Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open only to current permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, current permanent Federal employees, AND all US Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Major duties include, but not limited to:

• Manages all aspects of the program for the facility, assuring local compliance with national policy and direction.
• Coordinates with the multidisciplinary team to develop local goals. Measures progress toward the goals and reports to the appropriate officials at a local, VISN and national level.
• Provides direct patient care by developing and implementing comprehensive nutrition therapy, practicing within their scope/clinical privileges.
• Serves as the professional and technical advisor for their program.
• Promotes and maintains effective working relationships with all faculty and significant parties at the national, state, and local level.
• Directs or participates in the design of studies, collects data, conducts statistical analysis, interprets findings, and translates results into written and oral communications.
• Sets priorities, delegates tasks, meets multiple deadlines, analyzes organizational problems, and develops and implements effective solutions.
• Serves as a consultant and technical advisor within NFS and with other facility health care staff in evaluating health care delivery to Veterans and employees.
• Determines the continuing education needs of program staff and appropriate resources to meet those needs.
• Oversees all aspects for the program, policy, and procedure development.
• Oversees development and maintenance of training and reference materials.
• Establishes and manages program goals and objectives.
• Plans and administers a program, coordinates associated activities and resources, evaluates program accomplishments, redefines priorities, problem solves, and modifies objectives.
• Takes an active role in the fiscal management for the program, identifying resource needs that may include staffing, supplies, contracts, etc.
• Maintains program information through approved social media outlets.
• May perform other related duties as assigned which are appropriate for this grade and assignment.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 7:30am-4:00pm
Telework: Ad-Hoc, determined by agency policy and needs of the service.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: PD99400S
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).

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.
• 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).
• English Language Proficiency. Dietitian candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, EmployeeOccupational Health Service for requirements.

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: Dietitian (Facility Program Coordinator), GS-12

Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of program administration establishes program goals and objectives, coordinates activities, evaluates accomplishments and solves problems.
• Skill in developing quality improvement or research activities.
• Skill in developing training and reference materials.
• Ability to develop policies and procedures.
• Ability to provide program-specific coordination to include leadership, technical advice and staff development.

Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty)and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Employees in this assignment serve as Facility Dietitian Program Coordinator leading a multi-disciplinary team. Dietitian Program Coordinators may provide direct patient care by developing and implementing comprehensive nutrition therapy, practicing within their scope/clinical privileges. They are administratively responsible for a specialty program and provide program-specific leadership, guidance and direction, technical advice and staff development. Dietitian Program Coordinators oversee responsibilities for program, policy and procedure development, set goals, monitor and redefine priorities and may have an active role in the fiscal management for the program. They direct or participate in the design of research activities or quality improvement studies, including data collection and analysis. Dietitian Program Coordinators have oversight of and are responsible for developing and maintaining training and reference materials. They maintain program information through approved social media outlets. Dietitian Program Coordinators may supervise up to two employees. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation.

Preferred Experience:

• 3 years experience working with a Comprehensive Lifestyle Improvement program
• 3 years experience working in outpatient nutrition clinics, individual and group classes
• 2 years experience with program management and/or continuous process improvement (CPI) projects

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

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

Functional Requirements: Individuals, including wage-grade drivers, title 5, title 38, and hybrid title 38 employees or volunteers who are required to operate a government owned or leased vehicle to successfully carry out their assigned duties must be medically cleared prior to appointment (positions that require a CDL are covered under a separate OF-178).

Assessment must be made for any acute or chronic medical/physical condition or medication use which interferes with the ability operate the appropriate Government-owned or -leased vehicle safely and without undue risk to themselves or others. The following requirements must be met:

• distant vision 20/40 in one eye with or without correction,
• field of vision 70 degrees,
• ability to distinguish red, green and amber,
• whispered voice at five feet, or average hearing loss of not greater than 40 dbs. at 500, 1000 and 2,000 Hz.

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.