Community Dietitian – Heartland Health Outreach
Summary: The Community Dietitian is responsible for providing nutrition assessments, counseling, and education to participants of Heartland Health Outreach’s (HHO) health clinic, Vital Bridges, Resource Center, and other affiliated sites. HHO serves a diverse population in Chicago including homeless, those with HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases, and those with severe mental illness. Individual accountabilities and work volume will be established through the development of annual Success Objectives, within the framework outlined below.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Provide quality services to ensure that the organization’s nutrition program effectively meets the nutritional needs of participants of HHO.
- Provide individual and group nutrition counseling and education through electronic resources, written materials, and programming such as Telenutrition services.
- Regularly reviews the nutritional status of participants via scheduled follow-up sessions. Based on progress, adjust or set goals to assure that the participants’ needs are being met, make menu modifications, or link participants to other programs, such as SNAP.
- Provide group nutrition education sessions or cooking demonstrations monthly at all HHO sites. In combination with Dietitian team, plan the monthly schedule and develop all presentation materials.
- With the Food and Nutrition Manager, assure that food provided meets the cultural and food safety needs of the participant population.
- Clinically evaluate requests for nutritional supplements; and if indicated, facilitate access to necessary supplements by communicating with participants’ doctors and pharmacies.
- Using the ADIME (Assessment Diagnosis Intervention Monitoring Evaluation) format, regularly document nutrition activity in the agency database.
- Administer semi-annual and annual surveys, analyze, and report findings compared to program objectives. Provide monthly, quarterly, and yearly data to Food and Nutrition Manager. Other Quality Assurance projects, surveys, and audits as assigned.
- Supervise and provide an experience in community nutrition to Dietetic Interns as a preceptor as well as to volunteers of the programs.
- Stay abreast of current research on nutrition, food insecurity, HIV/AIDS, poverty, homelessness, and major chronic diseases to ensure that programs respond to the recent findings.
- Participate in program planning and establishing annual program objectives. Contribute to quarterly reports by evaluating progress toward achieving set objectives.
- Write monthly nutrition blogs for the HHO blog and website – Healthy Helpings.
- Participate in the Dietitian team and help spread the nutrition message throughout HHO programs through presentations, handouts, and meetings. Develop relationships with other HHO programs/providers to assist with care coordination of participants needs.
- Provides coverage to grocery center operations as assigned.
- Participates in regular food and nutrition program meetings and staff meetings, as scheduled.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Education and/or Experience: A Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition from an accredited college or university. Must be a Registered, Licensed Dietitian or RD Eligible. If RD eligible, must have registration and license within 6 months of hire. Experience in managing volunteers. Experience/desire to work in public health.
- Other Skills and Qualifications: A valid Driver’s License and regular access to a motor vehicle required.
- Language Skills: Bilingual in Spanish/English is preferred. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Demonstrated competency in public speaking and strong interpersonal skills required.
- Computer Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook/Exchange; Windows operating systems; and other software routinely used by Heartland Alliance.
Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit; use hands to handle or feel and reach with hands and arms.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
- The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
- The employee must frequently be able to operate an automobile/van.
Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
Heartland Alliance makes all hiring and employment decisions, and operates all programs, services, and functions without regard to race, receipt of an order of protection, creed, color, age, gender, gender identity, marital or parental status, religion, ancestry, national origin, amnesty, physical or mental disability, protected veterans status, genetic information, sexual orientation, immigrant status, political affiliation or belief, use of FMLA, VESSA, military, and family military rights, ex-offender status (depending on the offense and position to be filled), unfavorable military discharge, membership in an organization whose primary purpose is the protection of civil rights or improvement of living conditions and human relations, height, weight, or HIV infection, in accord with the organization’s AIDS Policy Statement of September 1987.
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