Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

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This position is in Nutrition and Food Services (NFS) located in a Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Haven Connecticut.

• The incumbent will practice excellent customer service skills in all forms of communication, either via telephone, e-mail or in-person.
• The incumbent must also practice proper business telephone etiquette while answering the phone. When communicating with customers, incumbent will be pleasant, friendly, personable, and professional. Incumbent will welcome callers courteously and identify themselves/ the service/ the organization. Communicates effectively via telephone and in-person and uses strong listening and speaking skills. Properly operates telephone equipment in order to transfer or place calls on hold.
• The incumbent will consider both verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication. The Incumbent will maintain the vital connection between Nutrition Communication Center (NCC) Associates, Registered Dietitian, higher graded dietetic technicians, food service staff, Nursing, patients and guests. NCC Associate will follow local-facility policies and standard procedures for patient feeding, including but not limited to missed patient meals, late tray requests, patient meal ordering, and adherence to prescribed therapeutic diet.

Duties of the position include but not limited to:

• Handles patient meal service orders.
• Completes quality monitors to ensure food items/menu selections for regular and therapeutic diets are prepared and served appropriately (i.e. accuracy, timeliness, appearance, and temperature, dysphagia food testing).
• Ensures all food/supplies are covered, labeled, and dated.
• Stores, rotates, and inventories stock items and disposes outdated food/beverages.
• Advises supervisor of any special orders or changes needed that may impact food production, including instances when substitutions are needed due to food preferences.
• Collaborates with Dietitians regarding food/drug interactions and notifies clinical staff of potential issues.
• Follows policies and procedures for patient feeding, including but not limited to missed patient meals, late tray requests, patient meal ordering, and adherence to prescribed therapeutic diet.
• Conducts meal rounds on units after tray delivery to ensure patient satisfaction and provides service recovery and meal corrections when needed.
• Triages calls from inpatient/outpatient clinics and procedure areas related to patient meal/nourishments.
• Assists patients in selection of the proper foods according to their individual diet.
• Takes appropriate action to maximize patient satisfaction with meal service.
• Answers questions and provides information about menu and food items.
• Conducts patient rounds to discuss menu available food items and ways to order meals.
• Enters meal orders into a computerized system.
• Retrieves computerized information/printouts to assist with tray and/or nourishment assembly.
• Collecting, compiling, and entering data from patient satisfaction surveys.
• Prints lists, reports, labels, and tray tickets following established local procedures.

Work Schedule: 40 Hours a week, Monday-Sunday,10:00AM-7:30PM, Rotating Tours Including Holidays, EST.
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement).
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Dietetic)/PD99855-S PD
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Notifications:

• Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified Veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.
• This position is in a Bargaining Union.
• Position is in the Competitive Service.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• 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.
• 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 identification 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 probationary 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 probationary period period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/15/2026.

English Proficiency: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.

Health Aid and Technician Series, 0640 Individual Occupational Requirements:

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled.
OR,
Education and Training:
For GS-5: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position.

You must qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

GS-05 Specialized Experience: At least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-04) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of this Health Technician (Dietetic) position. Specialized experience includes performing duties in food service in a hospital environment; knowledge of tray assembly area procedures; using dietetics software programs; familiarity with regular and modified diets; assisting with food selections; following verbal and written instructions; and using computer equipment, phone system, and printers. This position requires effective communication skills both verbally and in writing and good customer service.

NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

OR,

Education: A bachelor's degree or four (4) years of education above the high school level with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position (i.e. nutrition, dietary therapy, food and nutrition science, food service systems management, etc.). This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal pre-requisite.

NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

OR,

Combination: An equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total qualification requirements for this grade level. This education must have been obtained at an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university.

NOTE: Your experience must be documented in your resume and transcripts are required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Physical Requirements/ Working Conditions-Work is performed in a hospital and involves some exposure to contagious diseases. The employee must observe ergonomics pertaining to working in an office setting with electrical and stationary equipment. Employee must be alert to wet floors, gas, steam, electrical equipment, and general safety precautions including correct lifting techniques in all potential work areas. Discomfort may exist due to changes in temperature and/or humidity. Standard precautions may necessitate the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in situations of potential exposure.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.