Health Technician (Dietetic)- Detail/Temporary Promotion

This position is in Nutrition and Food Services (NFS) located in a Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The primary purpose of the position is to provide administrative and customer service support for the VA hospital food service program. Performs routine duties that require exceptional customer service, computer skills, proper phone etiquette, proficiency in special food service and therapeutic diet procedures.

**This is a temporary Health Technician (Dietetic) position not to exceed 1 year. There is the possibility of an extension with facility approval.

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Utilizes a computer to enter and retrieve basic information.
• Utilizes dietetic software programs to retrieve diet orders, recipes, and menu and inventory data.
• Prints and assembles packets.
• Properly operates telephone equipment to transfer or place calls on hold.
• Provides professional and courteous customer service.
• Triages telephone calls from customers and/or patients.
• Provides basic-level education and information on therapeutic diets to patients, guests, and nursing staff.
• Resolves customer and/or patient complaints.
• Utilizes knowledge of basic and routine modified diets to identify problems in diet order information and take appropriate corrective action.
• Correctly interprets diet activity and patient information, to ensure appropriate food items on meals trays.
• Verifies physician orders for unusual diets, conflicting modifications, tube feeding orders and nutritional supplements.
• Assist with food selections, ensuring appropriateness of menu selections for complex diets.
• Answers the telephone using proper business etiquette; communicates with customers in a pleasant, friendly, personable, and professional manner. Communicates effectively via telephone and in-person.
• Attends to both verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication.

Work Schedule: Full time, Varies from 5:00am to 7:00pm including Weekends & Holidays.
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Dietetic)- Detail/Temporary Promotion/PD99855S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/17/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: performing duties in food service in a hospital environment; knowledge of tray assembly area procedures; using dietetics software programs; familiarity with regular and modified diets; assisting with food selections; following verbal and written instructions; and using computer equipment, phone system, and printers. Effective communication skills both verbally and in writing and good customer service.

OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successful completion of a full four (4) year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with a major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to this position (i.e. nutrition, dietary therapy, food and nutrition science, food service systems management, etc.). This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. Determine the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the year of specialized experience required at the GS-5 level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business or technical school. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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/.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work requires walking, standing, bending, lifting, and carrying of light items. Require long periods of sitting and moving about in an office environment, including repetitive motion activities of the hands/fingers for extensive keyboard and computer mouse use. Subject to periods continuous standing, sitting, walking and frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Subject to background/security investigation.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.