Registered Dietitian & Culinary Services Director
Department: Culinary Services / Dining Services
Reports To: Executive Director / Administrator
Location: California
Employment Status: Full-Time
FLSA Status: Exempt, as applicable
Position Summary
The Registered Dietitian & Culinary Services Director provides leadership and oversight of the culinary and dining operations within a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC). This position integrates clinical nutrition expertise with culinary leadership to ensure residents receive safe, nutritious, appealing, and person-centered meals across all levels of care.
The Director is responsible for the overall direction, quality, and performance of the culinary department, including menu development, nutrition standards, food safety, regulatory compliance, purchasing, budgeting, staffing, training, resident satisfaction, and coordination with clinical and interdisciplinary teams.
The ideal candidate is a California-licensed Registered Dietitian with strong food-service and culinary management experience who can balance clinical nutrition requirements with hospitality, quality, and resident choice.
Essential Duties and ResponsibilitiesCulinary & Dining Services Leadership
- Provide overall leadership and direction for the community's culinary and dining services operations.
- Establish and maintain a dining program that promotes dignity, choice, independence, hospitality, and an exceptional resident experience.
- Oversee daily food production, meal service, special events, catering, and dining operations.
- Develop culinary standards, recipes, production procedures, portion standards, and presentation guidelines.
- Partner with culinary leadership and chefs to create menus that are nutritious, attractive, flavorful, culturally appropriate, and responsive to resident preferences.
- Ensure meals are prepared and served in accordance with established recipes, therapeutic requirements, quality standards, and production schedules.
- Evaluate food quality, taste, appearance, temperature, portion control, and overall dining presentation.
- Conduct regular rounds in dining areas, kitchens, and food-service areas to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Develop and implement quality-improvement initiatives for culinary and dining services.
Nutrition & Clinical Responsibilities
- Serve as the community's nutrition expert and provide Registered Dietitian services within the scope of California licensure and applicable regulations.
- Assess residents' nutritional needs and provide individualized nutrition recommendations as appropriate.
- Collaborate with nursing, physicians, speech-language pathologists, rehabilitation staff, and other members of the interdisciplinary team regarding residents' nutrition and hydration needs.
- Provide nutrition support for residents with special dietary needs, food allergies, intolerances, weight changes, malnutrition risk, diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, renal considerations, and other nutrition-related concerns.
- Review and oversee therapeutic and modified diets, texture modifications, food allergies, and other dietary accommodations.
- Participate in care planning and resident assessments as required.
- Monitor residents at nutritional risk and develop appropriate interventions in collaboration with the care team.
- Maintain appropriate clinical nutrition documentation and records.
- Provide nutrition education and counseling to residents, families, and staff when appropriate.
Menu Development
- Design, approve, and regularly evaluate seasonal menus for residents across independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, and other applicable levels of care.
- Ensure menus meet applicable nutritional standards while maintaining culinary appeal and resident choice.
- Incorporate resident preferences, cultural traditions, seasonal ingredients, special events, and current culinary trends.
- Establish appropriate therapeutic and alternative menu options.
- Develop menus that accommodate medically necessary diets while minimizing unnecessary dietary restrictions.
- Review menus for nutritional adequacy, variety, balance, appropriate portion sizes, and cost effectiveness.
- Conduct resident food-preference surveys, tastings, and menu evaluations.
- Lead or participate in resident dining committees and food-service satisfaction initiatives.
Regulatory Compliance & Food Safety
- Ensure culinary operations comply with applicable federal, state, and local requirements governing senior living, skilled nursing, food service, sanitation, nutrition, and resident care.
- Maintain compliance with applicable California Department of Public Health, California Department of Social Services, local health department, and other regulatory requirements relevant to the community's operations.
- Maintain and enforce food-safety practices, sanitation standards, temperature controls, food storage requirements, allergen controls, and infection-prevention procedures.
- Ensure appropriate food-handler training and certification requirements are maintained.
- Maintain accurate records related to food safety, sanitation, temperatures, menus, diets, and other required documentation.
- Prepare the department for regulatory inspections and respond promptly to identified deficiencies.
- Establish corrective-action plans and monitor implementation when deficiencies or quality concerns are identified.
Department Management
- Recruit, interview, hire, train, supervise, evaluate, and develop culinary and dining services staff.
- Establish staffing schedules based on resident census, service requirements, production needs, and budget.
- Promote a culture of accountability, teamwork, hospitality, respect, and continuous improvement.
- Conduct regular staff meetings, training sessions, and performance evaluations.
- Develop and maintain departmental policies and standard operating procedures.
- Address employee performance, attendance, and conduct issues in accordance with organizational policies.
- Promote employee engagement, retention, professional development, and succession planning.
Budget & Purchasing
- Develop and manage the culinary department's operating budget in collaboration with community leadership.
- Monitor food, labor, supply, and operating expenses.
- Establish appropriate purchasing and inventory-control procedures.
- Evaluate vendors, products, pricing, quality, and service.
- Maintain appropriate inventory levels while minimizing waste and spoilage.
- Monitor food cost, labor cost, and other key performance indicators.
- Implement strategies to reduce waste and improve operational efficiency without compromising food quality or resident satisfaction.
Resident Experience & Hospitality
- Promote a hospitality-driven dining culture that treats meals as an important component of residents' quality of life.
- Respond promptly and professionally to resident and family concerns regarding food and dining services.
- Establish mechanisms for gathering and responding to resident feedback.
- Conduct regular resident dining rounds and meal observations.
- Work with residents and resident committees to identify opportunities for menu and service improvements.
- Support special events, celebrations, cultural programs, and community activities involving food and dining.
Education & Community Engagement
- Provide nutrition and food-safety education to culinary, nursing, and other community staff.
- Develop educational programs for residents on healthy aging, nutrition, hydration, and wellness.
- Participate in wellness programming and community education initiatives.
- Serve as a resource to residents, families, and staff regarding nutrition and special dietary needs.
QualificationsRequired
- Bachelor's degree in Nutrition, Dietetics, Food and Nutrition, or a related field.
- Current Registered Dietitian credential through the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR).
- Current California Registered Dietitian licensure, registration, or other credentialing required to practice in California.
- Demonstrated experience in food-service, culinary, senior living, healthcare, or institutional dining operations.
- Strong knowledge of nutrition, food safety, therapeutic diets, sanitation, and food-service operations.
- Strong leadership, communication, organization, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to work collaboratively with residents, families, culinary staff, nursing staff, physicians, and executive leadership.
Preferred
- Experience managing dining services in a CCRC, skilled nursing facility, assisted living community, hospital, or other senior-care environment.
- Experience overseeing both clinical nutrition and culinary operations.
- Food-service management or culinary-management experience.
- Experience with menu management and food-service software.
- Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) credential, if applicable.
- ServSafe or comparable food-safety certification.
- Experience with California senior-living and healthcare regulatory requirements.
- Experience with person-centered dining and hospitality programs.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Strong understanding of nutrition for older adults and the relationship between nutrition, hydration, health, and quality of life.
- Ability to translate clinical nutrition requirements into practical, appealing culinary solutions.
- Knowledge of food production, menu planning, recipe standardization, purchasing, inventory management, and cost control.
- Strong understanding of food allergies and food-safety risks.
- Ability to analyze operational and clinical data and implement appropriate corrective actions.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong organizational and time-management skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced senior-care environment.
- Ability to motivate and develop a diverse culinary team.
- Strong customer-service and hospitality orientation.
- Commitment to person-centered care and resident choice.
Physical Requirements
The position requires the ability to:
- Frequently walk throughout the community, kitchen, dining rooms, storage areas, and other operational areas.
- Stand and walk for extended periods.
- Occasionally lift and carry supplies and equipment within established safety limits.
- Bend, stoop, reach, and move throughout kitchen and dining environments.
- Work in environments with varying temperatures, including commercial kitchen areas.
- Respond appropriately to operational and resident-care needs.
Key Performance Indicators
Performance may be evaluated based on:
- Resident and family dining satisfaction.
- Food quality and meal-service consistency.
- Regulatory and food-safety compliance.
- Nutritional outcomes and appropriate nutrition interventions.
- Department labor and food-cost performance.
- Food waste reduction.
- Employee retention and engagement.
- Menu quality, variety, and resident participation.
- Timeliness and accuracy of dietary accommodations.
- Completion of required documentation and quality-improvement activities.
- Overall dining-service experience.
Pay: $85,000.00 - $105,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Disability insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid orientation
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
