Director Of Nutrition And Food Services

Director of Nutrition and Food Services

Responsible for the leadership and direction of the clinical, operational, financial, and human resource aspects of the Nutrition & Food Services department. Provides essential services 24 hours per day, 365 days per year and supports a diverse workforce of over 500. Works with staff on an ongoing basis to improve key outcomes in quality, efficiency, and patient/staff satisfaction and helps them develop and attain performance and developmental goals. Exhibits strong interpersonal, negotiating and team building skills and can get work done through others.

Identifies and develops business cases for nutrition & food services based upon anticipated future needs and organizational priorities. Remains current in food trends and new technology to assist patients and customers and able to plan workflows for renovations and new construction projects.

Essential Functions (Key Roles & Responsibilities)

Key outcome-based roles and responsibilities of this job, including the approximate percentage of time spent during an average month or year on each:

Clinical Nutrition Services (25%)

• Provides training for 11 dietetic interns participating in an accredited supervised practice and supervised experiential learning. This training prepares the next generation of Clinical Registered Dietitians.
• Oversees the Massachusetts grant-funded Women & Infants program (WIC) with 16 employees, $1.1M budget and a caseload of 5,000 visits annually.
• Oversees the department Enteral Feeding Unit (EFU). Prepares formula for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Special Care nursery and general hospital population.
• Provides 325K annual inpatient clinical consults. Performs 10,000 Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) assessments and 16,000 out-patient and Health Center visits.
• Coordinates communication among MGB clinical nutrition leaders to attain best practice guidelines for patient care.
• Leads team of 32 in-patient Registered Dietitians (RD’s), 10 out-patient RD’s servicing MGH Boston campus, Mass General Waltham, and Mass General North Shore Danvers, and 6 RD’s servicing the Health Centers, Back Bay, Revere, Chelsea, Charlestown, and Everett.
• Leads the provision of timely, efficient, equitable, effective, and patient-centered care for inpatient and outpatient nutrition services for adults, pediatric and neonatal patients.

Patient Food Services (25%)

• Monitors ongoing training programs focused on the trayline employees. Area experiences a high turnover rate.
• Member of interdisciplinary team focused on continuous process improvement to achieve MGH mission and goals.
• Provides 129,000 non-inpatient meals per year to PACU and the Emergency Department (ED) for patient meal protocols during capacity constraints.
• Evaluates menu to include culturally inclusive food offerings. Maintains menus for patients in 5 languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and Haitian Creole).
• Responsible for and manages the selection, distribution, and retrieval of patient meal trays. Area serves 965,000 trays annually.
• Collaborates closely with Patient Care Services to ensure patient and staff needs are met.
• Leads team of 268 employees to include managers, supervisors, patient trayline workers, nutrition service coordinators, menu data center clerks and general sanitation workers.

Dining Services and Food Production (20%)

• Directs and evaluates the financial performance of 6 margin generating cafeterias and catering unit to include 2 off site cafeterias in the Charlestown Navy Yard and Mass General Waltham. Annual retail revenue of $21M, Expenses $41M (all patient food and retail costs) and cafeteria transactions 3M.
• Ensures financial performance of all cafeteria units meet budgeted goals to enable a 4% contribution margin.
• Oversees 24/7 food service operation (Coffee Central). This includes high quality food production, employee staffing, safety and security of staff and all assets.
• Oversees the Peoplesoft system, Micros cash register systems and CBORD inventory, menu management and patient meal selection data base. Works closely with staff to ensure proper day-to day functionality is maintained, and upgrades implemented.
• Identifies, develops, and monitors all food production areas to ensure they meet the following: food is prepared in accordance with dietary guidelines and aligns with hospital diets, food is labeled with appropriate and accurate nutrition information, and food safety and sanitation standards are exceeded.
• Develop programmatic initiatives to increase customer and employee satisfaction.

Human Resource Management (20%)

• Works to interpret and administer policy, develop, and communicate actions, respond to unique needs and circumstances, and establish and advise on compensation, performance appraisal, and corrective action
• Maintains and fosters a practice culture that embraces change and innovation.
• Communicates with a highly diverse staff in which English is not their primary language. Assists with all health attestations and provides joint in-person classroom instruction for annual training.
• Provides 24/7 coverage of department operations. Available to respond to all situations requiring on-site and remote intervention.
• Develops strategies to hire, develop, nurture, motivate and retain team of over 500 that covers eight distinctly different areas of responsibility and environments.
• Participates in the ongoing professional development of staff via education, mentorship, and competency development.

Administrative Services (10%)

• Maintains emergency management and down-time processes and procedures for the department.
• Serves as the department representative for requirements related to Joint Commission, OSHA, Mass DPH, Clinical Nutrition Regulations, Emergency Management procedures and Workplace Health & Safety Protocols.
• Ensures operational procedures for efficient and effective food production and distribution. Implements a cost-effective procurement system. Develops purchasing guidelines to ensure purchased food and supplies reflect product knowledge, customer preferences, system needs, policies, and nutrition objectives.
• Oversees the implementation of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan and Massachusetts Food Code to reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses

• $21M Revenue - $41M expenses
• 416 FTE’s -
• $1.1M Mass State WIC Budget
• Total Staff 502

• Preferred; 8-10 years of Clinical Nutrition Management
• 3-5 years of Safety and Workforce Well-Being, Regulatory, and Emergency Management
• 8-10 years of Multi-faceted Department - Financial Management
• Serv Safe Certification required
• Master’s Degree, Business Management, Food/Culinary degree
• 8-10 years of Food Service Management
• 5-7 years of Human Resource Management

Basic Skills/Abilities Required

• Must be able to manage multiple projects, determine project urgency, and organize and schedule people and tasks.
• Must have excellent communication & negotiating skills. Must be able to interact with a diverse population.
• Must be able to demonstrate a high level of service delivery and address service failures transparently with staff, employees, and customers’ & negotiating skills.
• Must be able to advocate new ideas, delegate responsibility, empower associates to make decisions, and provide constructive feedback.
• Must be able to perform quality work through all levels of people and organizations.
• Must be able to develop rapport with all levels within the organization, recognize concerns and respond in a timely manner.

Standing / Walking / Talking / Hearing / Vision is required in inpatient, outpatient, research, office, and kitchen environments.

Massachusetts General Hospital is an Affirmative Action Employer. By embracing diverse skills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law. We will ensure that all individuals with a disability are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.