Head Start Nutrition Coordinator

Capitol Region Education Council; Coltville (CT); On-site; USD 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

403(b) Retirement Savings Plan

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Employee Assistance Program

Credit Union Access

Tuition Reimbursement Program

Professional development through CREC

Discount with Springfield College

Job summary

Capitol Region Education Council is seeking a Head Start Nutrition Coordinator to oversee nutrition operations for Head Start and Early Head Start programs, ensuring CACFP/USDA compliance and high‑quality meal service.

You will supervise Meal Aides, coordinate with vendors, manage inventories, and develop nutrition education for families and staff. Travel weekly to satellite centers is required.

Qualifications

• AA from a college or university with 1–2 years of related experience and 2 years of supervisory experience
• Obtain ServSafe certification within 3 months of hire; train Meal Aides and supervise actions as needed

Responsibilities

• Administer CACFP/USDA guidelines for menu development, food production and service
• Train, supervise, and evaluate Meal Aides; travel weekly to satellite centers
• Oversee daily meal service for breakfast, lunch, and snack to enrolled children
• Provide direction to Meal Aides and lead the nutrition department
• Monitor reimbursement, submit reports, and provide corrective action when necessary
• Identify and track food allergies; post allergy lists in kitchens/classrooms
• Coordinate nutrition activities with families, WIC, and MOUs
• Ensure Head Start growth assessments and screenings compliance
• Maintain inventory and order supplies for kitchens
• Design nutrition education programs for parents, staff and students
• Conduct CACFP, Civil Rights, and meal service training for staff

Skills

Leadership

Professionalism

Dependability

Judgement

Initiative

Interpersonal Skills

Communication

Planning/Organizing

Problem Solving

Analytical

Customer Service

Technical Skills

Teamwork

Education

Associate's Degree (AA)

ServSafe certification

Tools

CACFP knowledge

USDA guidelines

Job description

Head Start Nutrition Coordinator - JOB ID# 14372

• Position Type: CREC Early Childhood Education/ Head Start Education Coordinator
• Date Posted: 10/8/2026
• Location: CREC Head Start South
• Closing Date: 11/09/2026

JOB DESCRIPTION

Since 1966, the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) has been dedicated to providing innovative, high-quality, and cost-effective educational programs and services to meet the diverse needs of children and adults in Greater Hartford. Serving 33 member districts and reaching additional communities statewide, CREC supports approximately 12,000 students annually through more than 120 educational programs. Our offerings include professional learning and coaching for educators, specialized programming for students with diverse needs, and PreK-12 education across 16 interdistrict magnet schools. Additionally, CREC provides school construction, operations, and cooperative business services, while also delivering programs that help adults build real, job-ready skills.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Under the Direction of the Health Specialist, the Nutrition Coordinator oversees nutrition operations for Head Start and Early Head Start including nutrition education, meal service, family style dining, maintaining inventory and purchasing of supplies. The Nutrition Coordinator assesses, plans, and evaluates nutrition services to ensure they are meeting local, State and Federal requirements; provides supervision and content knowledge for the Meal Aides; interacts with the Food Service Vendor, submitting daily meal counts, verifying invoices, preparing correspondence, and monthly reports; ensures the ChildPlus databases and recordkeeping files related to nutrition are in compliance.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES:

Duties/Responsibilities

• Effectively administer and follow all Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and USDA guidelines pertaining to menu development, food production, food service operation, meal components, food safety/handling, and claims.
• Train, supervise, and evaluate Meal Aides; assist with recruitment and hiring of all nutrition staff; local travel to satellite centers is required and expected weekly.
• Oversee daily meal service of breakfast, lunch, and snack to enrolled children, including infants, toddlers, and preschoolers; monitor to ensure family-style dining feeding practices and appropriate portion control.
• Provide content direction to the program Meal Aides and lead the nutrition department, including meal planning, kitchen preparation, food service delivery to sites, and evaluation of nutritional components
• Monitor meal service for reimbursement; submit all reimbursement reports and data for claims, report to Policy Council and stakeholders monthly. Provide corrective action when necessary.
• Identify and track children's food allergies and meal modification requests. Ensure all documents are completed appropriately and meal modification and allergy lists are current and posted in each kitchen and classroom.
• Review children's nutritional and dietary needs, provide parent communication, and refer high-risk children for further assessment and implementation of necessary interventions, as appropriate.
• Partner with community agencies to ensure comprehensive nutrition services; collaborate with local WIC offices; complete documented MOUs annually for content partnerships.
• Ensure compliance with Head Start requirements for growth assessments, lead, and hemoglobin screenings. Conduct screenings when necessary and complete all child file documentation.
• Act as the point of contact for the Food Service Vendor; submit daily meal counts and milk orders, oversee menu development, and provide information about alternative meals; engage in contractual information discussions in conjunction with CREC Nutrition Service Director
• Maintain inventory and order supplies to ensure all kitchens have the appropriate equipment.
• Design and conduct nutrition education programs for parents, staff and students; implement the Office of Head Start initiatives, related to nutrition and health, such as I Am Moving I Am Learning.
• Conduct CACFP, Civil Rights, and meal service training for all new hires, and annually for all staff; providing updated information about CACFP implementation to staff as it becomes available.
• Maintain strict confidentiality with respect to Head Start/Early Head Start children, families, and staff in accordance with established policies and procedures.
• Establish and carry out content-relevant MOUs for the program.
• Create, foster, and maintain a positive culture and climate across the program and support the mission and vision of CREC and CREC Head Start.
• Ensure compliance with Head Start Performance Standards and all federal, state, and local entities.
• Comply with all company policies and procedures.
• Other duties as assigned.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:

This position manages, and is responsible for, the performance management of the employees of the department and assists with hiring as needed.

COMPETENCIES:

• Leadership - Exhibits confidence in self and others; Inspires and motivates others to perform well; Effectively influences actions and opinions of others; Accepts feedback from others; Gives appropriate recognition to others.
• Professionalism - Approaches others in a tactful manner; Reacts well under pressure; Treats others with respect and consideration regardless of their status or position; Accepts responsibility for own actions; Follows through on commitments.
• Dependability - Follows instructions, responds to management direction; Takes responsibility for own actions; Keeps commitments; Commits to long hours of work when necessary to reach goals.; Completes tasks on time or notifies appropriate person with an alternate plan.
• Judgement - Displays willingness to make decisions; Exhibits sound and accurate judgment; Supports and explains reasoning for decisions; Includes appropriate people in decision-making process; Makes timely decisions.
• Initiative - Volunteers readily; Undertakes self-development activities; Seeks increased responsibilities; Takes independent actions and calculated risks; Looks for and takes advantage of opportunities; Asks for and offers help when needed.
• Interpersonal Skills - Focuses on solving conflict, not blaming; Maintains confidentiality; Listens to others without interrupting; Keeps emotions under control; Remains open to others' ideas and tries new things.
• Written & Oral Communication - Speaks and writes clearly; Listens and gets clarification; Responds well to questions; Speaks and writes clearly and informatively; Varies communication style to meet needs; Demonstrates group presentation skills; Participates in meetings.
• Managing People - Includes staff in planning, decision-making, facilitating and process improvement; Takes responsibility for subordinates' activities; Makes self available to staff; Provides regular performance feedback; Develops subordinates' skills and encourages growth; Solicits and applies customer feedback (internal and external); Fosters quality focus in others; Improves processes, products and services.; Continually works to improve supervisory skills.
• Quality Management - Looks for ways to improve and promote quality; Demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness.
• Adaptability - Adapts to changes in the work environment; Manages competing demands; Changes approach or method to best fit the situation; Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events.
• Diversity & Ethics - Demonstrates knowledge of EEO policy; Shows respect and sensitivity for cultural differences; Treats people with respect; Educates others on the value of diversity; Promotes a harassment-free environment; Builds a diverse workforce; Keeps commitments; Works with integrity; Upholds organizational values.
• Innovation - Displays original thinking and creativity; Meets challenges with resourcefulness; Generates suggestions for improving work; Develops innovative approaches and ideas; Presents ideas and information in a manner that gets others' attention.
• Problem Solving - Identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner; Gathers and analyzes information skillfully; Develops alternative solutions; Works well in group problem solving situations; Uses reason even when dealing with emotional topics.
• Analytical - Synthesizes complex or diverse information; Collects and researches data; Uses intuition and experience to complement data; Designs work flows and procedures.
• Customer Service - Manages difficult or emotional customer situations; Responds promptly to customer needs; Solicits customer feedback to improve service; Responds to requests for service and assistance; Meets commitments.
• Technical Skills - Assesses own strengths and weaknesses; Pursues training and development opportunities; Strives to continuously build knowledge and skills; Shares expertise with others.
• Planning/Organizing - Prioritizes and plans work activities; Uses time efficiently; Plans for additional resources; Sets goals and objectives; Organizes or schedules other people and their tasks; Develops realistic action plans.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Associate's Degree (AA) from a college or university, and one to two years of related experience and/or training, and two years of supervisory experience
• Obtain ServSafe certification within 3 months of hire if not already certified. Ensure all Meal Aides are appropriately trained. Provide corrective action when necessary.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

A valid Motor Vehicle Operator's License and a reliable personal vehicle required to provide on-site supervision, technical support, and attend meetings, trainings, and professional learning opportunities as required.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Working in CREC's Early Childhood programs requires prolonged standing/movement, frequent bending and crouching, lifting and carrying materials, fine motor skills for manipulating small objects, clear speaking voice, good vision and hearing, the ability to focus on multiple tasks simultaneously, and sometimes the need to move quickly to respond to student needs. Staff require the ability to work in a high-energy environment with varying noise levels (from quiet to loud) based on student activity. Staff is expected to work both indoors and outdoors (as needed) and may be expected to participate in off-site field experiences.

• Standing (continually, more than 2/3)
• Sitting (occasionally, less than 1/3)
• Reach with hands and arms (frequently, 1/3 � 2/3)
• Stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl (occasionally, less than 1/3)
• Lifting and carrying up to 50 lbs. ( frequently, 1/3 � 2/3)
• Moderate Noise (examples: business office with typewriters and/or computer printers, light traffic)

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

• Group Health Insurance Plans
• Basic & Supplemental Life Insurance
• Long Term Disability & Short Term Disability options
• 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan with Employer Matching Contribution if applicable
• Flexible Spending Account Pre-Tax Savings for Health Care, Dependent Care, and Limited Purpose Post Deductible (if contributing to an HSA)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Credit Union Access
• Tuition Reimbursement Program
• Employee Network Groups
• Access to professional learning opportunities with two fully paid courses through CREC University each year, empowering you to expand your skills and advance your career!
• Benefit from our exclusive partnership with Springfield College, offering a 15% discount on tuition for next-level degree programs to support your academic and career aspirations!

Based on terms and conditions during your employment, specific to your job classification and collective bargaining agreement.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION STATEMENT:

CREC strives to understand and confront the symptoms and causes of racism and prejudice�ranging from biases to aggressions to discriminatory policies, practices, and traditions�that harm people from systemically marginalized groups or that benefit privileged groups. CREC staff and students acknowledge and respect people of all identifiers, such as race, socioeconomic status, gender identity and expression, education, age, ability, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, language, nationality, religion, and veteran status .

DISCLAIMER STATEMENT:

The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or physical requirements. Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement

CREC strives to understand and confront the symptoms and causes of racism and prejudice—ranging from biases to aggressions to discriminatory policies, practices, and traditions—that harm people from systemically marginalized groups or that benefit privileged groups. CREC staff and students acknowledge and respect people of all identifiers, such as race, socioeconomic status, gender identity and expression, education, age, ability, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, language, nationality, religion, and veteran status.

Employment Verification with E-Verify

CREC PARTICIPATES IN E-VERIFY

Notice: Federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States.

This employer will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee's Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.

Important: If the Government cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to provide you written instructions and an opportunity to contact SSA and/or DHS before taking adverse action against you, including terminating your employment.

If you believe that your employer has violated its responsibilities under this program or has discriminated against you during the verification process based upon your national origin or citizenship status, please call the Office of Special Counsel at 1-800-255-7688 (TDD: 1-800-237-2515).