Summary You will serve as Lead Food Service Worker with the Nutrition & Food Services at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center located in Spokane, Washington. Responsibilities Leads the activities of the production and service areas. Leads food production activities in the absence of a supervisor or Food Production Manager. May work along with employees so that proper work methods are demonstrated, and the pace of the work can be established and sustained. Set up assigned station on the tray line with the correct supplies and food items. Serve food cafeteria style by placing uniform portions of food on customers'/patients'/residents' plates. Break down and clean the station when assigned. Set up dining room tables for service, place food and beverages on tables, and replenish items as necessary. Separate food waste and trash from dishes, glasses and silverware in the dish washing area. Unload food/tray delivery carts. Store sanitized dishes, glasses and silverware. Scrape, soak, scour, and scrub cookware and utensils. Move garbage cans when collecting and transferring trash from the work area to the disposal area. Help cooks in the food preparation area including assembling, labeling and arranging completed recipe items in preparation for use by cooks. Use a computer terminal to record and retrieve recipe, menu and inventory data and to produce reports. Help patients make selections using our food service software. Decide what food items to serve for the most common diets when the tray ticket identifies only the kind of diet called for. Identify obvious discrepancies between the prescribed diets and the food items designated by the menu using our foodservice software. Maintain a current knowledge, and answers questions of other workers on procedures, policies, written instructions, and other directives. Adheres to facility customer service standards with all staff and patient interactions. In the absence of a supervisor, follows up on patient feedback as needed, to ensure high quality patient/customer service is maintained. Provides on the job training to lower graded food service workers and documents training provided Duty. Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Tuesday through Thursday 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM and Friday through Saturday 5:00 AM to 1:30 PM. Days off Sunday and Monday. Position Description Title/PD#: Food Service Worker (Leader)/PD99919S Physical Requirements: The Work leader performs work requiring light to moderate physical effort. They may be required to perform heavy work, such as scouring and scrubbing large size cooking utensils and pushing heavy carts and trucks in unloading, storing, and delivering supplies. They are subject to continuous sitting, standing and walking, and frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending. They frequently lift or move objects weighing up to 20 pounds unassisted and occasionally lift or move objects weighing more than 40 pounds with the assistance of others. Work Conditions: The work is performed in kitchen areas where the steam and heat from cooking and dishwashing equipment often cause uncomfortably high temperatures and humidity. The work area is well lit but usually noisy from food service activities, and there is danger of slipping on floors where food or beverages have been dropped. Food service workers are regularly exposed to hot liquids, sharp cutting blades, hot working surfaces, and extreme temperature changes when entering walk-in refrigeration or freezing units. May be unknowingly exposed to patients who have contagious disease. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of 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 of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such 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, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those 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 are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements: Dexterity and Safety Interpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading) Lead or Supervise Materials Technical Practices Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment Work Practices 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; religions; 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 a week spent in such employment. Education There is no educational substitute for this position. Additional Information As a VA professional, your opportunities are endless. With many openings in the multiple functions of VA, you will have a wide range of opportunities and leadership positions at your fingertips. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
