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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Major duties include but are not limited to:
- Leads dietitians and speciality multidisciplinary teams in developing nutrition related services, policies, procedures and/or protocols.
- Provides comprehensive medical nutritional care applying the NCP in a specialty program, and/or a variety of patient care settings. Bases individualized nutrition interventions on the best available research and/or evidence-based guidelines and best practices.
- Provides nutrition education to individuals, small and large groups, peers, licensed practitioner(s), medical students, interns, and residents as applicable.
- Provides consultative services regarding advanced therapies, policies, procedures, and research in the provision of quality nutritional care.
- Develops, monitors, and directs practice-specific benchmarks based on standards of care or national initiatives.
- Utilizes knowledge, expertise, principles and/or current research to plan, implement and evaluate organizational initiatives. - Leads the implementation of new nutrition initiatives or a change in practice to achieve strategic goals.
- Establishes goals, measures outcomes and reports progress toward meeting goals to medical center committees, health care teams and/or professional groups.
- Leads staff, creates, and validates competencies and develops training activities.
- Leads nutrition research studies or performance improvement and communicates findings through reports, abstracts, presentations and/or peer-reviewed professional publications.
- Presents at seminars, workshops, and lectures to convey current nutrition information on new and changing concepts.
- May perform other related duties as assigned which are appropriate for this grade and assignment.

Work Schedule: 8:00am- 4:30pm Monday-Friday
Telework: Ad-Hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: PD99522S
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).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations:Dietitian (Facility Program Coordinator), GS-12
(1) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
(2) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
(a) Knowledge of program administration establishes program goals and objectives, coordinates activities, evaluates accomplishments and solves problems.
(b) Skill in developing quality improvement or research activities.
(c) Skill in developing training and reference materials.
(d) Ability to develop policies and procedures.
(e) Ability to provide program-specific coordination to include leadership, technical advice and staff development
(3) 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: Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES)

Reference: VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G20

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations or operative/invasive procedures. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. May be required to complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, as employment conditions.

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.