Summary Advanced Level Practice Dietitians are advanced in clinical nutrition and uses knowledge, expertise, principles and/or current research to lead dietitians and nutrition specialty care teams to plan, implement, and evaluate organizational initiatives. They conduct comprehensive nutrition assessments for Veterans using the Nutrition Care Process (NCP) assuring high-quality nutrition care under an advanced and expanded scope of practice. Responsibilities Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties: Leads dietitians and specialty multidisciplinary teams in developing nutrition related services, policies, procedures and/or protocols. Provides comprehensive medical nutritional care applying the NCP in a specialty program, and/or a variety of patient care settings. Bases individualized nutrition interventions on the best available research and/or evidence-based guidelines and best practices. Provides nutrition education to individuals, small and large groups, peers, licensed practitioner(s), medical students, interns, and residents as applicable. Provides consultative services regarding advanced therapies, policies, procedures, and research in the provision of quality nutritional care. Develops, monitors, and directs practice-specific benchmarks based on standards of care or national initiatives. Utilizes knowledge, expertise, principles and/or current research to plan, implement and evaluate organizational initiatives. Leads the implementation of new nutrition initiatives or a change in practice to achieve strategic goals. Establishes goals, measures outcomes and reports progress toward meeting goals to medical center committees, health care teams and/or professional groups. Leads staff, creates, and validates competencies and develops training activities. Leads nutrition research studies or performs improvement and communicates findings through reports, abstracts, presentations and/or peer-reviewed professional publications. Presents at seminars, workshops, and lectures to convey current nutrition information on new and changing concepts. May perform other related duties as assigned which are appropriate for this grade and assignment. Work Schedule: 8am - 4:30pm. Telework: Available per Agency Policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: PD99253S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. 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). 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: All individuals assigned to this occupation must meet all the basic qualification requirements above and all the requirements defined in the specific assignment. Dietitian (Advanced Level Practice), GS-12. (1) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (2) Certification. Must hold an advanced practice certification from a nationally recognized certifying body such as the Commission on Dietetic Registration, the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists or the National Board of Nutrition Certification. The certification must be directly related to the assignment being filled. For example, where the assignment requires diabetes management, a Board Certified-Advanced Diabetes Management or Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists certification is qualifying. Commonly held certifications include Board Certified Specialist in Renal Nutrition; Board Certified Specialist in Gerontological Nutrition; Registered Dietitian Nutritionist-Advanced Practitioner; Certified Nutrition Support Clinician. (3) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience and certification above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Skill in leading a team in the implementation of nutrition-related activities. (b) Skill in utilizing evidence- based practice guidelines to establish or modify goals and improve patient outcomes. (c) Ability to communicate in writing to develop policies and standard operating procedures. (d) Ability to serve as a nutrition expert, providing technical guidance, direction and staff development. (e) Ability to lead research or performance improvement studies. (f) Ability to present complex nutrition information to a large group of health care providers to persuade and influence provision of care. (4) Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Employees in this assignment serve as an Advanced-Level Dietitian. They conduct comprehensive nutrition assessments for Veterans using the NCP assuring high-quality nutrition care under an advanced and expanded scope of practice. Advanced-Level Dietitians lead a multi disciplinary team developing nutrition-related services, policies, procedures and/or protocols. They provide consultative services regarding advanced therapies and research in providing quality nutritional care. Advanced Level Dietitians develop, monitor and direct practice-specific benchmarks based on standards of care or national initiatives. They utilize knowledge, expertise, principles and/or current research to plan, implement and evaluate organizational initiatives. Advanced-Level Dietitians lead the implementation of new nutrition initiatives or a change in practice to achieve strategic goals. They establish goals, measure outcomes and report progress toward meeting goals to medical center committees, health care teams and/or professional groups. Advanced-Level Dietitians lead staff, create and validate competencies and develop training activities. They lead nutrition research studies or performance improvement and communicate findings through reports, abstracts, presentations and/or peer-reviewed professional publications. Advanced-Level Dietitians present at seminars, workshops and lectures to convey current nutrition information on new and changing concepts. 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: Board Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition (CSO) preferred. References: VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G20 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. Education Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. ACEND accredited programs are located on the ACEND website or at ACEND Accredited Programs Directory. Additional Information This position provides nutrition services for JJPVA's Nutrition Oncology Program, including providing services for the medical, surgical, and radiation oncology departments. They represent nutrition on various Tumor Boards and serve as Co-Coordinator for Head and Neck Cancer Tumor Board. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. RESUME REMINDER: Your resume must include the following information for each job listed: Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible) Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008) Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week) Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all the questions by addressing your work experience in detail. Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.