Supervisory Dietitian (Food Operations)

Description:

The Supervisory Dietitian (Food Operations) is an expert in food focused nutrition and provides supervision of a complex Veteran-Centric food operation which consists of four distinct sections (Informatics, Food Service, Production and Nutrition Communications Center). They are an essential part of the Nutrition and Food Service executive leadership team.

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).
• English Language Proficiency . Dietitian candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English.

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 : All individuals assigned to this occupation must meet all the basic qualification requirements above and all the requirements defined in the specific assignment below:

Supervisory Dietitian (Food Operations), GS-13:

• (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 business administration practices such as budget planning, contracting and food and supply purchasing to operate a food service program successfully.
  • (b) Skill in written communication including policy development and standard operating procedures.
  • (c) Skill in strategic planning to develop goals, objectives and action plans.
  • (d) Skill in analyzing data to monitor progress towards improving and sustaining outcomes.
  • (e) Ability to supervise subordinate staff (i.e., plan, organize, delegate, direct, control and review activities and performance).
  • (f) 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: At least 3 years in a supervisory position to include experience in food operation management (ex: Informatics, Food Service, Production and Nutrition Communication Center).

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

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.