Dietitian (Facility Program Coordinator)

The Facility Program Coordinator leads the MOVE Weight Management Program at the Columbia VA Health Care System and Community Based Outpatient (CBOCs); advises the Assistant Chief and Chief, Nutrition & Food Services on all matters pertinent to this program and utilizes advanced practice skills, knowledge and judgement to improve treatment services.

Dietitians in this assignment serve as a Facility Program Coordinator leading a multidisciplinary team. They are administratively responsible for a specialty program and provide program-specific leadership, guidance and direction, technical advice, and staff development. Facility Program Coordinators have oversight responsibilities for program, policy, and procedure development, set goals, monitor, and redefine priorities and may have an active role in the fiscal management for the program. They direct or participate in the design of research activities or quality improvement studies, including data collection and analysis. Facility Program Coordinators have oversight of and are responsible for developing and maintaining training and reference materials.

- Manages all aspects of the program for the facility, assuring local compliance with national policy and direction.
- Coordinates with the multidisciplinary team to develop local goals. Measures progress toward the goals and reports to the appropriate officials at a local, VISN and national level.
- Provides direct patient care by developing and implementing comprehensive nutrition therapy, practicing within their scope/clinical privileges.
- Serves as the professional and technical advisor for their program.
- Promotes and maintains effective working relationships with all faculty and significant parties at the national, state, and local level.
- Directs or participates in the design of studies, collects data, conducts statistical analysis, interprets findings, and translates results into written and oral communications.
- Sets priorities, delegates task, meets multiple deadlines, analyzes organizational problems and develops and implements effective solutions.
- Serves as a consultant and technical advisor within NFS and with other facility health care staff in evaluating health care delivery to Veterans and employees.
- Determines the continuing education needs of program staff and appropriate resources to meet those needs.
- Oversees all aspects for the program, policy, and procedure development.
- Oversees development and maintenance of training and reference materials.
- Establishes and manages program goals and objectives.
- Plans and administers a program, coordinates associated activities and resources, evaluates program accomplishments, redefines priorities, problem solves, and modifies objectives.
- Takes an active role in the fiscal management for the program, identifying resource needs that may include staffing, supplies, contracts, etc.
- Maintains program information through approved social media outlets.
- May perform other related duties as assigned which are appropriate for this grade and assignment.


Work Schedule: 8:00a to 4:30p, Monday thru Friday, Hours subject to change based on agency needs
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 99400-S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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.
• Registration:
• (1) 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.
• (2) Exception for Dietitians who do not possess the RDN credential.
• (a) Non-credentialed Dietitians who meet the basic qualification requirements and have fulfilled the requirements below, but do not possess the RDN credential, may be given a temporary full-time appointment not to exceed one year under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2).
• i. Non-credentialed Dietitians must have fulfilled each of the following:
• A Earned a bachelor's or higher degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college, university or foreign equivalent (refer to ii below).
• B 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 is located on the ACEND® website or at ACEND Accredited Programs Directory.
• ii. 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.
• (b) Non-credentialed Dietitians may only be appointed at the GS-07 or GS-09 grade level and may not be promoted/converted until they obtain their RDN credential.
• (c) Non-credentialed Dietitians must provide care under the supervision of a RDN at or above the full performance level.
• (d) Temporary appointments of non-credentialed Dietitian will not be extended beyond one year or converted to a new temporary appointment.
• (e) Failure to Obtain Registration. In all cases, Dietitians must actively pursue meeting registration requirements starting from their appointment date. At the time of appointment, servicing Human Resources (HR) staff in collaboration with the supervisor, will provide non-registered Dietitians the written requirement to obtain registration, the date by which they must acquire it and the consequences for not doing so by the deadline. Failure to obtain registration within one year from the date of appointment will result in removal from the Dietitian, GS-0630 occupation and may result in termination of employment.
• c. Loss of Credential. In collaboration with HR Office staff, management officials must immediately relieve employees who fail to maintain the required registration/certification of duties and responsibilities associated with the II-G20-4 occupation and/or assignment, which may also result in separation from employment.

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: Dietitian (Facility Program Coordinator) GS-12
(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 program administration establishes program goals and objectives, coordinates activities, evaluates accomplishments and solves problems.
(b) Skill in developing quality improvement or research activities.
(c) Skill in developing training and reference materials.
(d) Ability to develop policies and procedures.
(e) Ability to provide program-specific coordination to include leadership, technical advice and staff development.

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 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 is not required.

IMPORTANT: 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.
• 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.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.