Qualifications

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)
• Exception for GS-07 and GS-09 Only: Dietitians who do not possess the RDN/RD credential
• Non-credentialed Dietitians who otherwise meet the basic qualification requirements and have fulfilled the requirements below, but do not possess the RDN credential, may be given a full-time temporary appointment not to exceed one year under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405(c)(2)
• May only be appointed at the GS-07 or GS-09 level and may not be promoted/converted until they obtain their RDN credential
• Non-credentialed Dietitians must have fulfilled each of the following: Earned a bachelor's or higher degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college or university or foreign equivalent
• 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
• ~AND~ Completed an ACEND accredited experiential or supervised practice program and provide a verification statement from the program director that conveys eligibility to take the CDR registration exam as a prospective RDN
• A list of ACEND accredited programs are located on the ACEND website or at ACEND Accredited Programs Directory
• 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: Supervisory Dietitian (Clinical Nutrition), GS-12
• 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: (a) Knowledge of accrediting requirements in clinical nutrition to assess staff compliance and implement performance improvements
• (b) Skill as a nutrition expert to provide technical guidance, direction and staff development
• (c) Skill in Evidence-Based Nutrition Practice Guidelines to develop, implement and coordinate best practices
• (d) Skill in establishing goals and objectives to coordinate activities, evaluate accomplishments and solve problems
• (e) Ability to supervise subordinate staff (i.e., plan, organize, delegate, direct, control and review activities and performance)
• (f) Ability to analyze data in order to recommend allocation of resources
• 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)
• 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-12
• Physical Requirements: The position requires intermittent walking and standing
• Carrying normal amounts of written/reference materials is routinely done
• Occasionally, duties may require the movement of audio-visual equipment, charts and arrangement of classroom areas.