Nutritionist

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Ensures the nutrition services provided to enrolled families and children are developmentally and culturally appropriate and support each child's growth and school readiness.
• Provides nutrition information and recommendations through direct and indirect consultation/educational trainings to the Early Head Start staff, childcare partner agencies, and families and children served.
• Responds to referrals generated by program staff for related needs and/or concerns such as growth, feeding challenges, eating habits, food allergies, or other special dietary need.
• Develops and implements a plan of action that responds to high-risk referrals to ensure the nutritional needs of children and pregnant mother are appropriately addressed.
• Tracks and monitors the number and timelines for referrals received, action plans developed and follow ups.
• Produces reports and submits those along with analysis of data, identification of trends, patterns, needs etc. to the Health Manager on a monthly basis or as requested.
• Trains staff, parents and partners on family style meals, division of responsibility, feeding infants on demand, safety precaution for breast/formula handling and storage, benefits of breastfeeding, transition to cup from bottle and other topics.
• Provides input into the planning and evaluation of menus for Early Head Start program and childcare partners.
• Develops/updates nutrition policies, procedures, forms, tracking/monitoring system, referrals and reports.
• Participates in collaborative and advisory meetings, to be able to provide sound recommendations for services.
• Participates in the program self-assessment and the community assessment.
• Ensures adherence to the nutritional guidelines outlined in the State and Federal regulations.
• Travels between Foothill Family sites for training, meetings, and other in-person interactions.

Position Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Nutrition, Dietetics, Food and Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, Community Nutrition, Health Sciences with a nutrition emphasis, or a closely related field from an accredited college or university.
• Minimum of two (2) years of professional experience providing nutrition education, assessment, counseling, or related services preferred.
• Experience providing nutrition services to infants, children ages 0-5, pregnant and postpartum individuals, parents, caregivers, and families preferred.
• Ability to communicate effectively and provide nutrition education and support to individuals and families from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and linguistic backgrounds.
• Must obtain and maintain CPR and First Aid certification within six (6) months of employment.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to read and write complex material.
• Great interpersonal skills, including the ability to work cooperatively as a team member.
• Demonstrated competency and respect for a child and family's background.
• Must not appear on any federal, state, or other applicable sanctions, exclusion, or debarment lists.
• Valid CA Driver's License and maintains insurability on the Agency's auto liability policy OR maintains reliable transportation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS), Certified Nutritionist, or other relevant nutrition credential.
• Experience working in Head Start, Early Head Start, WIC, maternal and child health, public health, healthcare, or other family-serving programs.
• Experience conducting nutrition assessments, developing nutrition care plans, and facilitating nutrition education for individuals and groups.
• Current CPR and First Aid certification at the time of hire.
• Bilingual abilities relevant to the populations served.