Health Tech Lead (Dietetic)

Summary This position is organizationally aligned under Division of the Nutrition and Food Services located at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI. (695) – a Level 1a Complexity VHA Facility. Responsibilities The primary purpose of the position is to provide administrative and customer service support for the VA hospital food service program and to perform Leader duties. The employee, as a regular and recurring part of the assignment, provides leadership to 7.4 FTEE Health Technician (Dietetic), GS-0640-05 positions. Major Duties: Utilizes a computer to enter and retrieve basic information Utilizes dietetic software programs to retrieve diet orders, recipes, and menu and inventory data Retrieve computerized information/printouts to assist with tray and/or nourishment assembly Prints lists, reports, labels, and tray tickets following the established local facility procedures. Provide basic-level education and information on local facility therapeutic diets to patients, guests, and nursing staff. Communicates patient concerns with registered dietitian or dietetic Technician as appropriate and communicates with supervisor to complete all task assigned Maintain the vital connection between associates, Registered Dietitian, higher graded dietetic technicians, food service staff, Nursing, patients and guests. Triages calls from customers relating to patient meal trays or nourishments at the lowest level and will refer issues that cannot be resolved to supervisor or other as determined by local policy. Verifies physician orders for unusual diets, conflicting modifications, and nutritional supplements with the appropriate RD, informatics RD, or FSSM. Follows local policies and procedures for calorie counts, maintaining of call records and other food service-related functions. Identifies errors in diet information transmitted from inpatient units to Nutrition and Food Services and takes any necessary corrective actions. Assist with food selections, ensuring appropriateness of menu selections for complex diets Respond to call-ins by modifying assignments, calling in alternate staff, implementing established overtime procedures, or implementing other established procedures for coverage. Answers the telephone using proper business etiquette Communicates effectively via telephone and in-person. Communicates with customers in a pleasant, friendly, personable, and professional manner Distribute and balance the workload among employees in accordance with established workflow or job specialization. Estimate and report on expected time of completion of work, and maintain records of work accomplishments and time expended and prepare production reports as requested. Give on the job training to new employees in accordance with established procedures and practices. Maintain a current knowledge and answer questions of other employees on procedures, policies, directives, etc., and obtain needed information or decisions from supervisor on problems that arise. Amend or reject work not meeting established standards, refer to supervisor questions or matters not covered by standards and problems in meeting performance standards. Resolve simple, informal complaints of employees and refer others to supervisor. Work Schedule: Full-time; Working every other weekend and holidays. Schedule is 10:30 am – 7 pm, but some 5:30 am – 2 pm shifts may be needed for coverage as needed. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Tech Lead (Dietetic)/PD241810 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment 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 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 To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/25/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade gs-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of computerized medical record and Nutrition and Food Services COTS Dietetics Software programs; Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, in person and via telephone with people from a wide variety of backgrounds while maintaining good public relations and high level of customer service; Ability to follow oral and written instructions; Ability to work under pressure and to maintain composure under adverse conditions; Knowledge of computer operations and ability to use computer equipment, phone system and printers; Knowledge of tray line procedures set up, assembly and mechanics, tray distribution and pick, and nourishment and tube feeding distribution; Ability to organize work, analyzes data, and work under time constraints; Ability to work effectively as a team member; knowledge and understanding of regular and all modified diets in order to ensure that Veterans are selecting food items that are in accordance of their prescribed diet; knowledge of appropriate NFS and Medical Center Policies and Procedures; knowledge of computer equipment, electronic data entry, security regulations, operations and information processes as they apply to COTS Dietetics software, VA Information Technology, and other equipment that may be in use in NCC. 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. you will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communication Computer Skills Customer Service Food Service Leadership 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. 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. Physical Requirements: The work requires walking, standing, bending, lifting and carrying of light items, such as food trays, instruction materials, books, and manuals. NCC Associate functions require long periods of sitting and moving about in an office environment, including repetitive motion activities of the hands and fingers for extensive keyboard and computer mouse use, and office tasks such as answering and holding a telephone and writing. The work may require walking indoors, outdoors or to and from other areas of the medical center. It may be necessary to lift and/or push equipment. Incumbent is subject to periods continuous standing, sitting, walking and frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending. Frequently lifts or moves objects weighing up to 20 pounds. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. 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/. Additional Information 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. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPMs Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants 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.