Supervisory Dietitian (Chief)

Supervisory Dietitian (Chief)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): West Haven, Connecticut

Salary Range: $148222 - $192694 Per Year

Job Summary: The Chief Dietitian position is located in the Nutrition and Food Services at the West Haven, CT location. This position is a Full-Time position at 40 hours per week.

Major Duties:

• Supervisory Dietitians in this assignment serve as Chief of NFS for a complex department and have administrative and technical supervision over GS-13 level staff from both clinical nutrition and food operations and NFS administrative staff. Chiefs of NFS provide leadership and guidance, with wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment, to ensure the diverse activities of the department are closely coordinated, integrating clinical nutrition and food operations Duties include but are not limited to: Oversees all human resource functions for the department. Holds staff accountable for performance and conduct and establishes performance standards and evaluate overall performance of employees. Defines competency requirements, identifies developmental and training needs and takes necessary actions to ensure subordinate personnel maintain and enhance technical and leadership expertise. Develops budget and staffing requirements to manage organizational changes and ensure national directives and goals/objectives are met. - Communicates and advocates with executive leadership for resources. Develops the NFS strategic plan establishing service priorities which address the goals and strategic direction of the medical center, VISN and national programs. Implements a performance improvement program to continually improve delivery of quality, safe and cost-effective food and nutrition care to all patients/residents. Develops and updates policies and procedures, establishes, and oversees a system for regulatory compliance. Ensures NFS compliance with accrediting bodies, standards, and action items. Establishes the department organizational structure, defining the lines of authority essential to carry out the mission of the service. Responsible for accomplishing priorities and ensuring compliance with VHA directives and medical center policy and procedures. Oversees the planning of new endeavors addressing patient care delivery systems and system reorganizations for new or redesigned operational space, equipment requirements, etc. Ensures adherence to the National Dietary Supplement and Subsistence Prime Vendor contracts. Designates the Contracting Officer Representative to negotiate purchase agreements for NFS contracts. Implements security measures in all NFS areas to protect against theft, reduce the risk of food terrorism and maintain Veteran and staff safety. Ensures the dissemination of nutrition related research and quality improvement within the department and facility. Directs resource distribution for food, supply, and labor costs, focusing on benchmarks, delegating resource management to others as appropriate. May perform other related duties which are appropriate for this grade and assignment. Supervisory: The incumbent works under the general supervision of an executive team member who establishes objectives and department goals. The incumbent is expected to complete work assignments with relative independence and minimal guidance, personally setting the deadlines for completion of work. Assumes responsibility in work assignments in accordance with regulations and independently resolves most conflicts by using considerable judgment and interpretation. Work is reviewed to ensure that overall objectives of the position and NFS are met Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30 am - 4:00 pm, EST Telework: Per Supervisory Discretion Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 99498-S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Notifications: EDRP is not authorized. Veterans' Preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.

Qualifications: 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. English Language Proficiency: Dietitians must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d). Registration: 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). Education: The individual must have earned a bachelor's degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college or university or foreign equivalent and fulfilled each of the following criteria: (a) Completed a didactic program in dietetics accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), formerly known as the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetic Education (CADE). (b) Completed an ACEND accredited or approved supervised practice program. Supervised practice programs are post-baccalaureate degree programs that provide supervised practice experiences which meet the eligibility requirements and accreditation standards of ACEND, formally known as CADE. Completion of a coordinated program in dietetics fulfills the requirements of a supervised practice program. Time spent in a dietetic internship or supervised practice program does not qualify as creditable experience. Individuals who have earned college and/or university degrees outside the United States and its territories also must have their transcripts evaluated by a foreign transcript evaluation service to determine if their degree is equivalent to a degree granted by a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Validation of a foreign degree does not eliminate the need for verification of completion of didactic program, dietetic internship, or coordinated program requirements. The completion of ACEND didactic program requirements and at least a bachelor's degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college/university or foreign equivalent are necessary for eligibility to enter an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program. 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 Determination: GS-14 Service Chief: (a) Experience. Completion of 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled, and must fully meet the KSAs at that level. (b) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Knowledge of security measures within food operations to ensure patient and staff safety. Knowledge of organizational structure to assess impact on program operations. Skill in ensuring regulatory requirements are met. Skill in leading a group of professionals to facilitate collaboration and organizational development. Skill in leading managers to establish strategic goals. Ability to oversee the planning of new initiatives addressing patient care delivery systems and system reorganizations. (g) Ability to lead efforts in business administration to include budgeting, contracting and purchasing Assignment. For all supervisory assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, variety and be performed by the incumbent as a major duty at least 25% of the time. The incumbent must spend 25% or more of their time providing administrative and technical supervision over administrative staff who support NFS operations and both a GS-13 Supervisory Dietitian (Food Operations) and GS-13 Supervisory Dietitian (Clinical Nutrition). Supervisory Dietitians in this assignment serve as Chief NFS for a complex NFS department. Chief NFS provides leadership and guidance, with wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment, to ensure the diverse activities of the department are closely coordinated, integrating clinical nutrition and food operations. They exercise a full range of supervisory and personnel management authorities with responsibilities in planning, directing and assessing the work of supervisors and subordinate staff. Chief NFS establishes performance standards and evaluates overall performance of employees, defines competency requirements, identifies developmental and training needs and takes necessary actions to ensure 27 subordinate personnel maintains and enhance technical and leadership expertise. They serve as the technical advisor and subject matter experts in nutrition and food operations. Chief NFS develops budget and staffing requirements to manage organizational changes and ensure national directives and goals/objectives are met. They communicate and advocate with executive leadership for resources. Chief NFS develop the NFS strategic plan establishing service priorities that address the goals and strategic direction of the medical center, VISN and national programs. They are responsible for accomplishing priorities and ensuring compliance with VHA directives and medical center policy and procedures. They oversee planning of endeavours addressing patient care delivery systems and system reorganizations for new or redesigned operational space, equipment requirements, etc. Chief NFS ensures adherence to the National Dietary Supplement and Subsistence Prime Vendor contracts. They designate the Contracting Officer Representative to negotiate purchase agreements for NFS contracts. Chief NFS actively supports, promotes and oversees the implementation of NFS initiatives at the facility level and engages other service chiefs as needed to ensure success. They participate in VISN and National level NFS initiatives and are responsible for all action items for NFS. Chief NFS evaluates overall NFS effectiveness through the review of operations, quality assurance, performance improvement and benchmarks, making decisions based on intricate and unrelated items of information from inconclusive or variable data. They facilitate and support NFS participation in performance improvement studies, ensuring the dissemination of nutrition-related research and quality improvement within the department and facility. Chief NFS leads efforts to provide food-forward, Veteran-centric dining options. They implement security measures in all NFS areas to protect against theft, reduce the risk of food terrorism and maintain Veteran and staff safety. 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). Preferred Experience: NFS Chief preferred experience: minimum of 5 years of facility or service-level leadership experience. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. 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 examination is not required.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/13/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12903634. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-13