Food Service Worker

This position is located within the Nutrition & Food Service at the VA Maryland Health Care System (VAMHCS) located at the VA Medical Center in Loch Raven, MD.

• Set up cafeteria lines, steam tables, dining room tables, and side service stands with hot and cold food items.
• Receive meal orders and fill meal orders by placing uniform portions of food on customer/patient's plates.
• Break down and clean assigned area when the meal is finished and return to food to the kitchen.
• Set up dining room tables for service, place food and beverages on tables, and replenish items as necessary.
• Return soiled trays and dishes to the dish room after meals.
• Deliver meal trays to the patient's bedside.
• Brew coffee according to the number of servings required.
• Assemble and toss fresh fruit or green salads in quantity using prepared dressings and portions into standard serving sizes.
• Apportion other food items into standard serving sizes using the proper utensils and containers.
• Make cold sandwiches using prepared ingredients and pack box lunches.
• Work in one or more functional areas of the kitchen such as food preparation, dish and pot washing, dry and refrigerated storage and receiving, and the serving line.
• Sort, wash, peel, and cut fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Operate and break down equipment.
• Perform heavy-duty cleaning throughout the food service and related areas.
• Separate food waste and trash from dishes, glasses, and spray arms for preventive maintenance of the dish machine.
• Remove inspection doors, strainer pans, screens and spray arms for preventive maintenance of the dish machine.
• Unload delivery trucks.
• Store sanitized dishes, glasses and silverware.
• Scrape, soak, scours, and scrub the heavier cooking utensils.
• Move heavy garbage cans when collecting and transferring trash from the work area to the disposal area.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Varying work schedules available.

• Must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation.
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required.
• May serve a probationary period.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

RESUME REQUIREMENTS - Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:

• Job Title (for each position)
• Description of duties (be as detailed as possible)
• Month and year start/end dates (e.g. June 2018 to April 2020) of employment
• Full-time or part-time status (include average hours worked per week)

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.

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
• Follow Directions
• Handle Weights and Loads
• Reliability And Dependability
• Special Aptitude - Food Service Work
• 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).

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.

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

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.

A supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies.

This position may be authorized for telework.

Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Pursuant to VHA Directive, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy).

VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations.

If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date.

The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

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

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.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package.

As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent.

Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC.

We will not make assumptions regarding your experience.

Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package.

As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent.

Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Required Documents

As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits.

Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee.

You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

Documents Accepted:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Documents Required:

• Resume

Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.

Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).

You will not be contacted for additional information.

Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.

Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply.

Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.

Applications are accepted online.

Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

How to Apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online.

To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/16/2024 to receive consideration.

To preview the questionnaire click

1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account.

Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.

2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account,, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position.

The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application.

Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement.

You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Agency contact information

Larry Choice

Phone

Email

Address

VA Maryland Health Care System

10 North Greene Street

Baltimore, MD 21201

US

Next steps

After the vacancy announcement closes, applicants are evaluated to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met.

After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email.

Fair and Transparent

The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent.

Please read the following guidance.

• Criminal history inquiries
• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
• Financial suitability
• New employee probationary period
• Privacy Act
• Reasonable accommodation policy
• Selective Service
• Signature and false statements
• Social security number request