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Posted: March 26, 2026 (0 days ago)

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Food Services Specialist (Assistant Food Service Administrator)

Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System

Department of Justice

Fresh

Location

Forrest City, Arkansas

Salary

$74,678 - $116,362

per year

Closes

April 16, 2026More DOJ jobs →

GS-11 Pay Grade

Base salary range: $62,107 - $80,737

Typical requirements: 1 year specialized experience at GS-10. Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 years graduate study.

Note: Actual salary includes locality pay (15-40%+ depending on location).

Job Description

Summary

This job involves managing food services in a federal prison, including supervising meal preparation for large groups of inmates, ensuring safety and quality, and handling budgets and special diets.

A good fit would be someone with experience in large-scale food operations, like in institutions or commercial kitchens, who is organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable working in a secure environment.

Key Requirements

  • One year of specialized experience in mass food preparation and serving for large groups, equivalent to GS-10 level
  • For GS-11: Ph.D., equivalent doctoral degree, 3 years of graduate education, or LL.M. in a related field; or a combination of education and experience
  • No education substitution for GS-12; must have specialized experience equivalent to GS-11
  • Supervisory skills in food preparation, dining operations, and inmate training
  • Knowledge of sanitation, safety, and security standards in food service
  • Experience managing budgets, developing menus, and evaluating food quality and quantity
  • Ability to coordinate food services for special areas like health services and special housing units

Full Job Description

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following qualification requirements: Education: GS-11: Ph.D.

or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related.

Graduate education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.

GS-12: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience for this grade level.

Specialized Experience: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level.

To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to successfully perform the duties of the position, and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

Qualifying specialized experience must have involved preparing and serving food in mass quantities for large groups of people.

Some examples of this qualifying experience are: GS-11: Experience in supervising food preparation, securing compliance with the best cooking and baking principles, ensuring that food is palatable, presentable, of proper consistency and temperature, and that quantities are sufficient to feed all inmates within budgetary guidelines.

Experience in supervising dining room operations and monitoring proper timing and preparation of foods so that operations proceed in an orderly manner.

Experience in establishing the highest possible safety and sanitary procedures during the entire food preparation process.li> GS-12: Experience with planning, controlling, and evaluating department operations such as managing budget resources for anticipated and atypical expenses for the Food Service Department; establishing standards of sanitation, safety and security; developing menus and evaluating inmate acceptance of food quantity and quality.

Experience in supervising and inspecting the inmate training activities carried out by subordinates; making suggestions on technique improvements and evaluating the adequacy of instructions.

Experience with the coordination of all phases of food preparation to assure meals are properly prepared and served to include such remote areas as Health Services, Receiving and Discharge, and the Special Housing Units.

Experience in a wide variety of duties which include several specialized programs and functions including medical and religious diets, ethnic food preparation, satellite operations, and warehousing operations; each of which requires some difference in approach, procedures, and techniques.

Combination of Education and Experience: GS-11 Only: A combination of education and experience.

This experience must have equipped you with the qualifications to perform the major duties of this position as described above. If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience.

To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.** Major Duties:

Position is located at a Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) which consists of multiple institutions composed of various security levels.

Serves as an Assistant Food Service Administrator and is in complete charge of the institution's food service operations in the facility they are assigned, under the guidance of the overall complex Food Service Administrator.

Assists in planning, controlling, and evaluating department operations such as managing budget resources for anticipated and atypical expenses for the Food Service Department; establishing standards of sanitation, safety and security; developing menus and evaluating inmate acceptance of food quantity and quality.

Responsible for the coordination of all phases of food preparation to assure the meals are properly prepared and served to include such remote areas as Health Services, Receiving and Discharge, and the Special Housing Units.

Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution.

The staffs correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis.

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Posted on USAJOBS: 3/26/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 3/27/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: SCR-2026-0181