When you hire for a nutrition educator position, whether you work for a hospital, social services, a school or some other type of organization, it’s vital that you pen a thoughtful and compelling job description. Doing so helps you reach and attract the most compatible candidates in an efficient and concise manner. Don’t eat up a lot of space; get right to the essentials. To illustrate what we mean, we have written a nutrition educator job description sample below. Please take advantage of it to jot down ideas for your own description. It is well worth your time to hire an ideal nutrition educator.
Before we get started on the sample, though, a brief discussion of job titles is necessary. Nutrition educators work in a wide range of settings, and some have more specialized focuses than others. Your job title should be no more than five words, so make clever use of that space. Examples of various nutrition educator job titles include, “Nutrition Educator – Diabetes Educator,” “Nutrition Educator –Health Coach,” “Assistant Nutrition Educator,” “Nutrition Educator, Spanish Speaking,” “WIC Nutrition Educator,” and “Seattle Hospital Nutrition Educator.” Now let’s move on to the sample.
Nutrition Educator Job Summary
As a nutrition educator at Sally Doe General Hospital in Richmond, VA, your overall goal is to enhance the health of patients, outpatients and hospital employees. To do this, you’ll design, implement and teach nutrition techniques and develop programs. You’ll work one on one and in large groups.
Nutrition Educator Job Responsibilities and Duties:
- Establishes, implements and markets nutrition education programs and services to hospital patients, their families, hospital employees, outpatients and the general community
- Research, develop and maintain nutrition education methods and guidelines
- Track quality assurance results to ensure effective third-party reimbursements and the cost effectiveness of nutrition education programs and services
- Work one-on-one and in group settings to educate at-risk patients about nutrition
- Assess family and patient nutritional needs
- Lead staff trainings on healthy diets, current research on nutrition and new hospital nutrition programs
- Function as a resource person for the community, giving occasional presentations on and off site
- Communicate and coordinate patient care as necessary with other members of a patient’s team
Nutrition Educator Skills and Qualifications
- Registered Virginia professional dietitian
- Bachelor’s degree in nutrition sciences or dietetics (master’s degree preferred)
- At least four years of nutrition experience (counseling patients with diabetic or chronic conditions, for example)
- Bilingualism (English and Spanish) preferred but not necessary
- Hospital experience preferred (or experience in ambulatory care)
- Diabetes educator certification required (or willingness to take exam within one year of hire)
- Strong presentation and communication skills
- Excellent multi-tasker
- Contagious energy and passion for nutrition
Company Profile
At Sally Doe General Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, we are committed to complete and comprehensive patient care. Our emergency room is 24/7 and staffed by able surgeons and physicians. Our services are inpatient and outpatient, and they include general surgery, X-rays, physical therapy, nutrition education and much more.
Sally Doe General Hospital is a 300-bed facility that follows the triangle of compassionate, professional and accountable health care. Perks of working here include above-average salaries, on-site gyms and massages, and the beautiful Maymont gardens only one block away.
Writing a Job Description Best Practices
- The nutrition educator job description sample above is a good starting point as you write your own description. Do make your description more specific to your nutrition educator position, job title and setting. Also, compare your final description against the following dos and don’ts.
- Do include a call to action. Explain how interested candidates should apply (by clicking on a link or via email, for example), and by when. Also explain any competence tests candidates will be asked to do later in the process. One example is a nutrition-related presentation of 10 minutes to the hiring committee.
- Do distinguish between required qualifications and those that are preferred but not required. For a nutrition educator, such preferred qualifications often include bilingualism, a master’s degree and experience in a specific type of work setting.
- Don’t include only certification and educational requirements. Include soft skills such as passion, multi-tasking and communication.
The nutrition educator job description sample above is a good springboard as you work to find the ideal fit for your specific work setting. When you put quality time and effort into writing the nutrition educator job description, you save time down the road and bring great people on board.
Nutrition Educator Job Responsibilities
Jobseekers look to your nutrition educator job description to provide information about the position’s role in your organization. They want to know what they will do on the job. Through outlining the key nutrition educator job responsibilities, you can provide them everything they need to know. This section needs to be detailed and informative. It should explain what an average day working the position entails.
It is essential this section of the nutrition educator job description is well written. You should present it in a list format with active verbs at the beginning of each bullet point. Using action verbs makes the responsibilities more personal and better engages the reader. Do not write a laundry list of duties, though. Stick with 6-8 items showcasing the most important responsibilities. This allows you to have enough space to explain the job without making it overwhelming for the applicant.
The following are examples of what you might write for the job responsibilities section:
- Teach courses and provide educational services to help employees and patients understand proper nutrition
- Write nutrition policies for facilities and create guides based on specific needs
- Promote dietary programs to gain interest and spread awareness
- Conduct training sessions for medical staff
- Update nutrition procedures, polices and guidelines from new information learned through continuing education
Nutrition Educator Job Specifications
Your nutrition educator job description contains a lot of information designed to help jobseekers know if they should apply for your open position. One area that is critical is the job qualifications and skills section. This part of the job description outlines the qualifications and nutrition educator job specifications. It tells applicants if they qualify for the position based upon the criteria you have set and allows you to weed out those who don’t.
Writing this section requires a solid knowledge of what is actually needed to do the job. You may want to confer with hiring managers or those working closely with this position to get ideas and information to ensure the accuracy of this part of the nutrition educator job description. Keep the list detailed and specific, and distinguish between required qualifications and preferred ones. Make sure to include the experience, education and skills a person must have to do this job properly.
Here is an example of potential job qualifications and skills for a nurse educator:
- Bachelor’s degree in nutrition, dietetics or public health
- 2 years of experience in nutrition training
- Excellent communication skills
- Attention to detail and accuracy
- Ability to work well with others
- Willingness to travel