Supervisory Dietitian (Food Operations)

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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).
• Registration: (1) All applicants must hold the RDN credential from the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) the credentialing agency of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Note: Applicants who hold the RDN credential have met the education requirement (e.g. bachelor's degree or higher) of CDR, as such this occupation is considered professional and scientific with a positive education requirement and the procedures in Part I, Chapter 4 of this Handbook will be followed when applying Veteran's preference.

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).

Grandfathering Provision. Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification, where applicable. Employees appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, either on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.

Grade Determinations: Supervisory Dietitian (Food Operations), GS-13

• 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 business administration practices such as budget planning, contracting and food and supply purchasing to operate a food service program successfully.
  • Skill in written communication including policy development and standard operating procedures.
  • Skill in strategic planning to develop goals, objectives and action plans.
  • Skill in analyzing data to monitor progress towards improving and sustaining outcomes.
  • Ability to supervise subordinate staff (i.e., plan, organize, delegate, direct, control and review activities and performance).
  • Ability to negotiate.

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 staff who are at the full performance level or above. Employees in this Supervisory Dietitian Food Operations assignment report to the NFS Chief. They supervise a complex Veteran-Centric food operation consisting of four distinct sections (Informatics, Food Service, Production and NCC). Supervisory Dietitians make decisions based on intricate and unrelated information and assumptions from inconclusive or variable data in all aspects of food operations. They provide food-operations-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 food operations section. They develop and lead food 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 manage the budget and other resources, anticipating future trends and inflation, new service opportunities, recommendations for growth, efficiencies and strategic efforts are factored into resource requests and brought to the Chief. They direct staff in the management of contracts, subsistence, supply purchasing for NFS and submitting reports to the NFS Chief. Supervisory Dietitians solicit support and/or negotiate with facility managers to influence decisions to support food operations section success. They collaborate closely with the clinical nutrition section to enhance the Veteran dining experience and to support the strategic goals of the clinical nutrition section and NFS.

Preferred Experience: One year of supervisory experience, and one year of food service experience in a health care setting.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

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.