WHAT WE OFFER The County of Ventura offers an attractive compensation and benefits package that includes: A general salary increase of 3.5% effective December 22, 2024. New Hire/Retention/Referral Incentive: New hires may be eligible for a one-time New Hire Incentive up to 10% of the current annual base wage. (Subject to the applicable section of the SEIU 721 MOA , Secs. 3801 - 3803) Educational Incentive - An educational incentive of 2.5% for completion of an associate's degree, 3.5% for completion of a bachelor's degree, OR 5% for completion of a graduate's degree. Bilingual Incentive - Proficiency levels by exam are $.69 per hour (Level I), $1.00 per hour (Level II), or $1.32 per hour (Level III) Vacation Accrual - New regular, full-time employees shall accrue approximately 14 days of vacation a year for the first 10,400 hours or 5 years of service; vacation accruals increase at 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 20 years of service topping out at 26 days a year and 400 hours of vacation hours banked. Annual Leave Redemption - After 14,560 hours of continuous County service an employee may elect to "cash in" or redeem up to 80 hours of vacation accrued in the same year after using 80 hours of vacation in the preceding 12 months. Sick Leave - Full time regular employees accrue 3.08 hours of sick leave per pay period with an advance at hire of 40.04 hours which will be balanced at the completion of 13 bi-weekly pay periods. Deferred Compensation - Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 3.00% match on your 401(k) contributions. Health Plans - You are afforded an annual flexible credit allowance for purchasing medical, dental, and/or vision insurance from a group of authorized plans. Flexible Spending Accounts - Pre-tax benefit towards eligible medical, dental and vision care expenses. Pension Plan - Participation in the County's defined pension plan, which has reciprocity with CalPERS. Holidays - 12 paid days per year which, includes a scheduled floating holiday. Additional Benefits - Tuition Reimbursement, Disability Plans, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Wellness Program. POSITION INFORMATION Under direction, performs large quantity cooking and related work in a juvenile correctional institution for the County of Ventura's Probation Agency. The Ideal Candidate The ideal candidate will have experience cooking in a large scale eatery preparing a variety of meals in large quantities. PAYROLL TITLE: Jail Cook Jail Cook employees must be willing and able to work rotating shifts, weekends, and holidays. Applicants who fail to indicate on their application their ability to work rotating shifts, weekends, and holidays will not be invited to the exam. The Jail Cook is represented by Service Employees' International Union (SEIU) and is eligible for overtime compensation. The eligible list established from this recruitment will be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary and Fixed-term), Intermittent and Extra Help vacancies for this position or similar positions only. There is currently five (5) Regular vacancies. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OPENING DATE: January 4, 2024 CLOSING DATE: Continuous and may close at any time; therefore, the schedule for the remainder of the process will depend upon when we receive a sufficient number of qualified applications to meet business needs. FIRST REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS: Week of January 22, 2024Duties may include but are not limited to the following: Prepares and cooks in accordance with the nutritional requirements of California Title 15 for inmates in Detention Centers and The National School Breakfast and Lunch programs. Cooks in large quantities using USDA standardized recipes. Understands and adheres to Environmental Health regulations for food safety and sanitation. Assists in the serving of food within a correctional facility. Maintains cleanliness of work area and equipment. Directs and trains Food Services Assistants in the preparation and serving of food. Performs other related duties as required. These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list. EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE: A minimum of two (2) years experience as a cook in a kitchen preparing a variety of meals in large quantities. NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Must possess or obtain and maintain a valid California driver license. Willing and able to work rotating shifts, weekends, and holidays. DESIRED: Experience as a cook in a correctional facility, military, hospital, university or other large scale eatery. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS and ABILITIES: Working knowledge of: methods of preparing food in quantity and considerable variety, kitchen sanitation, and food storage. Working ability to: plan and direct the work of others; write simple English sentences; understand and follow written and oral instructions and recipes; prepare appetizing food, serve it attractively, and prepare large quantities of food required with a minimum of waste. Supplemental Information: Work is performed primarily in a correctional facility kitchen or food preparation area and may involve contact and supervision of jail inmates in the preparation and serving of food. FILING DATE: This is a continuous recruitment and can be closed at any time; therefore, it is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible. The schedule for the remainder of the process will depend upon when we receive a sufficient number of qualified applications to meet business needs. To apply on-line, please refer to our web site at If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009. Note to Applicants: It is essential that you complete all sections of your application and supplemental questionnaire thoroughly and accurately to demonstrate your qualifications. A resume and/or other related documents may be attached to supplement the information in your application and supplemental questionnaire; however , it/they may not be submitted in lieu of the application and supplemental questionnaire. INFORMATION FOR TRANSFER CANDIDATES NOTE: If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible. If interested, please click here for additional information. SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE - qualifying: All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination AT THE TIME OF FILING. The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire may result in your application being removed from consideration. APPLICATION EVALUATION - qualifying: All applications will be reviewed to determine whether or not the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the screening and selection process. WRITTEN EXAMINATION - 100%: An un-proctored, internet- based, job-related written examination will be conducted to evaluate the candidates' knowledge of cooking, measurement, nutrition, and safety and first aid. Candidates must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list. Candidates successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year. VETERAN'S POINTS: Any person who has been discharged or released under condition other than dishonorable within fifteen (15) years of the final filing date for the position being examined, and who enters a competitive Civil Service Exam for entry level and trainee classifications as designated by the Director-Human Resources, shall receive a preferential credit of five percent (5%) of the maximum score attainable in the exam. Persons retired with pension from the various military services shall not receive this preferential credit. Notwithstanding their date of discharge, veterans who have a service connected disability rating of twenty percent (20%) or more shall be eligible to receive this preferential credit. Such credit shall be allowed only if the veteran attains a passing score in each phase of the exam. No veteran's credit shall be given in a Countywide or AGENCY/DEPARTMENT promotional exam. Presentation of discharge papers or a certified copy thereof for inspection by the Director-Human Resources prior to the final filing date of the announcement shall be required of all applicants seeking Veteran's preference credit. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: After successful completion of the examination process, certified candidates who have been invited to a selection interview and accepted a conditional offer of employment, will undergo a thorough background investigation that will include, but not necessarily be limited to, contacting personal, educational and business references, and Livescan fingerprinting for a criminal records check. Additionally, certified candidates will undergo a polygraph, psychological, and medical examination. Those entering the background process are required to provide a current (issued within the past 30 days) Department of Motor Vehicles printout (K4 - 10 year driving record) to the Background Investigator. For further information about this recruitment, please contact Kristy Madrigal by email at or phone . click apply for full job details