Food Service Worker Leader

Veterans Health Administration; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 36,000 - 41,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Health Administration in Phoenix seeks a Food Service Worker Lead to supervise Wage Grade staff in food service and production units. The role emphasizes leading dietary teams, ensuring safe handling of meals, and delivering nutritious trays to patients.

Responsibilities include setting up stations, serving, assisting cooks, portioning, and maintaining sanitation. Work schedule is 11:30am-8:00pm, seven days a week including holidays.

Qualifications

• Lead and direct Wage Grade personnel in food service and production units.

Responsibilities

• Set up assigned station on the tray line with supplies and food items.
• Serve food cafeteria style and portion for patients and residents.
• Break down and clean stations; prepare beverages and simple cold items.
• Prepare ingredients and assist cooks per standardized recipes.
• Lead production and service areas in the absence of supervisors.
• Maintain sanitation, inventory, and correct food temperatures on trays.

Job description

• Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

This announcement is for a Food Service Worker Lead for the Food and Nutrition service at the Phoenix VAMC. Leads and directs Wage Grade personnel working in the food service and food production units.

Key Responsibilities

Major Duties: 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. Return soiled trays and dishes to the dish room.

Deliver meal trays to the patients' bedsides and report the patients' comments and complaints to the supervisor or dietitian. Prepare beverages according to the number of servings required. Prepare fresh fruit/cold salads/dressings/sandwich fillings and cold sandwiches and simple cold desserts in specified quantities. Sort, wash, peel and cut cold foods using knives or other equipment.

Provide assistance to cooks in the food preparation area, such as weigh, measure and assemble ingredients according to standardized recipes. Prepare uncooked food items, such as sandwich spread and salad dressings. Operate and break down and clean all equipment assigned to food service and related areas. Portion other food items into standard serving sizes using the proper utensils and specified dishware. Prepare boxed/to go meals.

Make final check of diet trays assembled by lower grade workers for completeness, correct food temperatures. Verify that food items on the tray are appropriate for the prescribed diet. Identify obvious discrepancies between the prescribed diets and the food items designated by the menu. Decide what food items to serve for the most common diets when the diet card or tray ticket identifies only the kind of diet called for. Distributes menus and surveys to patients.

Provide patients with basic information about modified diets and the nutrition services that are available. Prepare individual and bulk nourishments and supplemental foods and beverages for patients. Follow directions in assembling, measuring, weighing, or mixing ingredients for basic formulas and supplemental feedings following standardized recipes and using sanitary techniques. Determine the quantities of ingredients needed to prepare required yield.

Make conversions between the metric system to the standard system. Take nourishment inventories, stocking using first in-first out procedures, replacing expired items. Label and distribute individual nourishments. Sterilize equipment and sanitize work areas. 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.

Perform heavy-duty cleaning tasks throughout the food service and related areas. 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.

Provide assistance to 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. Communicates instructions and information about getting work started and accomplished to other employees.

Communicates with supervisors, managers and employees about problems and events, and actively participates in the implementation of problem resolution after obtaining needed information or decisions from supervisors and/or managers. Maintains a current knowledge, and answers questions of other workers on procedures, policies, written instructions, and other directives. 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 Provides on the job training to lower graded food service workers and documents training provided. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Service is open 7 days a week and holidays.

Tour of Duty: 11:30am-8:00pm Position Description Title/PD#: Food Service Worker Leader/PD99919S Physical Requirements: 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.

Which agency is hiring for this position?

This position is with Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

What is the salary for this position?

The posted pay range is $26.1 – $30.45/hr.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2026-10-23.

Who is eligible to apply?

This position is open under the 'Public' hiring path.