Director, Nutrition Services

Primary Duties And Responsibilities

• Develops and executes a nutrition services strategy aligned with Institute priorities, including growth in ambulatory care, supportive oncology, and network/partner integration; defines service goals, operating rhythms, and performance measures.
• Establishes and maintains evidence-based clinical practice standards (e.g., screening, assessment, intervention, documentation, and follow-up), ensuring consistent, high-quality oncology nutrition care and appropriate triage for complex cases.
• Leads day-to-day operations of nutrition services, including staffing models, scheduling/capacity planning, service workflows, and cross-coverage; ensures timely, reliable service delivery across clinics and programs.
• Ensures compliance with applicable standards and policies (e.g., patient safety, infection prevention, food allergy management, documentation standards, privacy, and relevant federal/state requirements); leads audits, corrective actions, and risk mitigation activities.
• Develops and manages budgets; monitors expense drivers; evaluates and manages vendors and contracts supporting nutrition services (e.g., supplements, enteral product access processes, education materials, and any food service-related partners), ensuring value, service quality, and continuity.
• Establishes dashboards and key metrics (e.g., malnutrition risk identification, referral response times, visit volume, patient experience indicators, and outcomes where applicable); uses data to drive process improvement, standardization, and scalable service models.
• PARTNERS WITH CLINICAL, OPERATIONAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERS TO INTEGRATE NUTRITION SERVICES INTO CARE PATHWAYS; SUPPORTS PATIENT EDUCATION INITIATIVES AND, AS APPROPRIATE, RESEARCH/CLINICAL PROGRAM NEEDS (E.G., PROTOCOL-RELATED NUTRITION GUIDANCE AND PATIENT-FACING MATERIALS).

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Expert knowledge of clinical nutrition principles and medical nutrition therapy, with strong preference for oncology nutrition expertise and experience managing complex symptom- and treatment-related nutrition issues.
• Ability to establish practice standards, policies, and workflows that support consistent, high-quality care in a matrixed, high-acuity ambulatory environment.
• Working knowledge of malnutrition risk identification approaches, referral triage, and documentation practices; ability to operationalize these in collaboration with clinical teams.
• Knowledge of healthcare quality and safety concepts, including incident response, audit readiness, and continuous improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, PDSA, root cause analysis).
• Knowledge of applicable regulatory and accreditation expectations relevant to nutrition services and patient care documentation; ability to interpret requirements and translate them into practical operating procedures.
• Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, contract/vendor management, and resource planning tied to service demand.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, develop, and retain a multidisciplinary team; capability to build accountability, improve performance, and sustain a culture of collaboration and service excellence.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and align clinical and operational leaders on standards, priorities, and change initiatives.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical nutrition topics into clear guidance for varied audiences (patients, clinicians, and leadership).
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to define meaningful metrics, interpret data trends, and present actionable insights.
• Proficiency with common healthcare and productivity tools (e.g., EMR documentation workflows, Microsoft Office), and ability to support effective use of systems that enable scheduling, reporting, and service delivery.
• Demonstrated judgment, discretion, and ability to handle sensitive information with confidentiality and professionalism.
• Commitment to equitable, culturally responsive care and inclusive communication practices across diverse patient and staff populations.

Minimum Job Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Nutrition, Dietetics, Public Health, Health Administration, or a related field required.
• Minimum of 8-10 years of progressive experience in clinical nutrition and/or nutrition services operations, including 1-2 years of management experience or progressive leadership experience required.
• License/Certification/Registration Required: Registered and Licensed Dietitian required. Professional registration with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics required.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Yes

Patient Contact

• Yes

Special Working Conditions

• n/a