Supervisory Dietitian-Chief of Nutrition and Food Services

Supervisory Dietitian-Chief of Nutrition and Food Services

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Nashville, Tennessee

Salary Range: $124531 - $161889 Per Year

Job Summary: Supervisory Dietitian (Chief, Nutrition & Food Services) 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 work of supervisors and subordinate staff.

Major Duties:

• Serves as the technical advisor and subject matter expert in nutrition and food operations in a healthcare facility. They actively support, promote, and oversee the implementation of NFS initiatives at the facility level and engages other service chiefs as needed to ensure success. They evaluate the overall programmatic effectiveness of the nutrition and food program to ensure inpatient nutritional needs are met by providing a constantly rotating mix of healthy, delicious meals. Major Duties: Oversees all human resource functions for the department. Holds staff accountable for performance and conduct. 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. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 0730am - 4:00pm; the actual work schedule is at the needs of the service. Telework: Available / adhoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 99498-S Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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. English Language Proficiency: Dietitian candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Registration: All applicants 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). Grandfathering Provision. Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification, where applicable. Employees appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, either on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Grade Determinations: GS-14 GS-14 Supervisory Dietitian-(Chief, Nutrition & Food Services) Experience Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-14 do you possess at least 1 year of experience as an RDN/RD equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-13) which demonstrates the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. 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 diverse 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. Ability to lead efforts in business administration to include budgeting, contracting and purchasing. Preferred Experience: Three years experience in supervisory dietitian role in hospital or healthcare setting. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The position requires intermittent walking and standing. Carrying normal amounts of written/reference materials is routinely done. Occasionally, duties may require the movement of audio-visual equipment, charts and arrangement of classroom areas.

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 12/22/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12846712. 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: 2025-12-22