This position is in Nutrition and Food Services (NFS) located in a Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The primary purpose of the position is to provide administrative and customer service support for the VA hospital food service program. The incumbent performs routine duties that require exceptional customer service, computer skills, proper phone etiquette, proficiency in special food service and therapeutic diet procedures.

Duties

Major Duties: Maintain the vital connection between Nutrition Communication Center (NCC) Associates, Registered Dietitian, higher graded dietetic technicians, food service staff, Nursing, patients, and guests Conducts meal rounds on units after tray delivery to ensure patient satisfaction and provides service recovery and meal corrections when needed. Participates in Patient Satisfaction Survey process, from collection of data to making corrective actions based on results. Assists with Cultural Transformation activities when food is being served to assure patient safety is maintained. Triages calls from inpatient units or outpatient clinics and procedure areas relating to patient meal trays or nourishments at the lowest level and will refer issues that cannot be resolved to Food Service Supervisor or other as determined by local policy Communicates effectively via telephone and in-person and uses strong listening and speaking skills. Properly operates telephone equipment to transfer or place calls on hold. Ensures supplemental feedings are correctly entered. Advises food service supervisors and/or food production chief of any special orders or changes needed that may impact food production, including instances when substitutions are needed due to food preferences. provide Veterans, guest/family members, VA employees (i.e. nursing staff) with basic information about the menu, available food items and refers concerns on compliance problems or appetite to supervisor and/or dietitian. Has working knowledge of diet principles, such as carbohydrate counting for meal planning. Conducts new-admit patient rounding to introduce and discuss, menu available food items and ways to order meals with patients and residents. Ensures supplemental feedings are correctly entered. Advises food service supervisors and/or food production chief of any special orders or changes needed that may impact food production, including instances when substitutions are needed due to food preferences. Assists patients in selection of the proper foods according to their individual diet. Uses communication skills to converse with veteran's to accurately take menu orders via COTS Dietetic software System. Must possess multitasking skills when entering menu orders and improving quality of life of veterans through social interaction. Uses computer skills to move between functions precisely and swiftly in software systems and effectively log on and off the computer system. Work Schedule: Multiple Shifts Compressed/Flexible: No Telework: No Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD# 99855-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/25/2024. 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-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. 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-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least 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 a Health Technician (Dietetics). Qualifying specialized experience includes Experience where you applied knowledge of quantity food service operations, proper nutrition, food items and appropriate quantities; working with clients, patients, and/or, customers to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; use computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work. 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: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree (i.e. nutrition, dietary therapy, food and nutrition science, food service systems management, etc.). This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. Determine the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the year of specialized experience required at the GS-5 level. Then determine the applicant's education as a percentage of the education that meets the requirements for GS-5. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-5. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Your experience must be documented in your resume and transcripts are required. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Error! Filename not specified. 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 phone, 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 Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

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.

Contacts

• Address Edward Hines Junior Hospital 5000 South 5th Avenue Hines, IL 60141 US
• Name: Latasha Hill
• Phone: 708-539-6901
• Email: [email protected]