to demonstrate your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties must be supported by detailed descriptions 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 (usually question 1 in the online questionnaire). 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 eliminated.

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, religious, 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 per week spent in such employment.

Responsibilities

• Sets up and breaks down assigned station with the correct supplies and food items
• Portions food items into standard serving sizes using the proper utensils and specified dishware
• Selects and places correct items on patient trays
• Decides what food items to serve for the most common diets
• Identifies obvious discrepancies between the prescribed diets and the food items designated by the menu
• Sets up dining room tables for service, places food and beverages on tables, and replenishes items as necessary
• Delivers meal trays to patients' bedsides; reports patients' comments and complaints to the supervisor or dietitian
• Provides assistance to cooks in the food preparation area, such as weighing, measuring, and assembling ingredients according to standardized recipes
• Prepares fresh fruit, cold salads, dressings, sandwich fillings, cold sandwiches, and simple cold desserts
• Reads and interprets regular or modified menus, individual diet cards, tray tickets, or patient selections
• Performs heavy‑duty cleaning tasks throughout the food service and related areas
• Performs related duties as assigned

Schedule

Varies from 5:00 am – 7:00 pm, seven days a week, including holidays.

Physical Requirements

• Wage Grade 3 Food Service Workers perform work requiring light to moderate physical effort
• May be required to perform heavy work, such as scouring and scrubbing large cooking utensils and pushing heavy carts and trucks in unloading, storing, and delivering supplies
• Subject to continuous standing and walking, and frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending
• May be required to work on ladders and use powered cleaning equipment
• Frequently lift or move objects weighing up to 20 pounds unassisted
• Occasionally lift or move objects weighing more than 40 pounds with the assistance of others