Dietary Director

Elwood Health and Living; Elwood (IN); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Elwood Health and Living is seeking a Dietary Director to lead the dietary department, ensuring quality food service in line with state and federal regulations and resident care plans. You will manage staffing, purchasing, food preparation, delivery, and sanitation across shifts.

The role requires strong leadership, budgeting, and collaboration with Dietician Dietetic Consultant to develop nutritious resident menus while maintaining compliance with regulatory standards.

Qualifications

• High school graduate or equivalent required.
• Certified Dietary Manager certification or court-approved food service management course required.
• Experience with frail/elderly populations preferred.
• Ability to read and understand procedures and diet orders.
• Strong numerical and budgeting capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Oversees Dietary department to meet state and federal regulations.
• Directs food preparation, serving, and cleaning duties following proper procedures.
• Plans, develops and executes resident menus with dietician consultant.
• Schedules staff and maintains department budgets and purchasing.
• Maintains documentation for resident care planning and regulatory compliance.
• Supervises hiring, training, and performance evaluations.

Skills

Leadership

Team coordination

Procedural reading

Numerical ability

Record keeping

Budgeting

Resident relations

Time management

Safety and sanitation

Communication with regulatory agencies

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Certified Dietary Manager course

Job description

The Dietary Director is responsible for providing quality food service in accordance with all State and Federal regulations and to meet the nutritional and individual needs of the residents. They will manage the operation of the Dietary department to include staffing, department purchasing, food preparation, food delivery and clean-up in accordance with facility policies, physician orders, resident care plans and appropriate regulations.

Qualification:

1. 1. High school graduate or equivalent.
2. 2. Successful completion of state-approved food service management course Certified Dietary Manager.
3. 3. Caring person with a desire to work with the frail and elderly.
4. 4. Previous institutional dietary service experience preferred.
5. 5. Ability to read and understand procedures used for work assignments, instructions, recipe directions and diet order cards.
6. 6. Ability to make various computations in planning department objectives, keeping work records and schedules, preparing budgets, ordering of supplies and monitoring inventory control
7. 7. Numerical ability for recipe preparation and proper measuring of cleaning agents and chemicals.
8. 8. Adequate strength, endurance and coordination to meet the strenuous physical demands of such responsibilities as preparing food items, carrying quantity foods, serving meals, handling soiled dishes, operating dietary equipment and cleaning assigned work areas.
9. 9. Coordination and dexterity for preparing food and operating dietary equipment safely.
10. 10. Ability to safely perform the essential functions of the job without harm to self or others.
11. 11. Ability to prioritize duties.
12. 12. Ability to work as part of a team and leader.
13. 13. Ability to establish and maintain optimum rapport with residents, family members and regulatory agencies.
14. 14. Ability to utilize computers and other electronic devices for tasks such as timekeeping, in-servicing and documentation.

Essential Functions:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. a. Oversees Dietary department and ensures department is meeting the highest standard attainable in accordance with State and Federal regulations.
2. b. Assists in defined food preparation, serving of meals and cleaning duties according to proper procedures, using various dietary equipment and supplies.
3. c. Attends required in-services and completes assigned on-line modules, if applicable.
4. d. Directs and oversees all resident nutritional needs planning and programs.
   • Responsible for designated nutritional aspects of resident care planning, including attending and participating in resident care conferences, to include Quarterly, Annual, and Initial Assessments, completing MDS (nutritional section), nutritional assessments, and all documentation necessary for compliance with State and Federal Regulations.
   • Contact with residents through routine and special visits; documentation of all pertinent dietary information (i.e.; diet changes, eating habits and diet order changes).
   • Coordinates dietary services with Nursing Department goals concerning individual resident nutritional needs in accordance with physician orders.
   • Oversee and delegate the updating of all resident nutritional information, as needed.
   • Oversees food preparation and serving of regular therapeutic meals on designated shifts; monitors food temperatures, portion control, palatability and attractiveness; inspects special diet trays for conformance to physician's diet orders prior to delivery.
   • Oversee and/or delegate the observation of meal service dining areas; obtains resident feedback on food quality, taste, appearance, temperature and service.
   • Responsible for obtaining approval for Capital expenditures and approval for any large equipment purchases for the department.
5. e. Follows reporting procedures for the following.
   • Observed resident concerns.
   • Observed changes in resident conditions.
   • Damaged, unsafe, malfunctioning equipment.
   • Conditions related to breeding insects, rodents, and/or other vermin.
6. f. Interviews, and hires department personnel; supervises orientation; counsels and/or disciplines employees on infractions of established rules; partners with Human Resources and/or designee to terminate employees when needed.
7. g. Conducts performance evaluations and recommends wage changes
8. h. Schedules dietary staff to maintain budgeted staff hours every two (2) weeks.
9. i. Oversee the development and maintenance of work routines.
10. j. Plans, develops and executes facility and individual resident menus in conjunction with Dietician Dietary Consultant in accordance with State and Federal regulations; implements substitutions of menu items dependent upon seasonal availability, individual preferences and principles of economy.
11. k. Oversees all department purchasing and maintains set budgets for the fiscal year.
12. l. Attends required in-services and completes assigned on-line modules.
13. m. Supplies input and/or information on a monthly basis concerning department functions, activities, needs, goals and objectives; completes annual reports.
14. n. Supervises and assists in workflow and food handling techniques of staff as needed.
15. o. Ensure equipment and work areas are clean, safe and orderly; and strict adherence to procedures regarding cleaners, hazardous materials. Ensures universal precautions and infection control, isolation, fire safety and sanitation practices and procedures are followed.
16. p. Supervise Food Preparation and Serving: Ensure food is nutritional appetizing, prepared as planned and served in a timely and pleasant manner.
17. q. Ensure appropriate meals/snacks are served to residents with special dietary needs.
18. r. Responsible for sanitation and safety procedures, practices and training of dietary department of conformance to quality standards and health regulations.
19. s. Ensure proper storage of foods and supplies.