Supervisory Food Service Specialist (Kitchen Manager)

Full Job Description

Incumbent serves as the Food Service Kitchen Manager (FSKM), managing the day-to-day operations of all food procurement, production, service and delivery activities serving Acute Care Medicine, Surgery, Mental Health, Extended Care, Intensive Care, Ambulatory, and Hospice Units at Ralph H.

Johnson VA Medical Center. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/27/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service.

An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.

In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience supervising food preparation, securing compliance with the best cooking and baking principles, ensuring that food is palatable, presentable, of proper consistency and temperature; supervising dining room operations and monitoring proper timing and preparation of foods; experience in establishing the highest possible safety and sanitary procedures in food preparation.

OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience.

To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D.

degree, LL.M., or equivalent doctoral degree in the related field of the position to be filled. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a Masters' degree.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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.

Physical Requirements: The Supervisory Kitchen Manager's workday will require some physical exertion when cooking, such as lifting, bending, pushing, frequent walking, standing, stooping, reaching and stretching.

Workdays devoted to recipe testing, training, and oversight of the Food Service operation will include physical activity.

A significant amount of sedentary time may be required daily for deskwork: ordering special foods and supplies, researching products and equipment, scheduling, answering emails, using other computer software programs, conducting or attending meetings, conference calls and other phone calls.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Major Duties:

Major duties include but not limited to: Provides direct supervision to Food Service Worker Supervisors and Production Supervisors, who perform a variety of duties supporting food services at the VA Medical Center.

Assigns and explains work requirements and operating instructions to subordinates, sets deadlines, and establishes the sequence of work operations to be followed.

Adjust quantity of food produced to control shortages and waste. Gives directions to staff to correct misuse of food and supplies.

Perform duties in front line production and service, when necessary, due to staffing limitations.

Responsible for culinary presentation, ensuring that meals are pleasing in taste and appearance and of high quality.

Coordinates and develops menus in collaboration with the Clinical Nutrition Section in accordance with NFS Central Office guidelines.

Assists in developing or amending production reports to meet the needs of the operation and improve personnel performance and/or existing or changing processes in equipment, food production, distribution or staffing shortages.

Monitors expenses of foods and supplies, utilizing IFCAP, IPPS, Vista and relevant VA systems to track subsistence funding. Supervises and conducts performance reviews with assigned NFS employees(s).

Reviews and analyzes work accomplishments. Implements or recommends corrective actions and alternative work methods in a timely manner as appropriate to improve performance.

Investigates grievances and complaints, resolving them where possible and notifies supervisors of those of sufficient importance or seriousness. Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 5:00am - 6:30pm (variable tours) to include some holidays and weekends. Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Food Service Specialist (Kitchen Manager)/PD114510 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized