Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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FUNCTIONS/SCOPES OF PRACTICE:
- Provides clinical nutrition section specific leadership serving as professional and technical advisor to staff and other health care professionals.
- Has oversight over HR staffing, employee relations and labor relations in Clinical Nutrition section.
- Exercises a full range of supervisory and personnel management authorities and assumes full responsibility in planning, directing, and assessing work of subordinate staff.
- Establishes a training plan for the clinical section that is based on evidence based nutrition.
- Develops and leads clinical nutrition operations.
- Establishes strategic goals and ensure priorities align with the strategic plan of the NFS department, VISN and national programs
- Leads performance improvement efforts within Clinical Nutrition section, acting on quality improvement data and plans.
- Identifies and prioritizes problems, sets long and short-term goals, develops action plans and analyses data to evaluate progress to improve outcomes.
- Develops and updates policies and procedures and the establishment and oversight of a system for regulatory compliance.
-Solicits support and/or negotiate with facility managers to influence decision making and garner support to ensure clinical nutrition operations are a success.
- Collaborates closely with the supervisory dietitians to cover the work in all NFS and execute the activities of the department.
- May perform other related duties as assigned which are appropriate for this grade and assignment.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:
- The incumbent works under the general supervision of the Supervisory Dietitian, Chief, Nutrition and Food Services, who establishes objectives and department priorities.
- The incumbent is expected to complete work assignments with relative independence and minimal guidance, personally setting the deadlines for work completions. They assume responsibility in work assignments in accordance with regulations and independently and resolves most conflicts by using considerable judgment and interpretation.
- Work is reviewed to ensure that overall objectives of the position are met.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, some weekends for On-call availability
Compressed/Flexible:Not available
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: PD99517S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency. Dietitian candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) or Registered Dietitian (RD) - Must be registered with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) the credentialing branch of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics formerly known as the American Dietetic Association (ADA).

Note: Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Registered Dietitian. RDN and Registered Dietitian (RD) credentials are the same and both are qualifying. The difference between RDN and RD is in name only due to a change by the professional academy in 2014. In this standard, the term RDN will be used.

Current VHA Dietitians that qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision may not be promoted to a higher grade if they do not meet the current RDN/RD requirements.

Grade Determinations:
Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

AND

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
(a) Skill in written communication including policy development and standard operating procedures.
(b) Skill in strategic planning to develop goals, objectives and action plans.
(c) Skill in analyzing data to monitor progress towards improving and sustaining outcomes.
(d) Ability to negotiate.
(e) Ability to supervise subordinate staff (i.e., plan, organize, delegate, direct, control and review activities and performance)

Assignment. For all supervisory assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, variety and be performed by the incumbent as a major duty at least 25% of the time. The incumbent must spend 25% or more of their time providing administrative and technical supervision over Dietitians at the GS-12 level or below. Supervisory Dietitians in this Clinical Nutrition assignment report to the NFS Chief. They make decisions based on intricate and unrelated information and assumptions from inconclusive or variable data in all aspects of nutrition operations. They provide clinical nutrition section-specific leadership and exercise a full range of supervisory and personnel management authorities and responsibilities in planning, directing and assessing the work of subordinate staff. Supervisory Dietitians establish a training plan for the clinical section. They develop and lead clinical nutrition operations, establish strategic goals and ensure priorities align with the strategic plan of the NFS department, VISN and national programs. Supervisory Dietitians identify and prioritize problems, set long and short-term goals, develop action plans and analyze data to evaluate progress to improve outcomes. They are responsible for developing and updating policies and procedures and establishing and overseeing a system for regulatory compliance. Supervisory Dietitians solicit support and/or negotiate with facility managers to influence decision making and garner support to ensure clinical nutrition operations succeed. They collaborate closely with the food operations section to enhance the Veteran's dining experience and to support the strategic goals of the food service section and NFS.

Preferred Experience: Five years or greater clinical dietitian experience, supervisor/leadership experience.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

Résumé Reminder: Your résumé must include the following information each job listed:
1. Job title
2. Duties (be as detailed as possible)
3. Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2017 to April 2025)
4. Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred based on Veterans' preference.