Department of Veterans Affairs

Health Technician (Dietetic)

Louisville, Kentucky Full time

Health Technician (Dietetic)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Louisville, Kentucky

Salary Range: $40736 - $59031 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located in the Nutrition and Food Service (N&FS) of the VA Medical Center in Louisville, Kentucky, serving as the Nutrition Communication Center (NCC) Coordinator and works with N&FS information systems. The NCC Coordinator is responsible for maintaining the systems and resolving issues.

Major Duties:

  • This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-06. At the GS-05 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-06. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher-level work, and availability of funds. Major duties and responsibilities will include: Resolves information technology issues related to integration of VISTA, Get Well Network/Touch Tone Dining and N&FS Systems Develops and updates nutrient database on nutrition analysis of menu items served Makes menu/recipe changes and all necessary updates in food service system (any commercial of-the-shelf (COTS) program) Consults with COTS contractor when unable to resolve issues internally Troubleshoots and resolves all electronic or paper menu issues Consults with clinical nutrition staff to resolve tray ticket issues with complex diets; Provides training and orientation for all N&FS employees Serves as NCC liaison between Veterans, multidisciplinary healthcare staff and N&FS staff Participates in performance improvement activities by assisting in the development of indicators and monitors, data collection and analysis, corrective actions and preparation of reports Handles patient problems and complaints related to N&FS as appropriate Ensures compliance with all regulatory agency standards, including state, federal and Joint Commission Performing related duties as required. Designated Drug-Testing Position: 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. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received. Work Schedule: 5:00am-1:30pm Sunday- Thursday Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Dietetic)/PD99602S and PD99861S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Physical Requirements: Routine work requires repetitive motion activities of the hands and fingers for extensive phone, keyboard and computer mouse use, standing and sitting for extended periods of time, intermittent/non-strenuous ambulation around all areas of the medical center, and carrying light items such as papers, books, portable scales, and food trays. Occasionally, duties may require the movement of audio-visual equipment and/or classroom area organization and driving an automobile. Work is performed in an office setting or kitchen setting and involves everyday risks which require normal safety precautions. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/15/2026. Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) for positions at GS-4 and above is: Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. ~OR~ Education and Training: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position. In addition to the IOR, applicants must meet one of the following below. To qualify for this position at the GS-5 grade level, you must meet one of the following: Specialized Experience: At least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-4) in the Federal Service that has given me the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of the Health Technician - Nutrition Communication Center Coordinator position. Specialized experience includes providing assistance with basic computer systems, programs and/or software applications; assisting with training staff on computer systems/software and security issues; collects data to assist with preparing reports. Applicants should possess effective communications skills and show duties performed support medical and/or health personnel. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. ~OR~ Education: Successfully completed a full four (4) year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with 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 college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Combination: Equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total qualification requirements for this grade level. This education must have been obtained at an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university. NOTE: Your experience must be documented in your resume and transcripts are required. To qualify for this position at the GS-6 grade level, you must meet one of the following: Specialized Experience: At least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the Federal Service that has given me the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of the Health Technician - Nutrition Communication Center Coordinator position. Specialized experience includes providing technical assistance with specialized computer systems, programs and/or software applications; assisting with training for staff on specialized computer systems/software and security issues; collects and analyzes data to prepare reports. Applicants should possess effective communications skills and show duties performed support medical and/or health personnel such as Nutritionists or Dietitians. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. ~OR~ Education: Successfully completed one half (½) year of graduate education (9 semester hours or equivalent) with a major that included courses directly related to the work of this position (i.e. nutrition, dietary therapy, food and nutrition science, food service systems management, etc.). Such graduate education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Combination: Equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate-level education and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total qualification requirements for this grade level. This education must have been obtained at an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university. NOTE: Your experience must be documented in your resume and transcripts are required. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. 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/. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. If initial application submission is updated and resubmitted with a new resume the most current resume will be reviewed for consideration. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online questionnaire and submission of the required documentation specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12860918. The application process is as follows: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 01/15/2026. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. NOTE: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-15