Job Location: Seattle, WA
Employer: Harborview Medical Center (HMC)
The Food and Nutrition Services department provides critical services required for positive patient outcomes including the provision of critical, acute care, and ambulatory care nutrition support. The DIRECTOR of Food and Nutrition Services is responsible for the overall leadership of Inpatient Clinical Nutrition, Ambulatory Care Nutrition, Patient Food services, Retail Food services, Catering, Special Events, and Vending Operations. The person in this role is responsible for planning and directing all activities of the department, including policy and procedure development, strategic planning, budget planning, customer service excellence, and staff training and development.
The Food and Nutrition Services department employs over 150 FTEs, 7 of which directly report to the DIRECTOR. The DIRECTOR will also establish standards, lead, plan, and direct the activities of the services that run through 2 major budgets, which exceeds an annual $12M budget.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION/MANAGEMENT:
- Utilizes knowledge of healthcare food, nutrition, catering, organizational management, finance, and Patients are First to direct a team that maintains a safe and secure environment that produces exceptional outcomes for patients, staff, and visitors
- Oversees departmental priorities and operational policies/procedures and business plans with a focus on evidence-based best practices
- Ensures controls are in place to fulfill operational and financial goals
- Develops an effective quality assurance program for both core operations and the patient care centers utilizing
- Develop and maintain high performing operating systems including menu planning, food and equipment purchasing, food production, food distribution, ware washing, sanitation, retail activity, informatics, personnel management, and quality controls
- Continuously increase standards of excellence for quality, infection control and safety, and financial responsibility
- Delegates assignments to appropriate individuals to ensure quantitative goals are met or exceeded
- Assesses effectiveness of operations using metrics from a variety of sources including national benchmarks
- Evaluates nutritional adequacy of food services, clinical nutrition protocols and practices, and the systems and staff that support operations
- Evaluates compliance with regulatory requirements and effectiveness in meeting UW Medicine pillar goals
- Identify and review food preferences of target populations and ensure quality menus that provide a variety of foods that are fresh, wholesome, nutritional, culturally diverse, and popular with target populations
- Ensure exceptionally high culinary standards for food. Monitor effectiveness of measures and assessments of food quality such as with tasting, adjusting recipes, recording adjustments. Ensure the presence of strong culinary and tasting skills amongst production and service staff
- Identifies opportunities for improvement in operational, educational, research, and community initiatives
- Foster positive and productive relations with labor union representatives. Understand and honor agreements in labor contracts. Act as a resource and guide to managers in doing the same
STRATEGIC PLANNING:
- Performs critical thinking affecting the department’s and medical center’s business mission, key success factors, and strategic direction
- Considers the department’s operating environment, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to identify strategic imperatives and suggest ways to improve alignment
- Works proactively to identify potential areas of concern and takes corrective action to prevent harm or injury
- Designs systems, critical measurements, work flow, production plans, and quality control measures
- Plans marketing and branding strategies consistent with UW Medicine’s pillar goals
- Plans educational curriculum with counterparts with multiple UW programs
- Plans research protocols with medical team members
FINANCIAL AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:
- Develops strategies, metrics, and controls to optimize use of labor and other resources
- Oversees expenditures and the use of resources including inventories, labor resources, and the use of kitchen facilities
- Develop and achieve effective budgetary goals. Develop and use metrics to track performance. Routinely assess performance and formulate recommendations to achieve goals
- Recommend, review, and approve operational and capital expenditures
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT:
- Manage recruitment and selection of qualified applicants, which includes screening and interviewing
- Hire, orient, complete performance evaluations, and other personnel actions
- Performs and submits reports for annual performance reviews and recommendations for merit increases
- Maintains knowledge of union contracts
- Promotes and supports a high functioning environment that fosters continual learning and professional development
SERVICE EXCELLENCE:
- Monitors and maintains department activities within regulatory requirements
- Works collaboratively with other departments and hospital staff to anticipate needs, correct issues, and communicate important information
- Participates as a team player and considers the facilitate wide needs, as well as specific departmental needs
REQUIREMENTS:
- Master’s degree in Hotel/Restaurant Management, Dietetics, or a closely related field
- Active Registered Dietitian license with the WA State Department of Health
- Five (5) years of food services management experience in a healthcare setting
Competitive candidates will have experience with:
- Management of highly unionized positions
- Change management
- Knowledge of hospital federal, state, and local codes and regulations