Dietary Consultant

Reports To: Regional Director of Operations or Designee

Overview of the Position

The Registered Dietary Consultant provides professional nutrition and food-service consultation to skilled nursing and post-acute care facilities. This role partners with administrators, nursing leaders, dietary managers, and interdisciplinary teams to promote resident-centered nutrition care, regulatory compliance, safe food-service operations, and positive clinical outcomes. The consultant evaluates dietary systems, identifies risks and improvement opportunities, and supports facilities in implementing practical, sustainable corrective actions while maintaining the confidentiality of resident and organizational information.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as a professional nutrition and food-service resource to facility administrators, dietary managers, nursing leaders, and interdisciplinary care teams.
• Conduct scheduled and focused reviews of dietary operations, clinical nutrition services, sanitation practices, meal service, documentation, and regulatory compliance.
• Complete or support comprehensive nutrition assessments, progress reviews, and individualized nutrition interventions in accordance with professional standards and applicable requirements.
• Review resident weight trends, laboratory data, diagnoses, medications, intake records, hydration status, skin integrity, and other relevant clinical information to identify nutritional risks.
• Develop, review, and update nutrition care plans and recommendations for residents with weight changes, wounds, altered diets, enteral nutrition, food allergies, or other complex needs.
• Participate in interdisciplinary care planning, quality assurance and performance improvement activities, and clinical risk reviews as requested.
• Evaluate menus, recipes, portion standards, nutritional adequacy, therapeutic diets, food preferences, substitutions, and meal-service practices.
• Monitor compliance with federal and state regulations, food-safety standards, infection-prevention practices, and company policies applicable to dietary services.
• Assist facilities with survey preparation, plans of correction, complaint investigations, and ongoing regulatory readiness related to nutrition and food service.
• Provide education and coaching to dietary employees and facility leaders on therapeutic diets, nutrition interventions, documentation, sanitation, food handling, resident rights, and person-centered dining.
• Use PointClickCare to review nutrition assessments, care plans, weights, intake documentation, orders, clinical alerts, and related reports; identify gaps and guide timely, accurate, and compliant documentation.
• Analyze dietary and clinical performance indicators, communicate findings to appropriate leaders, and recommend measurable improvement actions.
• Verify completion and effectiveness of corrective actions through follow-up reviews, documentation, and continued monitoring.
• Collaborate with medical providers, nursing, rehabilitation, pharmacy, and other disciplines to coordinate nutrition services and address resident-specific concerns.
• Maintain required consultation reports, visit summaries, recommendations, and supporting documentation in an organized and confidential manner.
• Travel to assigned facilities and adjust priorities in response to urgent clinical, operational, or regulatory needs.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Dietetics, Nutrition, Food and Nutrition, or a related field from an accredited institution required.
• Current registration as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) or Registered Dietitian (RD) through the Commission on Dietetic Registration required.
• Current, active, and unrestricted Florida Dietitian/Nutritionist license, or eligibility to obtain required state licensure before beginning work.
• Minimum of three years of professional dietetics experience in skilled nursing, long-term care, post-acute care, healthcare, or a closely related setting preferred.
• Knowledge of long-term care regulations, nutrition assessment, therapeutic diets, food-service operations, sanitation, survey processes, and quality improvement.
• Ability to interpret clinical and dietary information, identify trends and risks, and develop clear, practical recommendations.
• Strong consultation, education, organization, documentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to exercise independent professional judgment and protect sensitive resident, employee, and business information.
• Proficiency with electronic health records and standard business applications; PointClickCare experience required.
• Must successfully complete and maintain eligibility under the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) Level 2 background screening requirements through the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel regularly to assigned facilities, including overnight travel when necessary.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, meet documentation deadlines, and respond effectively to time-sensitive facility needs.

Environmental Conditions

• Work is performed in skilled nursing, post-acute care, office, kitchen, dining, and resident-care environments.
• Regular travel between assigned facilities is required, with occasional overnight travel based on business needs.
• May experience exposure to food-production areas, temperature variations, cleaning agents, odors, noise, wet surfaces, and other conditions customary to healthcare and dietary operations.
• May have potential exposure to infectious diseases and other healthcare-related hazards; adherence to infection-prevention practices and use of required personal protective equipment are expected.
• Must be able to manage schedule changes, competing priorities, and time-sensitive clinical or regulatory concerns.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to remain in a stationary position and operate a computer or other office equipment for extended periods.
• Ability to move throughout facilities, including resident-care, kitchen, storage, and dining areas, and to navigate varied floor surfaces.
• Frequent use of hands and fingers for keyboarding, documentation, food-service observation, and handling work materials.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in person, by telephone, and through electronic platforms.
• Visual and auditory ability sufficient to review records, observe dietary operations, communicate with residents and employees, and identify safety or compliance concerns.
• Ability to occasionally lift, carry, push, or pull materials and supplies weighing up to 25 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Ability to travel by automobile and perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.