Director of Nutrition

LOCATION

This position is fully on-site and requires a regular presence in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Remote or hybrid work is not available for this position.

JOB SUMMARY

The Director of Nutrition will be responsible for directing community outreach, education, advocacy, and research in the field of nutrition and will be an active member of the ACHE Research Institute Health and Wellness Center multidisciplinary team. This individual will provide leadership and strategic direction for nutrition programs within the ACHE community and the community at large with the primary focus on the ACHE regional service area. The Director of Nutrition will develop methods to evaluate program effectiveness, set appropriate strategies and goals, analyze and assess program growth and implement program modifications as necessary. This will guide and oversee the development, analysis, and determination of future program offerings. This individual will also participate in overall public wellness initiatives and research, ensuring that programs are inclusive of the needs of underserved populations that will provide improving health equity. This individual will also collaborate with ACHE professional education programs that improve academic program understanding of effective nutritional implementation in the community. Thus, the Director of Nutrition will promote wellness initiatives focused on nutrition and integrate these initiatives into the overall health and wellness components of the Research Institute Health and Wellness Center.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve over all elements of the teaching kitchen located at the ACHE Research Institute Health and Wellness Center (RIHWC) including education and maintenance of the facility. These functions include but are not limited to:

Education:

• Develop and implement community outreach education programs and outreach nutritional research in areas such as food insecurity, chronic diseases related to health and wellness (i.e. obesity, diabetes, eating disorders, etc.), health literacy, and special needs populations
• Arrange and organize guest chef cooking classes
• Develop, implement, and lead community-centered culinary arts and nutrition programming that promotes health and well-being
• Partner with community groups that provide specialized cooking classes that meet the goals of the RIHWC

Maintenance – Teaching Kitchen:

• Maintain and uphold commercial kitchen requirements
• Oversee maintenance of kitchen equipment
• Manage inventory
• Order supplies and food as needed
• Maintain good working relationships with vendors

Additional Duties:

• Work with fellow members of the RIHWC on the nutrition component of current and future outreach programs
• Contribute and collaborate in all aspects of community health research including grant submissions and making recommendations based on research findings
• Work collaboratively with faculty to integrate nutrition education for academic programs as appropriate (Example, teaching the nutrition component of the Geriatric Course for the School of Physical Therapy) – no more than 30 teaching hours per academic year
• Work collaboratively with community organizations in nutrition education and wellness programming
• Serve on select community boards or committees as a representative of ACHE nutrition education
• Serve on ACHE committees as appropriate
• Serve on professional organizational boards as appropriate
• Work with ACHE faculty members on conducting research and/or ACHE RIHWC team members on projects as appropriate
• Other duties as assigned by the Senior Executive Director of Transformative Wellness Initiatives or their designee