Nutrition Lead

Nutrition Job Provide service excellence to patients and guests in the selection of meals through Room Service, Cafeteria, Deli, Catering, and Coffee Cart. Support in the continued development and oversight of staff in the Nutrition Department including but not limited to Room Service, Call Center, and retail outlets. This is not an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements. Employees will be required to perform any job, with related instruction given by their supervisor, subject to reasonable accommodation. Coach and mentor staff to ensure patient satisfaction is being met according to department policy. This includes the orientation of patient to Room Service, missed meal reporting, and delivery of trays. Assist as needed with tray deliveries. Works with staff to ensure patient dietary needs are met and patient satisfaction and intake of meals is optimized. Makes modifications to patient menu selections for patients on multiple restriction combinations and customizes menu selections to meet special dietary needs. Assist the management team with orientation of new employees to the department. Assist the management team with interviews, training, and evaluation of personnel. Assist with documentation and tabulation of the employee satisfaction survey. Actively participate in problem solving. Assist with work and time schedules that meet the departments labor and FTE budgets. When in the diet office, prioritizes and assigns a level of acuity to newly admitted patients based upon departmentally established screening criteria in collaboration with the Registered Dietitian and Management. Verifies and/or validates all food related allergies and intolerance with patients and refers to the Registered Dietitian when appropriate. Verifies and/or validates diet orders for infants receiving mixed formulas as well as Enteral feeding and nourishments in collaboration with the Registered Dietitian and Management. Oversee the food expo line and assembly area to ensure food trays are being made to patients requests. Organize and stack meal trays for fast efficient delivery times by service staff. When in the diet office, provides support for the Room Service Coordinators in regard to taking patient meal selections, therapeutic diet questions, and issues that may arise from nursing or the kitchen. Serves as the liaison between the nursing staff and the kitchen during mealtimes. Coordinates the workflow of the diet office during downtime and refers issues to Management. Document and handle cash and credit sales for guest meals. All job qualifications listed indicate the minimum level necessary to perform this job proficiently. Preferred: Bachelors Degree in Nutrition or any Health Related Field. Minimum: Servsafe Manager Certificate within 6 months of hire or transfer. Preferred: Diet Technician Registered (DTR) or Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) Certification. Minimum: Basic skills in MS Word, Excel, Outlook. Preferred: Experience with Nutrition related software (i.e. Computrition). Strong interpersonal skills that reflect positive attitude and sense of commitment to patients, colleagues and community. Excellent verbal and written communication skills that reflect a positive attitude and a sense of commitment to our patients, work associates and community. Strong critical thinking skills to exercise good judgment in communications and assist with problem resolution. Knowledge of food sanitation, safety and standard food production techniques. Knowledge of preparation of quality food. Cottage Health is a leading acute care hospital system, located on the central coast of California, widely known for our superior patient care, innovation, medical research and education. Our health system operates primarily in Santa Barbara, Ca, since 1888, and consists of three acute care hospitals, a Rehabilitation Hospital, multiple clinics and a multi-site Urgent Care system. Our mission is to serve the central coast communities with excellence, integrity, and compassion. Every day we touch thousands of lives in many different ways, resolute in our mission to put patients first. We take pride in helping our patients get back to living their lives - in the places they love. Cottage Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Cottage Health applicants are considered solely based on their qualifications, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, transgender, gender expression and identity, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, military status or any other classification protected by law. This policy applies to all aspects of the relationship between Cottage Health and an applicant or employee. Cottage Health is committed to upholding discrimination-free hiring practices. We strive to cultivate an environment where exceptional people bring diverse perspectives and find belonging, support and connection to their work.

Created: 2026-03-04