Health Technician Dietetic Ambassador

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, a broad knowledge of routine modified diets.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/09/2026.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

GS-05 Specialized Experience: At least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-04) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of this Health Technician (Dietetic) position. Specialized experience includes performing duties in food service in a hospital environment; knowledge of tray assembly area procedures; using dietetics software programs; familiarity with regular and modified diets; assisting with food selections; following verbal and written instructions; and using computer equipment, phone system, and printers. This position requires effective communication skills both verbally and in writing and good customer service.

NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

~OR~

Education: A bachelor's degree or four (4) years of education above the high school level with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position (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 pre-requisite.

NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

~OR~

Combination: An 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. 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/.

Responsibilities:

Duties of the position include but not limited to:

• Handles patient meal service orders.
• Completes quality monitors to ensure food items/menu selections for regular and therapeutic diets are prepared and served appropriately (i.e. accuracy, timeliness, appearance, and temperature, dysphagia food testing).
• Ensures all food/supplies are covered, labeled, and dated.
• Stores, rotates, and inventories stock items and disposes outdated food/beverages.
• Advises supervisor of any special orders or changes needed that may impact food production, including instances when substitutions are needed due to food preferences.
• Collaborates with Dietitians regarding food/drug interactions and notifies clinical staff of potential issues.
• Follows policies and procedures for patient feeding, including but not limited to missed patient meals, late tray requests, patient meal ordering, and adherence to prescribed therapeutic diet.
• Conducts meal rounds on units after tray delivery to ensure patient satisfaction and provides service recovery and meal corrections when needed.
• Triages calls from inpatient/outpatient clinics and procedure areas related to patient meal/nourishments.
• Assists patients in selection of the proper foods according to their individual diet.
• Takes appropriate action to maximize patient satisfaction with meal service.
• Answers questions and provides information about menu and food items.
• Conducts patient rounds to discuss menu available food items and ways to order meals.
• Enters meal orders into a computerized system.
• Retrieves computerized information/printouts to assist with tray and/or nourishment assembly.
• Collecting, compiling, and entering data from patient satisfaction surveys.
• Prints lists, reports, labels, and tray tickets following established local procedures.

Work Schedule: 6:00am - 2:30pm or 10:00am - 6:30pm, alternating weekends and holidays. Subject to change depending on the needs of the agency.
Position Description/PD#: Health Technician Dietetic Ambassador/PD99855APermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Salary : $40,736