Dietitian (Facility Program Coordinator)

Description:

This Dietitian (Facility Program Director) position is in the Nutrition and Food Services Line at the VA Connecticut, Healthcare System, located in West Haven, Connecticut. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Requirements:

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).
• Foreign Education . To be creditable, college and/or university degrees earned outside the U.S and its territories must be evaluated by ACEND and meet ACEND's International Dietitian Education standards which are designed to provide graduates with the knowledge and competencies to sit for the CDR credentialing exam.
• English Language Proficiency . Dietitians must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d).

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.
The following provisions apply to employees who do not meet all the qualification requirements:
(1) Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to a lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or be newly placed in a supervisory or managerial position.
(2) Employees must meet the assignment-specific certification/education requirements to be placed in Dietitian (Advanced Level Practice) or Dietitian (Dietetic Internship Director) assignments.
(3) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or registration/certification that meet all the qualification standard's basic or assignment-specific requirements must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation/assignment.
(4) Employees retained in this occupation under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry in the occupation.

GS-12 Dietitian (Facility Program Coordinator) Experience Requirement : In addition to meeting the basic requirements listed above, to qualify for the GS-12 you must possess at least 1 year of experience as an RDN/RD equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11) which demonstrates the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (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: Candidate must be a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with at least one year of experience working with patients desiring to lose weight.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.

Reference: VA HANDBOOK 5005/154 October 14, 2022 PART II APPENDIX G20 II-G20-1 APPENDIX G20. DIETITIAN QUALIFICATION STANDARD GS-0630.
For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ .