Director of Nutrition

Job Purpose The Director of Nutrition is responsible for the clinical, operational, and strategic leadership of The Client's Nutrition Department. The Director establishes and maintains the organization's nutrition treatment philosophy, clinical standards, and systems of care for individuals receiving eating disorder treatment and is accountable for the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of nutrition services. Job Purpose The Director of Nutrition is responsible for the clinical, operational, and strategic leadership of The Client's Nutrition Department. The Director establishes and maintains the organization's nutrition treatment philosophy, clinical standards, and systems of care for individuals receiving eating disorder treatment and is accountable for the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of nutrition services. The Director of Nutrition leads and develops the Registered Dietitian team, provides oversight of nutrition treatment planning and progression, ensures high-quality documentation and medical-necessity support, and maintains nutrition policies, procedures, programming, and quality-assurance processes appropriate to the residential level of care. The Director works collaboratively with medical, nursing, clinical, utilization review, behavioral health, and operational leadership to ensure coordinated interdisciplinary treatment. The Director also provides leadership oversight to food-service operations through the Executive Chef to ensure menus, dietary orders, food accommodations, and therapeutic meal programming are consistent with clinical standards. The Director may provide direct client care, clinical coverage, or specialized nutrition intervention when clinically or operationally indicated; however, the role is primarily a department leadership position and is not expected to routinely carry a full individual caseload. Duties And Responsibilities Functional Area: Nutrition Clinical Leadership & Strategy Own and maintain The Client's nutrition treatment philosophy, clinical standards, and overall nutrition strategy for eating disorder care. Ensure nutrition services reflect current evidence-informed eating disorder treatment practices and are appropriate to the level of care and population served. Establish consistent standards for nutrition assessment, meal planning, nutrition rehabilitation, therapeutic exposures, self-portioning, solo eating, outings, movement-related nutrition recommendations, and other nutrition interventions. Provide clinical leadership for complex nutrition presentations and higher-risk cases and support RDs in treatment decision‑making. Lead nutrition‑related clinical and operational improvement initiatives and identify department priorities based on client outcomes, quality indicators, staff needs, and program development. Participate as an active member of organizational leadership and interdisciplinary treatment teams. Functional Area: RD Leadership, Supervision & Staff Development Provide direct leadership and supervision to the Lead RD and Registered Dietitians and maintain clear delegation of responsibilities within the department. Hire, onboard, train, supervise, coach, and evaluate nutrition team members, or appropriately delegate components of these functions while retaining director‑level accountability. Provide regular clinical supervision and case consultation focused on eating disorder nutrition treatment, case conceptualization, treatment planning, progression of interventions, barriers to progress, and discharge/step‑down readiness. Monitor staff performance, professionalism, communication, clinical competency, and adherence to organizational expectations and address performance concerns promptly. Identify ongoing education and competency needs and ensure consistent, documented nutrition training is maintained. Oversee nutrition department staffing needs, coverage planning, and role allocation while delegating appropriate day‑to‑day coordination to the Lead RD. Functional Area: Residential Nutrition Treatment & Treatment Planning Ensure each client receives a comprehensive, individualized nutrition assessment and measurable nutrition treatment plan appropriate to diagnosis, medical and nutritional needs, developmental needs, culture, religion, and other relevant factors. Ensure nutrition treatment plans demonstrate purposeful progression through clinically indicated interventions rather than maintenance of static goals. Oversee RD decision‑making related to meal‑plan advancement, therapeutic food exposures, self‑portioning, solo eating, restaurant and community exposures, eating‑event progression, and other nutrition rehabilitation interventions. Ensure nutrition recommendations and interventions are integrated with the client's interdisciplinary master treatment plan and current level‑of‑care needs. Review complex cases and provide direct intervention or coverage when clinically necessary. Ensure appropriate coordination of care with outpatient nutrition providers and other members of the client's external treatment team when indicated. Functional Area: Documentation, Utilization Review & Medical Necessity Establish and maintain standards for timely, clinically meaningful nutrition documentation. Ensure nutrition documentation clearly demonstrates current clinical needs, progress, barriers, risk factors, measurable treatment goals, and rationale for continued residential treatment or readiness for transition. Support RDs in understanding and documenting nutrition‑related medical necessity and level‑of‑care considerations. Conduct or delegate routine documentation audits and provide timely feedback and corrective action when deficiencies are identified. Collaborate with Utilization Review and interdisciplinary leadership to ensure nutrition information needed to support authorization and continued stay review is accurate, current, and clinically specific. Ensure required nutrition documentation is completed in accordance with The Client's policy, regulatory requirements, and applicable accreditation standards. Functional Area: Policies, Procedures, Programming & Quality Assurance Own the development, revision, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of nutrition policies and procedures. Ensure nutrition procedures provide clear, operational guidance for consistent implementation across RDs, BHTs, nursing, food service, and other departments involved in nutrition care. Develop and maintain nutrition‑related clinical workflows, forms, EHR templates, assessments, progress‑note standards, meal‑support documentation, and other department infrastructure. Oversee nutrition programming, including groups, supported eating interventions, food exposures, outings, and other therapeutic nutrition experiences. Establish quality‑assurance processes to monitor treatment fidelity, documentation quality, meal‑plan implementation, nutrition programming, and staff adherence to established standards. Identify deficiencies or inconsistencies and implement corrective action, training, or process improvement as needed. Functional Area: Food Service & Executive Chef Oversight Provide director‑level oversight to the Executive Chef and ensure food‑service operations support the clinical nutrition needs of the program. Collaborate with the Executive Chef regarding menu development, menu modification, therapeutic meal needs, recipe standards, and nutrition‑related quality control. Ensure processes are in place for accurate implementation of food allergies, intolerances, dietary accommodations, and medically indicated nutrition orders. Ensure menus and meal‑service practices support nutrition rehabilitation and The Client's eating disorder treatment philosophy. Maintain clear division of responsibility between clinical nutrition leadership and day‑to‑day culinary/food‑service operations while ensuring effective coordination between the two. Functional Area: Interdisciplinary & Medical Collaboration Collaborate with the FNP/DON, Medical Director, Clinical Director, BHT leadership, Utilization Review, and other department leaders regarding nutrition issues affecting treatment and client safety. Coordinate with medical providers regarding therapeutic or medical dietary orders, medical findings affecting nutrition rehabilitation, and nutrition concerns affecting medical stability. Participate in multidisciplinary treatment‑team meetings, leadership meetings, and other organizational meetings as required. Ensure nutrition recommendations are communicated clearly to relevant members of the treatment team and implemented consistently across disciplines. Partner with other department leaders to resolve cross‑department barriers affecting meals, snacks, exposures, programming, documentation, and client care. Functional Area: Professional Development & Organizational Leadership Maintain current knowledge and competency in evidence‑informed eating disorder nutrition treatment and higher‑level‑of‑care practices. Pursue and complete Certified Eating Disorders Specialist (CEDS) certification within the timeframe established with The Client. The Client will support and cover approved costs associated with completion of the certification. Support the long‑term clinical, operational, and organizational development of The Client. Represent The Client professionally in community, educational, referral, or eating disorder‑focused events as appropriate to the role. Complete required organizational training and maintain all professional credentials and continuing education requirements. Take on additional director‑level responsibilities as reasonably required by program development and organizational needs. Qualifications Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) in good standing with the Commission on Dietetic Registration. Current Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist (LDN) in the applicable state, or ability to obtain required state licensure within the required timeframe. Minimum of five (5) years of professional experience working with the eating disorder population. Prior professional experience treating eating disorders at a higher level of care (HLOC), such as residential, partial hospitalization (PHP), inpatient, or intensive outpatient (IOP), required; residential eating disorder treatment experience strongly preferred. Minimum of two (2) years of demonstrated leadership, management, and/or clinical supervision experience. Demonstrated competency in eating disorder nutrition assessment, nutrition rehabilitation, meal planning, therapeutic food exposures, treatment planning, and progression of nutrition interventions. Demonstrated understanding of medical necessity, level‑of‑care considerations, interdisciplinary treatment planning, and documentation expectations within eating disorder higher levels of care. Experience providing clinical supervision, case consultation, and performance feedback to Registered Dietitians. Demonstrated ability to develop, implement, and maintain clinical policies, procedures, standards, workflows, and staff training. Strong leadership, organizational communication, clinical decision‑making, and interdisciplinary collaboration skills. Must be willing to pursue and complete Certified Eating Disorders Specialist (CEDS) certification as an expectation of the Director of Nutrition role; The Client will support and cover approved costs associated with completion of the certification. Graduate degree and/or advanced eating disorder training or credentials preferred but not required. Working Conditions Residential treatment services are provided 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. The Director of Nutrition is a leadership position and may occasionally require schedule flexibility to address department needs, staffing issues, client‑care concerns, or program operations. The Client serves individuals with eating disorders and complex co‑occurring medical and psychiatric conditions, including significant trauma histories. The Director must demonstrate the ability to provide professional, trauma‑informed, eating disorder‑informed leadership and maintain appropriate clinical and professional boundaries. As an eating disorder treatment facility, client‑facing nutrition leadership may include participation in meals, snacks, food exposures, and other therapeutic eating experiences as clinically or operationally indicated. Physical Requirements Ability to navigate the residential treatment environment, including stairs, as required to perform assigned duties. Ability to perform the essential functions of the position and participate in client‑facing nutrition programming as required. Compensation $80,000 - $110,000 #J-18808-Ljbffr W3Global