Food Service Positions – On Call, Short-term Staffing Pool

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Are you a dynamic professional with experience in large, fast-paced food service operations?  Bring your expertise to the Ministry of the Solicitor General for a short-term, on-call role to one of our institutions. Make a real impact in a rewarding environment every day!

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About the job

As part of the food service team, you will help prepare meals for inmates and keep the kitchen safe and clean. Click here to learn more including work locations! The meal schedule is routine, but the menus are diverse and customized to dietary needs. Each shift may bring something a little different!

While working in an institutional food service role, you can expect activities such as:
• Ensuring the safety and security of staff and inmates
• Supporting or leading the cook-chill or re-thermalization of food
• Maintaining and sanitizing the kitchen and equipment
• Keeping track of and safely storing ingredients, equipment, and dishware
• Coordinating the delivery of meals
• Receiving and completing documents for incoming goods and equipment
• Guiding and supporting inmate helpers

Join our online Job Information Session!

Learn more about food service positions and the working environment in our institutions during this online session happening on April 28th 2026 at 12pm.Please register. Attendance is voluntary and will not impact your candidacy. We hope you will join us!

A simple way to apply!

A cover letter or resume is NOT needed to apply for a food service role at our institutions. To submit your contact information and details about your food service training and work experience, please follow the link below:

*Application Form Link*

By completing this application form, you are not applying for a specific job, but to an inventory for future short-term (irregular, on-call positions with contracts up to 6 months) vacancies. As these short-term positions become available, you may be contacted for further assessment based on the needs of the organization. If you are interested in applying to any other food service or other positions within the Ontario Public Service (OPS), we encourage you to visit Ontario GoJobs for a complete listing of current competitions. Within this site, you can also sign-up to receive email notifications when Ontario Public Service (OPS) employment opportunities that meet your criteria are posted on the OPS Careers Website.

We will contact you if you are selected to proceed in the recruitment process.

Note: This job posting will remain posted based on operational needs. It may be taken down at any time.

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What you bring to the team

Mandatory requirements

You have these current certifications (or you are able to complete or re-certify these upon hire):

For a Food Service Helper (Assistant) position, you need:
• Food Handler Certificate
• First Aid and Heartsaver Certificates

For a Food Service Officer (Cook) position, you need:
• A Cook's certificate issued by appropriate Ministry or demonstrated equivalent acceptable experience in volume cooking
• A Valid First Aid and Heartsaver Certificate

For all positions, you must be willing to work various shifts, including evenings, weekends and holidays. You will be able to provide your availability ahead of time and your Manager will schedule you based on your availability.

Knowledge and Experience

You have:
• experience using kitchen equipment and tools to prepare snacks and meals
• knowledge of various diets (i.e. lifestyle, medical, religious)
• experience with cook-chill/re-thermalization safety methods as well as volume cooking
• experience following food, health and safety standards and practices
• the ability to know and follow policies and protocols
• the ability to supervise inmate helpers in close quarters and report their conduct (with appropriate training that will be provided)

Skills

You are able to:
• recognize and correct workplace hazards
• interact with staff as well as supervise and direct inmate helpers
• recognize and report problems (i.e, food quality, sanitation, or hygiene control)

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Don't meet every qualification?

If you are excited about this position and meet most, but not all, of the listed qualifications, please still consider applying. We recognize that no one person might have every qualification in this job ad, and you just might be the right candidate!

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How we support diversity, inclusion and accessibility

We are building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We encourage everyone interested in working with us to apply, including people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black and racialized individuals, as well as people from all ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.

Our hiring process is accessible, consistent with Ontario's Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. We are working to prevent and remove barriers in our hiring processes and can offer  accommodation to address specific needs related to Code-protected grounds such as disability, family status and religion. For more information about accommodation during the hiring process please  contact us.

Learn more about the work the OPS is doing to create an inclusive, anti-racist, accessible and diverse workplace:

• diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
• accessibility
• Anti-Racism Policy

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What we offer

The Ontario Public Service is one of Ontario's largest employers. Employees work for a wide range of ministries, with offices in more than 70 cities across the province.

We offer:
• A career that can grow across ministries and job functions
• Flexible learning and developmental opportunities, including education and mentorship programs
• A comprehensive compensation and benefits package
• Base salary that aligns to market trends with performance-based pay and scheduled salary progression
• Tailored work arrangements, including opportunities like flex hours, self-funded leave and more
a modern, friendly and accessible physical work environment

NOTE:
• This is not a competition under Article 6 of the OPSEU collective agreement and will only be used to fill short-term vacancies of less than 6 months in duration.
• This is a continuous posting based on operational need. The original posting date was March 30, 2026. This posting may be extended but could close at any time without notice.

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Additional information:

Note:

• About security checks:
  A criminal or other federal offence record does not automatically disqualify you from the position. We consider each situation based on the position's responsibilities.
  If a check is needed and you've lived outside of Canada in the past 5 years for 6 or more months in a row, or if you are not a Canadian resident, you'll need to provide an out-of-country police clearance certificate from the country you lived in.
  Employment screening checks are only reviewed and evaluated by the Transition and Security Office, which also maintains them and keeps them strictly confidential.

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Language requirements and assessment:
All external Ontario Public Service (OPS) job ads are posted in English and French. Check the "position(s) language" section at the top of each job ad for the language requirements. For all roles, candidates are assessed in English, the business language of the OPS. If the position is bilingual (English/French), you'll also need to pass a French-language proficiency test.

Exigences en matière de langue et évaluation:
Toutes les offres d'emploi externes de la fonction publique de l'Ontario (FPO) sont affichées en français et en anglais. Consultez la section « Langue du ou des postes » en haut de chaque offre d'emploi pour connaître les exigences linguistiques. Pour tous les postes, les candidats sont évalués en anglais, la langue d'affaires de la FPO. Si le poste est bilingue (anglais/français), vous devrez également passer un test de compétences linguistiques en français.

Please be advised that the results of this competition may be used to form an eligibility list of qualified candidates to potentially fill future vacancies represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). In accordance with the Collective Agreement, eligibility lists are shared with OPSEU representatives. By applying to this competition, you are providing consent that your name may be shared with OPSEU representatives.

All external applicants (including former employees of the Ontario Public Service) applying to a competition in a ministry or Commission public body must disclose (either in the cover letter or resume) previous employment with the Ontario Public Service. Disclosure must include positions held, dates of employment and any active restrictions as applicable from being rehired by the Ontario Public Service. Active restrictions can include time and/or ministry-specific restrictions currently in force, and may preclude a former employee from being offered a position with the Ontario Public Service for a specific time period (e.g. one year), or from being offered a position with a specific ministry (either for a pre-determined time period or indefinitely). The circumstances around an employee's exit will be considered prior to an offer of employment.

Information collection notice

We are collecting your personal information to assess how well you meet the qualifications for employment with the Ontario Public Service, and for related recruitment purposes. The collection of personal information is necessary to the proper administration of OPS Careers, which is an authorized common service in accordance with s. 6 of the Ministry of Government Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.25.

Please do not include any more personal information than is needed for your application (for example, do not include your photograph or social insurance number).

If you have any questions about how your information is collected, used, shared or saved, please contact us.