Summary The Advanced Level Practice Dietitian (Advanced Practice Renal Dietitian) will conduct comprehensive nutrition assessments for Veterans using Nutrition Care Process (NCP) assuring high-quality nutrition care under an advanced and expanded scope of practice. They are subject matter experts in advanced clinical nutrition using knowledge, expertise, principles and/or current research to lead dietitians & nutrition specialty care teams to plan, implement, and evaluate organizational initiatives. Responsibilities Functions Or Scopes of Practice: 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 croups, 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 performance 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. Promotion Potential: This position is for GS12. There is no promotion potential for this position. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm, excluding Federal holidays. Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement # PD000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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). Advance Practice Certification: must hold an advanced practice certification from a nationally recognized certifying body such as the Commission on Dietetic Registration 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: Dietitian (Advanced Level Practice), GS-12. Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11) 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. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience and certification above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Skill in leading a team in the implementation of nutrition-related activities. Skill in utilizing evidence- based practice guidelines to establish or modify goals and improve patient outcomes. Ability to communicate in writing to develop policies and standard operating procedures. Ability to serve as a nutrition expert, providing technical guidance, direction and staff development. Ability to lead research or performance improvement studies. Ability to present complex nutrition information to a large group of health care providers to persuade and influence provision of care. 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: Preferred applicant with Board Certification as a Specialist in Renal Nutrition certification. Consideration for individuals that hold another recognized CDR advanced practice certification with 3 years experience in clinical renal setting. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the . Physical Requirements: The Dietitian position is primarily sedentary with long periods of sitting and may also require long periods of standing and walking and lifting light objects. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Reference: VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G20, Dated October 14, 2022. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Education Important: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Education is a basic part of qualifications for this position, failure to submit transcripts with your application package may result in your application being removed from consideration. 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 Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. 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. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.