Position Summary:
The Early Childhood Registered Dietitian Nutritionist is a shared position within Children’s Aid’s Health and Wellness Division and Early Childhood Division. They are a key liaison between Health and Wellness’ Go!Healthy team and Early Childhood to provide a seamless connection of nutrition services and supports for families of young children.
The Go!Healthy SNAP‐Ed program is a part of the Children’s Aid Go!Healthy portfolio of programs. It is a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention program, which aims to improve eating habits and physical activity behaviors among the youth and families served by Children’s Aid.
Children’s Aid’s Early Childhood Division is founded on the belief that strong communities are built by children and families who have the access, skills and choice to create pathways to their success. The goal of health services in Early Childhood programs is to collaborate with families to promote children’s health and well‐being by providing nutrition education, support services and community resources and referrals.
Under the dual supervision of the Assistant Director of Food and Nutrition Programs (Health and Wellness) and the Regional Family Services Director (Early Childhood), the Nutritionist will be responsible for implementing educational programs focused on early childhood and family nutrition for parents and guardians enrolled in Children’s Aid’s Early Childhood sites. As a Nutritionist for Go!Healthy, this role will deliver approved SNAP‐Ed curriculum. As a part of the Early Childhood Health Services team, the Nutritionist will be also responsible providing one‐on‐one nutrition consultations and group classes. Additionally, the Nutritionist will support Children’s Aid’s Early Childhood sites in meeting or exceeding the Head Start Performance Standards in Health Program Services by building responsive, trusting relationships with families and providing necessary resources that address children’s nutritional concerns.
Responsibilities:
Go!Healthy SNAP‐Ed Programming
- Implement direct education nutrition workshops and series utilizing SNAP‐Ed approval curricula, adapting for Early Childhood families as needed. Teach group series and sessions in the classroom, at food box, and at farmers markets.
- Prepare food demonstrations and cooking education in tandem with SNAP‐Ed lessons, using USDA‐approved recipes.Build partnerships and maintain communication with Early Childhood’s site leadership and staff. Coordinate with partners to determine class time and location, and assist with recruiting participants.
- Act as a community health and wellness advocate by being available and willing to answer families’ questions, facilitate discussions during nutrition workshops, and modeling healthy eating within the community.
- Develop and lead a Community Obesity Prevention Training program for Early Childhood staff and families.Serve as a point person for Go!Healthy in both nutrition and early childhood. Connect families to Go!Healthy programing as well as food box distributions through the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Initiative.
- Early Childhood Health Services
- Work in collaboration with the Early Childhood Heath Services team to enhance family life practices and circumstances that promote child health and well‐being across Children’s Aid’s nine Early Childhood sites in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island.
- Provide nutrition counseling to families. Access health records and record case notes related to consultations into COPA database.
- Review health records for children, particularly those who have been identified with nutrition concerns. Assist in the development of an Individual Health Care Plan for each child with an identified nutritional concern.Assist in the development of and updates to the Early Childhood Health Manual and nutrition sections of the Parent Manual.
- Maintain awareness of CACFP standards, health services in HSPPS, and DOHMH article 47 regulations in relation to nutrition services for families of children ages 0‐5 years.
- Attend Health Services Advisory Committee meetings and contribute evidence‐based suggestions regarding nutrition services, health trends and other information as necessary.
- Provide required data and reports
Qualifications:
- Registered Dietitian (Bachelor’s or Master’s degree) with expertise in nutrition counseling and child preventative health as it relates to families of children ages 0‐5 years.
- Bilingual (written and oral) in English and Spanish is required. Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
- Experience executing evidence‐based strategies to improve health‐related outcomes for children and families as it relates to nutrition.
- Equally comfortable in front of small groups and one‐on one‐settings including in‐person, virtual (Zoom) and phone‐ based. Comfortable performing cold call activities such as patient outreach.
- Proven ability to effectively establish trust and rapport with a diverse audience.
- Deep understanding of food’s intersections with health equity, including common barriers to healthy eating.
- Cultural sensitivity to health‐ and food‐related outcomes; utilizes a weight‐inclusive and trauma‐informed approach to nutrition counseling.
- Energetic and a strong collaborator, with great capacity to prioritize and juggle multiple projects efficiently.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $60,000.00 - $70,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Disability insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Schedule:
Work Location: In person