Clarification from the agency

See "Who May Apply" in the "Qualifications" section for more information on who is eligible to apply for this position.

• Prepare a variety of foods according to menu requirements.
• Follow recipes to prepare a variety of foods.
• Apportion food for family style servings and plate service.
• Roast, grill, broil, steam and fry a variety of foods by mechanical or conventional systems.
• Prepare vegetable and cold food platters.
• Set up and serve food in the employees cafeteria.
• Check food samples for appropriate preparation, temperatures and packaging.
• Operate kitchen equipment designed to mix and cook large quantities.

Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed Tier 1 background investigation.
• This position requires the incumbent to work shift schedules that include early mornings, late nights, week-ends, and holidays.
• This is a inclement weather essential position, and the incumbent must report to work and/or remain in their position in bad weather, natural disasters, or other crisis.
• This position requires the incumbent to be able to lift and carry items weighing up to 50 pounds unassisted, and lift and carry items weighing over 50 pounds with assistance.
• This position requires the incumbent to wear safety gear/personal protective gear.
• This position requires the incumbent to wear a uniform.
• This position requires passing a pre-employment physical examination and periodic physical examinations.
• Appointment to this position is subject to a one year probationary period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements as described in 5 CFR Part 315. While probationary, the incumbent can be terminated with limited appeal rights.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

• Current Department of Army Civilian Employees
• Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army)
• Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
• Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
• Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998
• Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA)

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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

There is no specific length of training or experience required. However, you must be able to demonstrate, through experience shown in your written application materials that you possess the sufficient knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the work of this position without more than normal supervision.

Minimum Qualifications (Screen Out Element): Ability to do the work of a Cook without more than normal supervision performing common Cooking duties to include: (1) Preparing and/or cooking a variety of menu items such as soups, stews, casseroles, gravies, sauces, hot cereals, syrups, meatloaf, meatballs, hamburgers and croquettes; (2) Following and/or adjusting recipes to cook food; and (3) Operating and/or cleaning kitchen equipment. Failure to meet this Screen out Element will result in an ineligible rating.

To meet the basic eligibility, you must receive at least two points on the screen-out element indicated above and must have an average of two points on all the job elements listed below. Your application will be further evaluated to determine if you meet the best qualified cut-off for referral to the selecting official.

• Ability To Do The Work Of The Position Without More Than Normal Supervision Screen Out
• Ability to Interpret Instructions, Specification, etc.
• Ability To Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment
• Dexterity and Safety
• Knowledge of Materials
• Technical Practices (theoretical, precise, artistic)
• Work Practices (includes keeping things neat, clean and in order)

PHYSICAL EFFORT: The work involves continual standing and walking, frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending. The employee must be able to lift and carry items weighing up to 50 pounds unassisted, and occasionally lift and carry items weighing over 50 pounds with the assistance of other workers or lifting devices.

WORKING CONDITIONS: The employee frequently works in disagreeable heat. Concrete and tile floors are tiring to walk on and freshly scrubbed floors offer the danger of slipping. Burns from ovens and hot pans are a hazard. Injuries may result from use of powered equipment. The employee is exposed to extremes in temperatures when entering walk-in refrigerators from warm kitchen and proofing rooms. The work is also performed in kitchen areas, which are well lighted but are often hot and noisy. The employee is exposed to steam, fumes, and odors from cooking and baking and to burns and cuts. The employee is required to work at any Cadet Mess facility including Cadet Mess at West Point and at training camps. The employee is required to wear protective shoes, appropriate hearing protection, and gloves or other safety and food handling items required by food handling guides.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

You may claim Military Spouse preference.

You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc). Please review the following links to see which documents you need to provide to prove your eligibility to apply: Applicant Checklist for Internal/Merit Promotion Announcements

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
• For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. The Proof of Eligibility document describes authorities commonly used in merit promotion recruitment and what document(s) are required to prove you meet the requirements of the authority. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the Who May Apply section above to receive further consideration.

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

Next steps