Director, Nutrition & Food Services

This posting covers Santa Clara County. The location shown is the county; the work may be anywhere in it.

Description

Under general direction of hospital administration, to plan, administer, and direct the functions and staff of the Nutrition and Food Services Department. The Nutrition and Food Services Department is responsible for food production for patients, visitors, guests, and employees and for screening patients, obtaining nutritionally relevant data, planning and modifying diets, consulting with physicians and other Health and Hospital System staff regarding special diets, instructing patients in diet modification, and monitoring patient compliance with nutritional recommendations.

The Power of WE:  Together, we can make a greater impact. Bringing better care and expanding healthcare services across the community.

Santa Clara Valley Healthcare (SCVH) is the second largest public health care system in California and includes three acute care hospitals, 14 clinics and 60+ specialty and sub-specialty services. Our mission is to provide high-quality, accessible healthcare and excellent service to everyone in Santa Clara County.

Because we serve patients throughout multiple hospitals and clinics, you may have to work at different sites. We will meet any obligations we may have when this occurs.

 Santa Clara Valley Medical Center - SCVMC is a full-service tertiary acute care teaching hospital with 699 licensed beds providing a wide range of specialized services, including Rehabilitation, Burn, Trauma, and NICU. SCVMC was ranked by U.S. News and World Report as #6 Rehabilitation Hospital in the nation and #1 in the West and designated as a 2024 High Performing hospital for Maternity Care, Heart Failure, Stroke, Hip Fracture, and Pneumonia.

O'Connor Hospital- O'Connor Hospital (OCH) is a 358 licensed bed acute care facility offering a full range of inpatient and outpatient medical, surgical and specialty programs to residents of Santa Clara County. It was founded in 1889 as one of the first hospitals in the county. OCH has grown significantly over the past five years in both its inpatient volume and its Emergency Department visits. Along with these volume increases other ancillary and clinical departments like imaging, lab, pharmacy, and respiratory have seen growth as well.

St. Louise Regional Hospital- Since 1989, St. Louise Regional Hospital (SLRH) has been caring for the residents in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties, offering a wide range of inpatient and outpatient medical specialties. SLRH has 93 beds, is a Designated Primary Stroke Center, and is the only acute care hospital in the area. Located in Gilroy, SLRH maintains a CALSTAR 2 emergency helicopter base on the premises. 

Regional Medical Center– Regional Medical Center (RMC) is a 258-bed hospital that is the main emergency healthcare provider for East San José, treating a wide range of critical and life-threatening conditions for more than 60 years. Since the SCVH integration of RMC effective 4/1/25, RMC has expanded the critical services including Level II trauma, Thrombectomy capable Stroke Center and STEMI care, and has been seeing an increased number of emergency visits and inpatient volume. 

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Typical Tasks

The following are the duties performed by employees in this classification. However, employees may perform other related duties at an equivalent level. Each individual in the classification does not necessarily perform all duties listed.

• Prepares and monitors budget for the Nutrition and Food Services Department;

• Ensures that adequate numbers of competent staff are available to deliver services;

• Selects, orients, schedules, and evaluates staff or delegates as appropriate;

• Initiates and follows through with progressive disciplinary process; documents as required;

• Plans, directs, and coordinates daily operations of food services and clinical nutrition services, including dietitians and other staff;

• Develops, reviews, and analyzes food accounting operations;

• Reviews and approves specifications, estimates, and purchases of food, equipment, materials, and supplies;

• Coordinates food production with County purchased food items;

• Assesses, plans, and advocates for needs of services;

• Develops standards of care, methods of service delivery, and reporting systems for inpatient and outpatient clinical nutrition services;

• Monitors quality of clinical nutrition services through developing study methods, collecting and analyzing data, and regularly reviewing dietitians and support staff for compliance with departmental standards;

• Develops and follows through on quality improvement/correction plans based on monitoring results;

• Prepares reports and correspondence;

• Develops policies and procedures for Nutrition and Food Services Department, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, including Title 22 and JCAHO;

• Coordinates development of policies and procedures and educational materials;

• Coordinates activities of the Nutrition and Food Services Department to ensure product availability and nutritional menu adequacy and consistency with diet manual guidelines and restrictions;

• Ensures that employee trainings are planned and implemented to assure compliance with regulations and departmental/agency policies;

• Coordinates student programs in the departments;

• Collaborates and communicates with other departments to solve problems and provide education;

• Works collaboratively with ambulatory services staff and management to develop and evaluate educational programs;

• Represents Nutrition and Food Services Department on various hospital committees and task forces;

• Develops and monitors customer service delivered by Nutrition and Food Services Department;

• May be assigned as a Disaster Service Worker (DSW), as required*;

• Performs other related duties, as required.

Employment Standards

Sufficient education, training, and experience to demonstrate the ability to perform the above tasks, plus the possession and direct application of the following knowledge and abilities:

Training and Experience Note: The required knowledge and abilities are attained through three (3) years of full-time experience as a registered dietitian/nutritionist in an administrative and/or management capacity responsible for a program of food preparation, serving, buying, storage and nutritional accounting in an institutional setting.

Experience in food service management in a hospital setting is highly desirable.

Qualifications

Special Requirements:

• Possess and maintain current registration by the Commission on Dietetic Registration of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
• Ability to travel to alternate locations in the course of work. If driving, possession of a valid California driver's license prior to appointment and the ability to qualify for and maintain a County driver authorization.
• *As a condition of employment, pursuant to California Government Code Sections 3100-3109 and Local Ordinance, all County of Santa Clara employees are designated Disaster Service Workers (DSWs), including extra help. A DSW is required to complete all assigned DSW-related training, and in the event of an emergency, return to work as ordered.

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of nutrition, dietetics, and food production;
• Legal requirements of a food program serving hospitalized patients and outpatients;
• Specifications and plans for suitable buildings, work areas, and equipment for culinary departments;
• Sanitation and safety measures pertinent to large scale food control and feeding programs;
• Principles and practices of organization, administration, personnel management, labor relations, and budgeting;
• Biochemistry, food service, diet therapy, and the interrelationship of nutrition and medicine;
• Computers and computer technology as used in food and nutrition services;
• English usage, style, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Ability to:

• Formulate and establish uniform procedures of food control and processing, considering the differing needs of a diverse patient population;
• Plan and direct in-service training programs;
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures;
• Keep records, prepare reports, and develop and analyze statistics and accounting controls;
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work, at all levels, including colleagues, the public, and representatives of other agencies.

Work for Warriors is a no-cost employment program of the California Military Department for Service Members, Veterans, and military family members. The Veteran Staffing Consultant for County of Santa Clara is Philip Downs.