Supervisory Dietitian (Food Operations)

Description:

The Supervisory Dietitian (Food Operations) at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS) in San Antonio, Texas is assigned to the Nutrition and Food Service. The Dietitian leads a multidisciplinary team and is administratively responsible for a specialty program and provides program specific leadership, guidance and direction, technical advice and staff development.

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.
• English Language Proficiency. Dietitian candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Registration. 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).

Grade Determinations :
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:

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

(3) 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:

• Master's degree in business administration, health care administration or clinical dietetics.
• A minimum of 2 years food service management.
• Experience in a commercial kitchen build or remodel.
• LEAN yellow belt certification or higher.

References: VA Handbook 5005/154, Part II, Appendix G20, dated October 14, 2022.

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

Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting/carrying (15-44 lbs), use of fingers, near vision and mental/emotional stability is required, operate a motor vehicle, hearing (aid permitted), Environmental Factors include slippery or uneven walking surfaces, working around machinery with moving parts, working closely with others and independently, and sit for extended periods at computer screen for majority of the work day.