2026-27 Nutrition Services Assistant Director - Como Service Center

About the role

The Assistant Director for Nutrition Services oversees meal service, production, storage, receiving and distribution, as well as purchasing and inventorying of food production equipment, food and supplies, and equipment repairs and installation. They also manage product development, testing, and school menus to ensure nutritional requirements are met and menus are communicated in a timely manner.

Responsibilities

• Direct the overall operation of the nutrition center, warehouse and distribution operations, which provide meals for all school programs, purchasing for nutrition services and equipment repair and installation.
• Serve as part of the Nutrition Services administrative team; participate in strategic planning; work with other Nutritional Services staff to analyze and resolve problems and to develop improved procedures; revise policies and procedures for the schools, nutrition center, warehouse and distribution, department purchasing and equipment repair.
• Plan school menus ensuring that nutritional requirements are met; ensure that menus are communicated in a timely manner.
• Lead the development and testing of new food products; develop innovative approaches to providing high quality food products; engage partners (i.e., manufacturers, chefs, parents, faculty and staff) in recipe development; direct the activities of the nutrition services staff involved with the creation of new products and menus for the schools.
• Manage special diets; consult with parents, students, Student Wellness, doctors and others with expert knowledge of special diets as necessary to document menu needs; train nutrition services staff in how to prepare the special diet foods; follow-up to ensure that the special needs menu requirements are being met.
• Maintain a personnel structure and staffing level to accomplish department goals for units supervised. Hire, place, plan and supervise work, train and motivate, coach, monitor and evaluate the performance of staff; maintain employee records relating to performance and safety; counsel and discipline staff as necessary.
• Ensure that nutrition services, purchasing, distribution workers and equipment repair staff is appropriately certified and/or licensed, trained and able to safely perform their duties.
• Interpret and ensure the implementation of applicable laws rules and regulations relating to proper food handling, sanitation, safety, preparation techniques, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and other related topics; communicate requirements to staff orally and/or in writing as appropriate; monitor operations to ensure staff compliance in the nutrition center, warehouse and distribution.
• Direct the necessary steps to be taken in a food recall; research causes of food borne illnesses; prepare related reports.
• Ensure that records are kept in case of a food recall, work injury or other situation that may require investigation.
• Plan, develop and implement in-service training programs for nutrition center, equipment repair, purchasing, warehouse and distribution personnel; assist with planning and developing inservice training for school nutrition services staff; assess program requirements, employee skills, compliance with governmental regulations and operational efficiency to determine training needs.
• Provide training in the areas of food safety sanitation, bio-security, ergonomics, equipment preventative maintenance, safe driving of vehicles and other transport equipment, and customer service topics as appropriate.
• Provide educational opportunities for dietetic interns from the community; monitor the interns to ensure that they complete all the necessary components of their internships.
• Monitor, evaluate needs and ensure that appropriate levels of warehouse and nutrition center inventory of foods and supplies are maintained and ensure the accurate inventory procedures are in place.
• Select equipment by researching and analyzing the best equipment to purchase; coordinate the installation of equipment with nutrition services and facilities staff as necessary.
• Design systems for monitoring food quality and safety, operational efficiency and financial accountability of nutrition center, warehouse and distribution operations.
• Administer the food, labor and equipment budgets through menu planning, evaluation of participation trends, purchasing, determining when to purchase or repair equipment and related activities.
• Draft, or supervise the drafting and preparation of, required and/or requested reports as necessary.
• Participate in the preparation of grant proposals to obtain additional funding for department programs.
• Contribute to the District's Strong Schools, Strong Communities efforts by partnering with other staff to contribute to student achievement and the alignment and sustainability of resources.
• Serve on state and local committees and attend professional groups relating to the food service and distribution industry.

Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree in food management or a related field and five years of experience in a supervisory or managerial capacity in a large and complex food service program(s).
• An associate's degree in culinary arts and seven years of experience in a supervisory or managerial capacity in a large and complex food service program(s).
• A Food Service Manager's Certificate will be required within one month of appointment.
• A registered or licensed dietician.
• A School Nutrition Specialist Credential.

Benefits

The full salary schedule is listed in the SPSO contract. The Human Resource Department will review your application materials and contact you regarding the next steps. To attach additional documents to your online application, click on the "Additional Attachments" link from the applicant homepage and upload your documents as attachments. Valid file extensions for attaching a document include .doc, .txt, .rtf, and .pdf. This position will remain open until filled.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Saint Paul Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer and supports an inclusive workplace environment.