Culinary Nutrition Manager

Key Responsibilities:

• Develops, implements, and manages age- and culturally-appropriate culinary medicine and medical nutrition therapy for patients and clients, utilizing evidence-based practice guidelines and the Nutrition Care Process.
• Supervises others involved in the delivery of patient/client culinary instruction, including sous chefs, guest chefs, physician partners, registered dietitians, dietetic interns, and volunteers.
• Demonstrates strong organizational skills and a thorough understanding of performance and management standards to ensure effective, smooth, and timely delivery of care.
• Oversees the daily operations of the teaching kitchen, including coordination of staff training and support.
• Provides day-to-day leadership for the clinical and culinary medicine care team, ensuring adherence to established standards of care.
• Establishes and monitors systems and criteria to evaluate culinary program quality and effectiveness.
• Collaborates across hospital departments and affiliated groups to identify and address interdepartmental and interdisciplinary issues.
• Leads program implementation, coordinating necessary resources and planning logistics.
• Participates in and contributes to relevant interdisciplinary committees and task forces.
• Manages, motivates, and develops staff, including the creation of schedules, performance reviews, and disciplinary actions as needed.
• Prepares, monitors, and maintains annual operational and capital budgets, making adjustments to operations based on budget performance.
• Maintains current knowledge of culinary nutrition trends and facilitates integration into clinical practice.
• Speaks and writes on relevant topics and participates in department education activities such as journal clubs and training forums.
• Acts as a subject matter expert in updating internal resources, handbooks, diet manuals, and databases.
• Develops recipes that are feasible, culturally appropriate, and nutritionally balanced, taking into account time, cost, access to ingredients and equipment, and preparation skill levels.
• Ensures compliance with departmental quality initiatives, as well as regulatory and accreditation standards (Joint Commission, DPH, FDA, CMS).
• Maintains professional skills and knowledge through educational programming, conference attendance, and leadership in professional organizations.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition & Dietetics or a closely related field is required; Master’s degree preferred.
• A minimum of four years of progressive experience in culinary and/or clinical dietetics, with demonstrated project management and leadership skills.
• Prior teaching experience is a plus.
• Registered Dietitian credential through the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR).
• Current Massachusetts Dietitian Licensure is required.