Director of Nutrition and Community Programs

Job Title: Director of Nutrition and Community Programs

Reports To: Chief Operating Officer

Department: Nutrition, Home and Community Based Services (HCBS)

FLSA Status: Exempt

Union Position: No

Position Summary: The Director of Nutrition and Community Programs (DN&CP) is a key member of the senior leadership team responsible for SCES’s robust nutrition programs including home-delivered meals; bulk meal and supplement delivery; community congregate dining sites; and ancillary food access program such as seasonal farmers markets and food pantry contributions. This role requires the ability to engage in strategic thinking, planning and execution from both frontline and high-level perspectives. Pivoting from a departmental focus to assessing impact across the Agency is essential, along with strong analytical skills and the ability to manage departmental resources and budgets efficiently and effectively.

This role provides leadership and oversight over a multidisciplinary team devoted to providing high-quality, client-centric community programming and education. This includes working knowledge of evidence-based programming and industry best practices. Comfort in consumer and community engagement is key, as this role is crucial in representing SCES in the cities we serve through community outreach and programming efforts. The Director of Nutrition and Community Programs demonstrates a record of being an accomplished leader who champions and advances outcomes excellence and has a collaborative spirit. They understand the community’s needs and set a vision and strategic plan for the department's’ long-term goals and yearly objectives, demonstrating a keen understanding of effective business and marketing strategies to ensure the most valuable outcomes for the agency and its clients.

Job Responsibilities and Performance Standards:

• Provide strategic leadership and administrative oversight to ensure that the department appropriately meets client needs and complies with state and federal guidelines.
• Budget oversight, planning and projections, staffing needs and salary, recommendations, coordination of expenditures, and evaluating economies of scale.
• Procurement and contract negotiation and execution.
• Think creatively and innovatively to respond to existing or emerging community challenges and takes advantage of opportunities to collaborate with other community organizations.
• Provide oversight and direction of SCES’s Meals Program not only with daily deliveries but with various community-based and seasonal initiatives.
• Work closely with managers on productivity and analyzing utilization data to provide direction on appropriate areas of program promotion and outreach efforts.
• Evaluate the success of programs and policies and client satisfaction to provide quality care and to have a visible presence within the community while conducting appropriate research on client issues.
• Provide comprehensive and integrative community programming opportunities, advocacy, and education to a diverse client population in SCES’s catchment area.
• Responsible for developing and overseeing various programs and projects to improve and promote health and wellness and prevent disease.
• Keen business sense and knowledge of effective marketing strategies to ensure the most valuable outcomes for the different programs.
• Ensure that all program policy and development and service provision processes function effectively to support the accomplishment of SCES’s mission to work in partnership with communities, families, and other state agencies.
• In collaboration with other stakeholders, plan, organize, and develop outreach activities and other efforts to promote the wellness of SCES’s clients and caregivers, always with a lens of ethnic and socio-economic equity.
• Develop platform-specific metrics to assess ROI and track client engagement for wellness initiatives and programs.
• Work with local and regional nonprofits to develop long-term partnerships, relationships, and collaborations. Maintain and build new collaborative relationships around the aging services, disability, caregiving, nutrition, and volunteer network.
• Stay current and provide updates on knowledge of aging services issues locally, statewide, and nationally, including programmatic trends and promising practices.
• Engage community stakeholders to build support for integrated service delivery and inform its operations.
• Assist the managers and supervisors in hiring, promoting, staffing, and professional development, as well as corrective and disciplinary action in conjunction with the Human Resources Department.
• Work with direct staff and SCES’s leadership team on long-term planning goals regarding technology, staffing, and other issues impacting the department.
• Advise leadership and staff on current issues impacting older and disabled adults and community well-being.
• Identify and apply best practices concerning the multi-disciplinary provision of wellness and community programs to clients. Implementation might include organizational and program changes as necessary.
• Apply for relevant health, wellness, and nutrition grants.
• Determine needs (both financial resources and staff resources) for long-term sustainability.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Professional Standards and Conduct:

• Leadership: Ability to lead, inspire, and empower staff by demonstrating confidence and leadership presence. Passion and commitment to establishing and developing evidence-based programming for individuals to live in the setting of their choice with dignity and for as long as possible.
• Collaborative and Responsive: Regularly communicates, follows up, and uses a team-driven approach. Responds thoughtfully and promptly to agency needs, requests, and inquiries; identifies and builds partnerships with key stakeholders. Has excellent organizational and time management skills to meet various deadlines, ensuring closed-loop communication, multi-tasking, and maintaining flexibility to adapt and adjust workload assignments based on various needs.
• Communication: Exceptional communication, proactive in establishing strong partnerships and engendering trust across the agency, clients, and the surrounding community. Skilled in verbal and written communication, demonstrating the ability to communicate information in various ways to meet diverse styles and cultural backgrounds.
• Analytical: Critical thinking skills, using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and opportunities of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems. Quickly identifies new programmatic opportunities.
• Attendance and Punctuality: Dependable, punctual, showing flexibility when needed. Attends meetings as needed and is fully present and participates during those meetings.
• Commitment: SCES’s core values and shows great integrity, accountability, and professionalism in all interactions. Aids in furthering SCES’s mission and commitment to an inclusive environment.

Qualifications:

• 5 years of direct management experience and a graduate degree in a relevant field. Additional training or a degree in business, communication, and marketing strategy is preferred. Registered Dietician (RD) or similar credentials strongly preferred.
• Experience in budgeting, management, facility operations, and strategic planning.
• Knowledge of health practices, policies, and issues impacting the older adult and disabled population.
• Ability to establish standards, program evaluation, performance management, quality improvement, and investigatory processes.
• Strong working knowledge of Office 365 Suites, particularly excel, to determine the results and processes of new programs. Ability to keep up to date with changing technologies and new theories of health.
• Experience with regulatory and compliance monitoring, tracking, and evaluation is strongly preferred. This may include but is not limited to resource management, quality assurance, reporting, audits, training, and post-implementation review.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with diverse populations.
• Exceptional time management and organizational proficiency.
• Must meet both CORI/SORI and public health screening requirements.

Physical Environment

• Physical surroundings are comfortable with minimal exposure to injury or hazards.

Social/Psychological Conditions

• Occasional stress due to periodic or cyclical workload pressures and deadlines. Some interruptions involved.

Physical Effort

• Frequently sits, stands, walks, bends, reaches, and stoops throughout the day.
• Frequently lifts, pulls, pushes, and carries up to 20 lbs.
• Periodic eye strain and light ear strain.