Director, Clinical Nutrition Services

The Director of Clinical Nutrition is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of Clinical Nutrition, Diabetes Nurse Education, and the NICU DeBartolo Nutrition Center. This role oversees the delivery of safe, effective, and patient-centered nutritional care, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and alignment with organizational initiatives. The Director manages departmental budgets, resources, and staffing while maintaining credentialing, competency, and development of dietitians, diabetes nurse educators, and supporting personnel. Key responsibilities include developing policies and procedures, advancing performance improvement and quality monitoring programs, and supporting research and academic partnerships such as the USF Dietetic Internship Program. The position drives innovation through automation systems, program design, and interprofessional collaboration to meet evolving patient and organizational needs. Serving as a leader and mentor, the Director fosters a culture of accountability, engagement, and excellence consistent with the hospital's mission, vision, and values.

Essential functions:

• Create High Performance through people & talent partnership, behavioral interviewing, developing and motivating skilled practitioners.
• Establish standard competency requirements appropriately associated with specialization.
• Implement and direct all activities related to Clinical Nutrition Services, Diabetes Nurse Educators, and NICU Nutrition Center Technicians.
• Ensures Clinical Nutrition Specialists and Diabetes Nurse Educators demonstrate the ability to assess and document care across the lifespan.
• Ensures the development and implementation of care plans based on information within the electronic medical record, patient/family and healthcare team members.
• Demonstrates a thorough knowledge of regulatory expectations for areas under span of control.
• Establishes training and education modules for Nutrition Center technicians conducting infant feeding.
• Oversees departmental QI program by monitoring and reporting outcomes and making critical improvement modifications.
• Develops criteria, executes programs and monitors outcomes for the department.
• Evaluates services in departments and establishes monitors and metrics to measure, meet, and/or enhance performance goals.
• Ensures appropriate and adequate human resources within budget restraints to successfully perform required daily activities within departments.
• Develop and maintain key physician and leadership relationships.
• Demonstrate commitment to the philosophy of the organization though programs, policies, and metrics.
• Establish and maintain electronic monitoring of Prolacta charges, malnutrition, and Diabetes Educator consult.
• Conduct bi-monthly NICU interprofessional meetings to report and update leaders on infant feeding metrics
• Demonstrates fiscal responsibility and budgetary compliance through judicious use of allocated resources.
• Forecasts equipment and personnel needs at time of budget preparation.
• Demonstrates ability to supervise efficient, cost-effective operation of 3 clinical departments.
• Maintain the established clinical ladder Review Board for 2-year clinical ladder approval.
• Direct oversight of the coordination of Dietetic Internship Program.
• Oversee technological updates/advances and functionality changes impacting: Epic, Healthtouch, Timeless, and Microsoft office.
• Support Community-based programs requiring nutrition and diabetes education to improve health outcomes and decrease risk of readmission.

Work Experience and Additional Information

• Master's Degree in Food & Nutrition, Dietetics, or other related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in clinical dietetics with minimum of 5 years of management experience, preferably in a high census, high acuity Academic Medical Center.
• Completion of a didactic program in dietetics and supervised practice program approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) of the American Dietetic Association.
• Registered Dietitian with active registration by the Commission on Dietetic Registration of the American Dietetic Association; Certification/Licensure as required by the state of Florida.

Technical Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to oversee and direct interprofessional teams as directed by Divisional VP
• Ability to develop and enhance university partnerships by collaborating with USF to create/maintain Dietetic Internship and MPH Program. 100% pass rate for all interns.
• Proven ability to spearhead, create, and implement best practice programmatic designs and new business development strategies to enhance clinical operations, quality, and organizational initiatives.
• Demonstrate fiscal responsibility and budgetary alignment with operational needs and organizational objectives.
• Demonstrates value through appropriate resource allocation and maintenance of proficient, competent, credentialed professionals.
• System-wide engagement with interprofessional organizational teams requiring nutrition, diabetes, and/or infant feeding expertise.
• Lead through multiple regulatory and recertification surveys.
• Knowledge of required competencies, advance skills, and recertification times of over 40 interprofessional direct reports.
• Ability to serve as subject matter expert on specialties within sphere of control.
• Engage in active research and peer review publications
• Strong collaboration with Nurse-driven protocols and quality initiatives in support of Diabetes and Magnet recertification
• Active partnership with patient experience, quality, compliance, education, and People & Talent on related hospital initiatives
• Ability to keep abreast of new technologies and technological changes that impact/influence team performance and advise accordingly.
• Encourage superior productivity and timely nutrition intervention in support of decreased LOS readmission