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Summary

PATHWAYS INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS AT LEAST 16 YEARS OF AGE

Students must meet eligibility and requirements by the announcement closing date.

Read the entire announcement before starting the application process.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 08/10/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 10, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$17.37 - $20.26 per hour

NTE 40 hours bi weekly

Pay scale & grade
WG 1
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Part-time - Irregular work schedule including days, weekends and holidays.
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Multiple
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Excepted Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
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
DECA-26-13024337-PW-DE
Control number
878592700

Duties

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Store Workers work in a military grocery store. The work is like a stocker or stock clerk at your local grocery or retail store.

As a student trainee and under close supervision, you receive on-the-job training or formal instruction in aspects of commissary operations and store worker duties. You will learn to:

  • Refill stock on shelves and display counters,
  • Check amounts received,
  • Move old stock forward on shelves or rotate stock as instructed, and
  • Assist in inventories.
Read the entire announcement before starting the application process.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. citizen or national. Applicants with a Permanent Resident Card are authorized to live and work in the U.S. but are not eligible for employment in positions requiring U.S. citizenship. If selected, proof of citizenship is required.
  • Must be at least 16 years of age. Per Department of Labor regulations, under age youths may not perform hazardous jobs.
  • Males born after 12-31-1959 must be registered with or exempt from Selective Service.
  • Pathways Interns may work full-time or part-time schedules at any time during the year, without limitations. However, the work schedule cannot interfere with their academic schedule.
  • Appointment is subject to successful verification of identity and employment eligibility through E-Verify. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, at https://www.e-verify.gov/.
  • Appointment is subject to a favorable suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation. New federal employees will be fingerprinted.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain clearance eligibility based on the appropriate background investigation.
  • Selectee must sign Pathways Participant Agreement.
  • The entire period served under the Internship Program counts as the participant's trial period.
  • Direct deposit of pay is required.

Qualifications

To be eligible you must be enrolled in:

OR one of the following accredited by the Department of Education:
  • Recognized program in a technical or vocational school;
  • Two-year or four-year college or university, or
  • Graduate or professional school (e.g., law school or medical school).

To be considered you must provide appropriate supporting documentation/information from your school. See Required Documents for more information.

The basic qualification needed for these jobs is willingness to do low-level work. Workers may do several types of simple tasks over a period of time. One task is completed before a new assignment is given.

The job element method is used to match what you can do against what the work requires. You will be evaluated on the following job element: Likelihood Of Success In Assignments Which Require Interest, Motivation, And Readiness To Do Simple Work. This critical element addresses the critical knowledge, skill, and ability essential to satisfactory job performance. Applicants who clearly fail to meet the lowest acceptable requirements of this element are rated ineligible and receive no further consideration.

Physical requirements: (1) Frequently lift, push, pull, carry, and handle commissary products weighing up 40 pounds unassisted, and occasionally over 40 pounds with assistance from other workers or by using weight handling equipment. (2) Prolonged standing, stooping, kneeling, bending, and climbing. You will attest to your ability to perform these physical requirements in the Questionnaire.

Work conditions:
  • Most of the work is performed in the store display area, which is well lighted and maintained at a comfortable temperature.
  • Aisles are often crowded with customers and grocery carts.
  • When working in the storage or receiving area, may be exposed to hot or cold weather, or damp or drafty conditions.
  • May be exposed to differences in temperature when storing in or retrieving items from chill or frozen storage rooms.
  • There is a danger of minor injuries such as cuts, scrapes, bruises, and slipping on wet floors.
Overtime: Occasional
Bargaining Unit Status: Differs by location
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Nonexempt
Obligated Position: No
Reemployed Annuitants Considered: No, DoD criteria not met.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives Offered: None
Telework eligible: No
Remote work eligible: No

Education

You may use foreign education to qualify provided a private organization specializing in interpreting foreign education programs has deemed the foreign education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program or a U.S. accredited college or university has given full credit for the foreign courses. Your application package must include a copy of the equivalency evaluation results letter with a course by course listing.

Foreign Education. If using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to qualify, you must show a private organization specializing in interpreting foreign education programs has deemed the foreign education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program or show that a U.S. accredited college or university has given full credit for the foreign courses. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application.

Additional information

Executive Order 12564 requires a federal workplace to be free of illegal drugs and prohibits the use of illegal drugs both on and off duty by federal employees. As a reminder, marijuana is still classified as an illegal drug by the Federal government and is prohibited for use by Federal employees even if such use is legal in the state where the Federal employee resides and/or works. The Defense Commissary Agency is a Drug-Free Federal Workplace where the use of illegal drugs will not be tolerated and may result in penalties up to and including removal from Federal service.

  • Applicants with financial difficulty are not automatically removed from consideration.
  • The title, series, and grade of the position held should be related to the student's educational career field or career goals. The student is eligible to be noncompetitively converted to a term, career, or career-conditional appointment after meeting the requirements described in 5 CFR 362.204.
  • Selectees are required to complete an online onboarding process.
  • If selected, DLA HR determines your first day of work (reporting date or entrance on duty date) and only DLA HR can change that date.
  • Interns are responsible for informing their supervisor (1) about instances when the agreed upon work schedule does not allow ample time to meet educational requirements and (2) any change in academic status to include GPA and/or enrollment status.
  • The advancement of interns to higher-graded positions, prior to conversion, is strictly at the Agency's discretion. To qualify for promotions, the intern must have the same level and type of experience and/or education usually required for an initial appointment.
  • Interns may be non-competitively converted to a term, career-conditional or career appointment within 120 days following successful completion of all educational and work experience requirements in accordance with 5 CFR 362.204.
The following may result in a rating of ineligible. Ineligible applicants receive no consideration.
  • Submitting an incomplete application package may result in your not being considered for this position. Your resume must reflect that you are either Part-Time with the number of hours listed, Full Time, or 40 hours per week as your work schedule. If you fail to provide this information in your resume, your resume will be considered as incomplete.
  • Submitting encrypted documents or uploading Adobe portfolio documents.
  • Submitting any document that contains a photo or image of you.
  • Including social media links, inappropriate material or content, classified or government sensitive information, or personal information such as age, gender, race, religion, or social security number on your resume.
  • Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or questionnaire responses.
  • Deliberately attempting to falsify your application information, such as copying portions of this announcement into your resume.
Should you receive a tentative job offer, be aware such offers are automatically withdrawn if a selectee fails to (1) record an acceptance or declination by the response date provided in the offer notice and/or (2) meet any pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to a scheduled appointment. If you receive a job offer, use a computer to submit your response rather than a mobile/cell phone.

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 application process is complete, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the job requirements. This vacancy will be filled through a Direct Hire Authority. All applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration. We will evaluate your application for basic eligibility and to determine if your experience meets the basic qualification requirements described in the announcement. All applicants who meet the qualifications and other basic requirement are eligible for referral and selection consideration.

Selections are subject to restrictions of the DoD referral system for displaced employees.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.

Defense Commissary Agency

As an international grocery chain, the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) operates 235 commissaries throughout the world, with annual sales of more than $4 billion. We are proud to support military family readiness and enhance quality of life for our military service members and their families through this valued benefit. The foundation for our mission success is our people. We are more than 13,000 strong and reflect our nation's diverse cultures and backgrounds. We are a grocery store and a whole lot more. More information.

These internships, filled under the DeCA Pathways Programs, provide students in high school, college, technical or vocational school, a certificate program, and other qualifying educational institutions with the opportunity to explore federal careers related to their educational career field or career goals as paid employees.

Agency contact information

DeCA DE West Servicing Team
Phone
614-693-3917
Fax
215-516-6081
Email
DECADEWESTInquiries@dla.mil
Address
Defense Commissary Agency West
1300 E Avenue
Fort Lee, VA 23801-1800
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Defense Commissary Agency, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://corp.commissaries.com/

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