Sports Dietitian - Wilkes Barre Area Schools

Who Is The Nutrition Group?

We are a full service food and facilities management company founded in 1975. The Nutrition Group’s family of support services includes K-12 Meal Services, Commissary, Custodial and Maintenance Management, Business and Industry, and Consulting. Currently, we operate in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, South Carolina and Virginia.

The Nutrition Group is a people oriented company that prides itself on the long term relationships we’ve established with clients, customers, employees, and vendors.

About the Job

Serving as the Sports Dietitian Food Service Specialist

We are seeking a full-time Sports Registered Dietitian to lead our athletic nutrition program while ensuring our meal services meet federal standards for National School Lunch and Breakfast Program. You will balance hands-on team education with administrative compliance to fuel student-athletes for peak academic and athletic performance.

Position entails oversite of all capacities revolving around food production & service, while assisting the DFN Team with overall program success.

This includes preparing and training staff to prepare food, in accordance with the policies and procedures of the USDA, the Department of Education, school district, and The Nutrition Group, within the framework of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.

The position is responsible to each Director of Food & Nutrition to collectively highlight areas for focus and growth within the Sports Academy Program including menus, quality control, paperwork compliance, hourly staff training needs and district catering expectations.

Overall responsibility to the Regional Manager for the effective operating performance of the school district’s Sports Academy Program operation, in conjunction with the contractual agreement, including financial results and accountability, quality control.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure Compliance: Oversee National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) regulations.
• Build Menus: Design school menus that satisfy both federal guidelines and Sports Academy Program needs
• Cafeteria and School Meal Support: As needed or directed to support the program, including supervisory and hands on execution and meal preparation.
• Fuel Competition: Build targeted pre-game meal protocols and hydration.
• Drive Recovery: Implement post-game refueling strategies to minimize fatigue and accelerate muscle repair.
• Educate Teams: Deliver interactive sports nutrition workshops Sports Academy Program students: Capability to expand Nutrition Education program to additional grade levels
• Design Plans: Create team-wide seasonal meal blueprints for pre-game, game-day, and recovery fueling.
• Audit Standards: Maintain precise documentation for state nutritional audits and administrative reviews.
• Team and Group Nutrition Education: conduct nutrition workshops and presentations for athletic teams.
• Collaborate Daily: Partner with DFN’s, cafeteria staff, coaches, athletic trainers, and school administrators.

Required Qualifications

• Credential: Registered Dietitian (RD) or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).
• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Nutrition, Dietetics.
• Clearances: Valid PA Act 34 (Criminal), Act 151 (Child Abuse), and FBI Fingerprint clearances. Mandate Reporter

Personnel

• Assists DFN Team in training, developing, utilizing, motivating, evaluating, and terminating employees in conjunction with school district and The Nutrition Group policies.
• Utilize employee job descriptions and performance standards to help guide and train employees. Provide feedback on performance to DFN Team, that will be used for formal appraisals, as well as develop plans for future training and/or adjustments to responsibilities.
• Conducts individual employee personnel development program and training programs on a continuing basis. Develops an open-door climate for employees, yet does not become involved beyond the normal duties of sound management practices.
• Assist with annual training of and enforces OSHA regulations to existing staff and for each new hire maintained on The Nutrition Group payroll. Conducts safety education on an ongoing basis to ensure a safe and healthy workplace.
• Establishes a system of regular and continuing personal contact to acquire immediate knowledge and correction of cafeteria employee dissatisfaction, and work with the DFN Team to address so there are no recurring complaints.
• Make recommendations to DFN Team on unit work schedules.
• Maintains effective job goal performance, with a high degree of employee morale.
• Treats all employees according to the terms of the established labor agreements and/or school district and The Nutrition Group policies.
• Indoctrinate and trains staff to be personally neat and give cheerful, competent, and efficient service.
• Establishing a formal program of pre-school, in-service and on-the-job training. Coordinating these training sessions as part of the formal “manager” and employee meetings. Encourages employees to participate in team training days.
• While training all staff in terms of food quality, recipe compliance, & haccp protocol is required, a particular focus on cooks and lead production personnel is needed

Quality Control

Menus

• Constantly evaluates established menus for student satisfaction, production practicality, etc. Maintains and submits to supervision, written corrective, constructive comments.

Purchasing

• Works with staff to establishes a reliable system of attendance prediction and relates it to the purchasing program and to actual production to eliminate waste.
• Purchases food and supplies only from approved vendors and ensures proper security of all inventory at all times.
• Supervises all specifications and purchasing procedures of the district, the NSLP and The Nutrition Group
• Purchases only those items authorized by The Nutrition Group’s buyer
• Understands, communicates and practices the NSLP and The Nutrition Group food standards in each school of the district.
• Maintains an up-to-date and complete recipe file in each unit and ensures recipes are used.
• Utilize all leftovers properly and quickly or stores them for future use.
• Meets or exceeds reimbursable nutritional requirements and maintains detailed, accurate production records in accordance with USDA and Department of Education when in production. Ensuring all staff follow the same procedure and meeting requirements.
• Understands food production practices and constantly upgrades the production standards to all technological developments.
• Keeps and maintains accurate production records in compliance with USDA/AR regulations and ensures all staff knows how to complete & is completing as well. If there are areas for improvement, provide on the spot training & communication with DFN Team.

Communication

• Meets regularly with the Sports Academy Program students, acts on customer complaints, suggestions and requests immediately.
• Communicates with client contact as required. Builds a good working relationship with all people and departments directly and remotely connected with food service and ensures proper relations with suppliers. Participates in meetings with the DFN Team to keep them informed and group directed. Offers to become a part of school district committees, organizations, etc.
• Contributes pictures and articles for Board Reports that describes the progress of the food service program.
• Meets with DFN Team, DFN Lead Director & Regional Manager on a regular basis to discuss status of operation and maintain a effective two-way communications.
• Conducts at least one major special promotion event each month in every school district
• Maintains ongoing information seeking communications such as student suggestion boxes, opinion surveys, etc., with proper follow-up reports.
• Ensures that communications upward and downward are effectively maintained.

Managerial Effectiveness

Maintains an attitude of management, which provides the motivating force in developing an awareness of, alertness to, and interest in producing the maximum possible results with the minimum expenditure of school district resources. The overall guiding factor in accomplishing a high standard of performance in this area should be the attitude of management, successfully transmitted to the cafeteria staff and eventually to the customer, toward the goal of providing service – cheerfully, willingly, and conscientiously to all parties at all times.

The Nutrition Group is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment for all qualified applicants. Consideration for employment will be without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

INDSAL