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Cook

Department of Defense
Military Treatment Facilities under DHA
48th Medical Group Lakenheath
This job announcement has closed

Summary

About the Position: Incumbent performs cooking duties and provides nutrition support and food service to inpatients, outpatients, and other beneficiaries.

Overview

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Job closed
Open date: 06/10/2026
Closed date: 06/09/2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$23.98 - $27.97 per hour
Pay scale & grade
WG 6
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
HSJH-26-12972650-MP
Control number
871873500

Duties

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  • Maintain a clean, safe, and orderly work environment by following established sanitation and HACCP regulations.
  • Prepare a variety of meals, including complex therapeutic diets, by following and adapting standardized recipes.
  • Follow standardized recipes and therapeutic diet orders to prepare meals that meet specific patient requirements.
  • Operate, maintain, and clean institutional food service equipment, including mechanical dishwashers, ovens, and slicing machines.
  • Determine quantities, weigh, and measure ingredients to prepare foods for regular and therapeutic diets.
  • Handle, cut, and prepare food items while adhering to all safety protocols and procedures.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
  • Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
  • You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
  • Applicants must comply with the Exceptional Family Member Program requirements as outlined in the DoD Instruction 1315.19.
  • Must be able to satisfy the requirements of the 26JUL12 DODI 1400.25 V1230, DoD Civilian Personnel Management System: Employment in Foreign Areas and Employee Return Rights. Visit https://www.esd.whs.mil/DD/DoD-Issuances/140025/.
  • Direct deposit of pay is required.
  • U.S. citizens overseas under ordinarily resident status are not eligible for appointment under the Status of Forces Agreement.
  • This position may require you to be on-call on a rotational basis, responding to emergency calls at times beyond the normal duty day.
  • This position requires shift work to provide coverage on evenings, weekends, holidays, or special situations. Shifts may be rotated on a regularly scheduled basis.
  • This position has a mandatory annual seasonal influenza immunization requirement and is therefore subject to annual seasonal influenza vaccinations in accordance with Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 6205.02.
  • This position is subject to screening and update of required immunizations.
  • This position requires Basic Life Support (BLS) certification from, or in accordance with, the American Heart Association (AHA).
  • Work requires lifting and moving moderate to heavy items up to 40 lbs.
  • This position requires the completion of a pre-employment Physical Examination and an annual examination thereafter to ensure the continued, required level of physical health and ability or fitness to perform the duties of the position.
  • This position requires a valid Food Handler's License/Certificate.

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.

  • 30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans
  • Current Civilian Employees of the Defense Health Agency (DHA)
  • Current Permanent Department of Defense (DoD) Civilian Employee
  • Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
  • Family Member Preference (FMP) for Overseas Employment
  • Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
  • Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
  • Military Spouse Preference (MSP) for Overseas Employment
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician 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


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. Ability to perform common Cook duties. I can prepare regular meals, adapt standardized recipes for yield, operate commercial institutional kitchen equipment (e.g., mechanical dishwashers, ovens, slicing machines), and adhere to sanitation, safety, and HACCP regulations under normal supervision of a work leader or journey-level employee who observes tasks in progress and upon completion to make sure they are properly performed. - Failure to meet this Screen out Element will result in an ineligible rating.

  • Ability to Do the Work of the Position without More Than Normal Supervision
  • Ability to Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (Other Than Blueprint Reading)
  • Ability to Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment
  • Dexterity and Safety
  • Knowledge of Materials
  • Technical Practices (Theoretical, Precise, Artistic)
  • Work Practices (Including Keeping Things Neat, Clean, and in Order)
  • Physical Effort: The worker is subject to continuous standing and walking, and frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending. Work involves light to heavy physical effort, such as frequent lifting of items weighing up to 40 pounds.
  • Working Conditions: Work areas are often uncomfortably warm and noisy, e.g., noisy kitchen and dishwashing areas. Worker is exposed to the danger of minor cuts, bruises and burns from equipment. There is danger of slipping on floor which are wet from daily mopping or where food or beverages have been spilled. Incumbent is exposed to extreme temperature changes in moving from hot kitchen areas to walk in cold storage areas.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

  • This position requires a 1 year probationary period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest.
  • Locality pay does not apply in the overseas area.
  • If an employee brings a child to an overseas location and that child is entitled to attend a DoD school on a space-required basis in accordance with DoDEA Regulation 1342.13, the DoDEA and the Military Department responsible for providing related services will ensure that the child, if eligible for special education, receives a free appropriate public education, including related services pursuant to DoDI 1342.12 and DoDM 1342.12.
  • If an employee brings an infant or toddler (up to 3 years of age) to an overseas location, and that infant or toddler, but for the child's age, is entitled to attend the DoDEA on a space-required basis in accordance with DoDEA Regulation 1342.13, then the Military Department responsible for EIS will provide the infant or toddler with the required EIS in accordance with the eligibility criteria consistent with DoDI 1342.12 and DoDM 1342.12.
  • Employees (and family members) who require medical or dental care in the overseas location will be responsible for obtaining and paying for such care. Access for civilian employees and their families to military medical and dental treatment facilities is on a space-available and reimbursable basis only.
  • Pay retention may be offered to selected applicants for positions at overseas locations. Pay retention will not be offered as an incentive for employees moving between overseas positions.
  • Selectees may receive certain foreign area benefits such as: Living Quarters Allowance (LQA) or government quarters, home leave, etc. Selectees will have their eligibility for foreign area benefits determined at the time of hire in accordance with Department of State Standardized Regulation (DSSR) and DoDI 1400.25 volume 1250.
  • For positions in a foreign country, that country's laws or international agreements may have a direct impact on the ability of an employee's same sex domestic partner or spouse to accompany the employee and receive certain benefits. If you believe you may be affected by these laws and agreements, you should familiarize yourself with relevant information and direct questions concerning a specific country (Foreign Duty Location) to the appropriate Human Resources point of contact prior to the acceptance of employment and your entrance on duty.
  • The initial length of this overseas tour is 36 months.
  • Defense National Relocation Program will not be authorized.
  • Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.

If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.

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 selecting official has requested a competitive and noncompetitive candidate list for this vacancy. If you are eligible for the noncompetitive list, you will be evaluated on basic and/or minimum qualifications, as applicable. While required to answer the assessment questions, non-competitive candidates will not be evaluated against the competitive rating and ranking criteria. The selecting official may select from any of the candidate lists.

Military Treatment Facilities under DHA

As an integrated health care system, the Defense Health Agency delivers healthcare services across the Department of Defense and enables combat support to the Joint Force as a strategic partner. Through a robust healthcare delivery system, and a dedicated team of inspired professionals, the Agency ensures the worldwide delivery of medical, dental, and pharmacy programs to more than 9.5 million uniformed service members, retirees, and their families, by improving health and building readiness

Anytime, Anywhere-Always.

Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath, United Kingdom, is located 70 miles northeast of London and 25 miles northeast of Cambridge. RAF Lakenheath is the largest U.S. Air Force-operated base in England. Lakenheath is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Lakenheath has an oceanic climate similar to the rest of the region and is warmer and drier than the average climate of the British Isles. For more information, please visit - https://www.lakenheath.af.mil/

Agency contact information

Army Applicant Help Desk
Website
https://portal.chra.army.mil/hr_public?id=app_inq
Address
JT-DD83EP EUROPE DHN - LAKENHEATH
DO NO TMAIL
APO, AE 9461
US

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