What are the responsibilities and job description for the Cook's Helper position at Rhode Island College?
Join our College Dining Services team and help create a welcoming dining experience for our campus community. We are looking for a dependable, customer-focused team player who enjoys working in a fast-paced environment and takes pride in supporting others through quality food service.
As a Cook’s Helper, you will assist with food preparation, meal service, kitchen sanitation, dishwashing, and other essential kitchen operations. This position plays an important role in ensuring students, faculty, staff, and guests receive excellent service and high-quality meals every day.
The ideal candidate is reliable, energetic, and enjoys working collaboratively as part of a supportive team. Whether you’re preparing ingredients, serving food, maintaining a clean workspace, or assisting cooks and bakers, your contributions will help keep our dining operation running smoothly.
This is an excellent opportunity for candidates with food service, hospitality, or customer service experience who are seeking stable employment, a positive team environment, opportunities to learn and grow, and access to Rhode Island State employee benefits.
Illustrative Examples of Work Performed
As a Cook’s Helper, you will assist with food preparation, meal service, kitchen sanitation, dishwashing, and other essential kitchen operations. This position plays an important role in ensuring students, faculty, staff, and guests receive excellent service and high-quality meals every day.
The ideal candidate is reliable, energetic, and enjoys working collaboratively as part of a supportive team. Whether you’re preparing ingredients, serving food, maintaining a clean workspace, or assisting cooks and bakers, your contributions will help keep our dining operation running smoothly.
This is an excellent opportunity for candidates with food service, hospitality, or customer service experience who are seeking stable employment, a positive team environment, opportunities to learn and grow, and access to Rhode Island State employee benefits.
- As assigned to work as a helper under the close supervision of a cook or food service supervisor by performing such duties as: To wash, peel, chop, dice or grind vegetables, fruits, and other foods for cooking or for salads; to do other simple work in food preparation such as: making toast, coffee, tea, chocolate; preparing cereal, cooking eggs; making sandwiches; stirring soups; boiling potatoes or other vegetables; to prepare patient intravenous feeding by measuring and assembling specified ingredients using graduated devices; to assemble diet trays and as instructed arranges food thereon to be served to patients; loads food onto food trucks or places food in receptacles in steam tables; to set up dining tables for service; and as required to serve food to persons in cafeteria from steam tables; to collect trays, soiled dishes, cutlery, glassware, etc. after meals and to dispose of scrap or leftover foods; to restock and maintain order of limited amounts (week’s supply) of store goods; to wash dishes manually or in an automatic dishwashing machine and to wash cutlery and glassware and to put them in their designated places for reuse; to clean and wash food trucks, dishwashing machines, freezers, walk-in refrigerators and other kitchen equipment and utensils; to clean and washdown the food preparation areas, kitchen cafeteria and related dining areas including floors, walls, immovable equipment and portable food service equipment; and to do related work as required.
- As assigned to work as a helper under the close supervision of a baker by performing such duties as: To assemble materials and to weigh, measure and as instructed mix ingredients by hand or in an electric powered mixing machine; to roll dough, and fill pans with dough or batter; to place goods to be baked in, and remove them from ovens; to perform such tasks as carrying materials to a baker or to machines, depositing ingredients in containers, greasing pans, lining pans with greased paper or other appropriate lining; to move racks or rack trucks of dough and/or batter, or baked goods to and from ovens; to clean bakery areas and related equipment and utensils; and to do related work as required.
- As assigned, to work in the Central Food Processing Plant by performing such duties as: To work as a helper to cooks, bakers and meat cutters in performing such tasks as assembling, portioning, packaging and transporting of materials; to operate a pan and rack washing machine; to wash pots and pans; to clean work areas and refrigerators; and to do related work as required.
Sufficient to follow simple verbal and written directions and to generate simple sums and differences.
Experience
Such as may have been gained through: employment as a helper in a kitchen or bakery in a hospital, hotel or restaurant which required the performance of routine work in food preparation, food service and various tasks incidental to the preparation of food in a kitchen or bakery, and food service in a dining room or cafeteria.
Or Combination of Education and Experience
Any combination of education and experience that shall be substantially equivalent to the above education and experience.
Additional Required Qualifications Knowledges Skills and Capacities
A familiarity with the methods and procedures applied in the cooking and baking of food, and in food service and in cleaning of kitchen or baking areas; the ability to understand and follow simple verbal or written directions; the ability to exercise care in the handling, washing, drying and storing of cooking or baking equipment, and glassware; and related capacities and abilities.
Preferred Qualifications
- Valid State Driver’s License.
- NSF Food Safety Certificate.
- State of RI Food Safety Manager Certificate.
- Foodservice or customer service experience.
Position Details
FLSA
Non-Exempt
Full Time / Part Time
Part time
Work Schedule
16 Hours / Week
Academic Year
Saturday & Sunday: 11:00AM – 7:30PM
Academic Year
Saturday & Sunday: 11:00AM – 7:30PM
Academic or Calendar Year
Academic
Benefits
Full-time employees enjoy an array of benefits including:
- Health and Wellness – Medical, Dental & Vision
- Wellness Incentives and Rewards
- Paid time Off – Vacation, Sick & Holiday
- Retirement Benefits
- Disability and Insurance Benefits
- Education Benefits – Tuition waivers for RIC, CCRI & URI
For a complete listing, visit Employee Benefits.
Reports To (Title)
Assistant Director, Dining Procurement & Resources
Position Status
Permanent - C
End of Restricted or Limited Position
Civil Service List
No
Union Code
classified
Salary Grade
309CA
Minimum Salary for Grade
42432
Maximum Salary for Grade
45267
Added Salary for This Position
$2 shift differential
Collective Bargaining Unit
Council 94 Local 2878
Posting Information
Number of Positions Available
1
Anticipated Start Date
06/04/2026
Application Open Date
Application Close Date
Special Instructions
At the time of appointment must be physically qualified to perform assigned duties as evidenced by a physician’s certificate.
EEO Statement
Rhode Island College is an equal opportunity employer. The institution does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability religion, age, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law. Rhode Island College is committed to maintain a workplace and educational environment that supports equal opportunity, professionalism and respectful engagement for all community members.
Benefits:
Vacation & Paid Time Off, Dental InsuranceSalary : $2