Dining Services III / Cook - Rifle Veterans Community Living Center

This position is open to Colorado Residents Only.

Office of Adult, Aging and Disability Services

CO State Veterans Community Living Center at Rifle

The Colorado State Veterans Community Living Center at Rifle is located on Colorado's western slope in the scenic Colorado River valley. Rifle offers a mild climate, with plenty of clean mountain air and beautiful blue skies. Amidst this setting, the State Veterans Community Living Center at Rifle provides 89 beds of skilled nursing care, including a 18-bed Special Care Unit for residents with Alzheimer's Disease or related conditions. Serving veterans, their spouse and eligible "Gold Star" parents, we are committed to caring for the whole person by addressing the personal and social needs of each resident, as well as their physical and medical requirements. All staff members of Rifle are committed to providing a life of qualify and dignity for every resident. At the Colorado State Veterans Community Living Center at Rifle, our staff is known for showing love and compassion to our residents. Giving residents a hug, holding their hand or sitting next to them on them on the arm of a chair are just a few of the ways we give care that comes from the heart.

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Shift Information: Please note: Employee's shifts may change based on the needs of the program.

Food Handling and Services

• Prepares all aspects of meals to comply with food safety standards, visual appeal, appropriate temperature, texture, and palatability for residents
• Follows standardized recipes and therapeutic worksheets for correct portion sizes and texture
• Serves and delivers food in the correct portions, proper temperatures, and in an aesthetically appealing manner
• Provides dining services for residents in main or private dining rooms depending on need and occasion.
• Prepares and distributes resident snacks and supplements to all neighborhoods.

Cleaning and Sanitation

• Cleans, sanitizes, and maintains kitchen and kitchen equipment including but not limited to: floors, refrigerators, dishes, trash, and food service equipment
• Cleans dining room tables, sanitizes, and cleans chairs
• Washes dishes and silverware and puts them away
• Cleans, records temperatures, and sanitizes all unit refrigerators.
• Assist in keeping the storeroom, main kitchen and cooling units clean and free of empty boxes
• Monitors aids when they clean and sanitize the satellite kitchens and unit areas

Monitoring

• Monitors all food temperatures while the food is removed from the oven or cooling unit and before the items leave the main kitchens.
• Checks all storage areas and leftover foods for label and dates
• Monitors temperatures of main kitchen, satellites and other appropriate areas where food is served and maintains daily record.
• Notifies supervisor on duty any time refrigerators are not within acceptable parameters or foods are not at proper serving temperature so problem can be corrected immediately.
• Discards all outdated food and snacks as required by policies and procedures.

Other Duties

• Provides solutions to aids for discrepancies in food temperatures
• Assists food service supervisor in inventorying supplies and foods (perishables and non-perishables), freezer, and storeroom
• Provides excellent customer service to all internal and external customers
• Communicates immediately and directly with Food Service Director of any department concerns
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications 

• 1 year of experience in an occupational field related to the work 

Substitutions:

• CDPHE recognized food safety certification as a substitute for experience.

Employment history is calculated on a full-time basis (40/hrs per week). Part-time employment is calculated on a pro-rated basis to determine qualifications. Be sure your application specifically addresses your qualifications, experience, work products, and accomplishments as they relate to the position and minimum requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to understand measurements and follow recipes
• Ability to engage with clients and coworkers and resolve issues swiftly  
• Ability to multitask
• Ability to understand and follow food safety procedures
• Knowledge of basic food safety
• Experience working in cafeteria style dining
• Knowledge of kitchen sanitation, cleaning, and maintenance

This position requires the following as conditions of employment:

• Must pass a Colorado Bureau of Investigations and a Federal Bureau of Investigations background check as a condition of employment.
• Must pass TB test.
• This position is "Essential Service Designation": you will be required to report without delay or interruption to provide essential or emergency services to ensure health, safety, and welfare.
• This position has shift work: day, evening and night shifts to include holiday and weekends as needed.
• Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must disclose the information on the application and provide an explanation why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify the applicant from the current position.  Absent extraordinary circumstances, prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with CDHS.

Appeal Rights: 

If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for this position, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director.

An appeal or review must be submitted on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative. This form must be delivered to the State Personnel Board by email (dpa_state.personnelboard@state.co.us), postmarked in US Mail or hand delivered (1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203), or faxed (303.866.5038) within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgement of the department's action.

For more information about the appeals process, the official appeal form, and how to deliver it to the State Personnel Board; go to spb.colorado.gov; contact the State Personnel Board for assistance at (303) 866-3300; or refer to 4 Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, at spb.colorado.gov under Rules.

How to Apply

The Assessment Process

For additional recruiting questions, please contact annette.torrez@state.co.us  

About Us: 

If your goal is to build a career that makes a difference, consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). Our professionals strive to design and deliver high quality human and health services that improve the safety, independence, and well-being of the people of Colorado. In addition to a great location and rewarding and meaningful work, we offer:

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan www.copera.org plus 401(k) and 457 plans

• Medical and dental health plans

• Employer supplemented Health Savings Account

• Paid life insurance

• Short- and long-term disability coverage

• 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave

• BenefitHub state employee discount program

• Employee Wellness program MotivateMe

• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more

• Remote work arrangements for eligible positions

• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For more

information, go to https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhr/student-loan-forgiveness-programs.

Our Values:

We believe in a people-first approach: To serve the people of Colorado, we develop a culture and work environment that creates an energized, inspired, and healthy team capable of giving their best to Coloradans.

Balance creates quality of life: We want our team to be resilient through a supportive workplace that values flexibility, health and wellness, and employee engagement.

We hold ourselves accountable: We take responsibility through our actions, programs, and results for the state of health and human services in Colorado.

Transparency matters: We are open and honest with employees, our partners, the Coloradans we serve, and the public.

We are ethical: We abide by what is best for those we serve by doing what is right, not what is easy.

Collaboration helps us rise together: We work together with all partners, employees, and clients to achieve the best outcomes for Coloradans.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of diverse backgrounds and abilities.  

ADAA Accommodations: CDHS is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADAAA Coordinator, Nancy Schmelzer, at  cdhs_ada@state.co.us or call 1-800-929-0791.

~THE STATE OF COLORADO IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER~

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