Food Service Associate

The Position

Incumbent works under the direction of the Assistant Director Food Service or designee performing kitchen tasks related to meal and snack service for residents / patients of the Douglas County Health Center.

Essential Functions

• Assemble resident / patient trays; prepare foods and beverages (e.g. salads, desserts, fruits, juices, breads; verify accuracy of trays and load trays on carts.
• Establish and maintain effective work relationships with clients, supervisors, County employees, elected officials, attorneys, law enforcement, judges, other agencies, and the public.
• Comply with Civil Service policies and regulations, collective bargaining agreements, County policies, department policies and laws to create a cooperative, safe, respectful and quality work environment.
• Take resident meal orders and enter into software, ensure order accuracy.
• Deliver trays to dining room(s), and assist residents.
• Assemble and deliver late trays, special ordered food items and neighborhood floor stock, rotating items, discarding expired product and labeling / dating perishable food.
• Document dish machine temperatures, refrigerator temperatures, and other monitors.
• Complete food prep, restock supplies, and prepare work area for next meal by cleaning and sanitizing work area.
• Retrieve dish carts and perform cleaning duties (e.g. pots / pans, walls, light fixtures, floors).
• Store clean dishes and utensils, and sweep / mop kitchen floors.
• Remain alert to and report unsafe or potentially hazardous situations to the Food Service Supervisor.
• Attend in-service training and online education.
• Comply with all safety requirements and procedures (e.g. chemical and biohazards), reporting safety concerns to supervisor.
• Respond to emergency codes, complying with department policies and procedures.
• Comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) and other privacy requirements. Assist with orientation and training of new food service employees.
• Participate in department quality assessment activities.
• Report to work with regular, consistent attendance.
• Perform other duties as assigned and directed.

Education and Work Experience and Other Requirements

• High school diploma, equivalent, or current high school enrollment preferred.
• Six (6) months full-time experience in food service or customer service preferred.
• Age 16 years or older required.
• Completion of a pre-employment criminal record check and conditional offer drug screen required.

Physical Requirements & Working Conditions

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work is performed in a kitchen setting which includes exposure to humidity and extremes of heat and cold. Noise level is usually moderate.

Work hours are typically standard day-shift hours; however, schedule may vary (e.g. weekends, overtime / extra hours, holidays, emergency call-in).

Work involves potential exposure to mechanical, chemical, and biohazards. Work may be stressful when dealing with time constraints, multiple / changing priorities, limited resources and uncooperative / irate individuals.

Work requires considerable physical activity including constant standing, walking and balancing, frequent lifting, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending, and occasional sitting, kneeling, and climbing.

Work also requires the ability to frequently lift and / or carry objects weighing up to 10 pounds and occasionally up to 50 pounds.

Required sensory abilities include vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Visual abilities, correctable to normal ranges include close, distance, color and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Communication abilities include the ability to talk and hear within normal ranges. Incumbent must also possess the hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity necessary to operate computers and other equipment.

Douglas County is an EOE - Disability / Veterans