How to hire a child nutrition manager

How to hire a child nutrition manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step child nutrition manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a child nutrition manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new child nutrition manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The child nutrition manager hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect child nutrition manager also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of child nutrition managers.

   Type of Child Nutrition Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Child Nutrition Manager	Food service managers are responsible for the daily operation of restaurants and other establishments that prepare and serve food and beverages. They direct staff to ensure that customers are satisfied with their dining experience, and they manage the business to ensure that it is profitable.	$9-35
   Food Service Supervisor	A Food Service Supervisor oversees employees engaged in serving food. They establish quality standards for foods and keep facilities clean in accordance with state and local regulations.	$12-19
   Food Service Director	A food service director is responsible for managing the foodservice operations, achieving the customers' highest satisfaction by supervising the kitchen personnel, monitoring the food distribution, and responding to the guests' inquiries and concerns. Foodservice directors manage the food inventories, ensuring the adequacy of all the ingredients and materials, and keeping the storage safe and clean all the time by enforcing strict sanitary and hygienic procedures... Show more	$16-39

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Meal Service
   • Child Nutrition
   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Cleanliness
   • Culinary
   • Food Handling
   • Food Service
   • USDA
   • HACCP
   • Nutrition Programs
   • POS
   • Safety Procedures
   • Menu Planning
   • Bank Deposits

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Handle USDA reimbursement; attend USDA grant meetings along with monthly monitoring at every site, and manage budgets.
   • Uphold health and HACCP standards to promote food safety.
   • Utilize CNP labele products, commodities and USDA recipes to the highest efficiency.
   • Follow and maintain the HACCP and district standard of food safety and sanitation.
   • Follow establish procedures to meet high standards of cleanliness, health/safety and report any conditions that are not correctable to supervisor.
   • Assist the nutrition in identifying and encouraging the residents to maintain specific dietary needs/restrictions for residents at an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

   More child nutrition manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your child nutrition manager job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A child nutrition manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a child nutrition manager in Colorado may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level child nutrition manager usually earns less than a senior-level child nutrition manager. Additionally, a child nutrition manager with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average child nutrition manager salary

   $38,248yearly

   $18.39 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level child nutrition manager salary

   $19,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 22, 2025

   Average child nutrition manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$48,392	$23
   2	District of Columbia	$43,037	$21
   3	California	$41,553	$20
   4	Washington	$37,846	$18
   5	Pennsylvania	$35,940	$17
   6	Utah	$35,771	$17
   7	Texas	$34,828	$17
   8	Tennessee	$33,295	$16
   9	Illinois	$33,214	$16
   10	Michigan	$32,904	$16
   11	Missouri	$30,399	$15
   12	Minnesota	$30,028	$14
   13	Oregon	$29,357	$14
   14	Arkansas	$25,984	$12
   15	Colorado	$25,895	$12
   16	Oklahoma	$25,206	$12
   17	Georgia	$24,154	$12

   Average child nutrition manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Dignity Health	$66,056	$31.76	76
   2	Shriners Hospitals for Children	$54,305	$26.11	6
   3	Madera High School	$52,520	$25.25	2
   4	Beaumont Health	$42,997	$20.67
   5	Robbinsdale Area Schools	$37,849	$18.20
   6	Virginia Mason Medical Center	$36,662	$17.63
   7	Allegheny County	$36,327	$17.46
   8	Wasserman	$35,354	$17.00
   9	Oak Orchard Health Center	$34,782	$16.72	1
   10	Clinical Management Consultants	$33,785	$16.24
   11	Ascension Michigan	$33,783	$16.24	4
   12	Catholic Health Initiatives - Colorado	$33,297	$16.01	17
   13	Balchem	$33,272	$16.00
   14	Sodexo Management, Inc.	$32,982	$15.86	80
   15	Learning Care Group	$32,089	$15.43	89
   16	Compass Group USA	$32,035	$15.40	134
   17	Lancaster School District	$31,879	$15.33	2
   18	Metro	$31,658	$15.22	82
   19	Roseville Area Schools	$31,412	$15.10	1
   20	Unilever	$31,037	$14.92

4. Writing a child nutrition manager job description

   A job description for a child nutrition manager role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a child nutrition manager job description:

   Child nutrition manager job description example

   
   
   CERTIFICATION & LICENSURE
   
   RD-Registered Dietitian Upon Hire
   
   OR SS-Serve Save Certified Upon Hire
   
   PREFERRED EXPERIENCE AS TYPICALLY ACQUIRED IN:
   
   8 years food service management experience in an acute-care hospital or similar institution.
   
   8 years management, supervisory or team lead experience.
   
   SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
   
   Knowledge of food service administration, principles, and practices within a healthcare environment.
   
   Knowledge in establishing and implementing work processes, quality and productivity standards and policies and procedures designed to ensure optimal Departmental performance.
   
   General knowledge of high volume food production, therapeutic diets and menu planning.
   
   Intermediate level of knowledge of all Joint Commission, Title 22/State, federal, and local regulations affecting dietary services
   
   Verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey concepts and communicate information or issues in a manner that is readily understood by management and employees.
   
   Interpersonal skills with the ability to deliver presentations to a variety of audiences.
   
   Demonstrates tactical and analytical thinking and planning skills, and is able to develop plan to accomplish objectives, identify obstacles and resolve operational issues.
   
   Demonstrates credible leadership presence, with the ability to respond to questions with logic, clarity, calmness and authority; and the ability to motivate and engage others.
   
   Ability to use essential software and applications associated with the role's duties and responsibilities.
   
   Understanding of the budgetary process and familiarity with the healthcare financial environment.
   
   Organizational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritize multiple projects while delivering quality service and achieving business results.
   
   Demonstrates a customer service focus in all decisions and actions.
   
   Ability to build and establish effective working partnership with employees, peers and/or leaders to achieve business objectives.
   
   

   License/Certifications:

   RD-Registered Dietitian - Commission on Dietetic Registration

   Education:

   Bachelor's (Required)

   Job Shift:

   Days

   Schedule:

   Full Time

   Shift Hours:

   8

   Days of the Week:

   Friday, Monday, Thursday, Tuesday, Wednesday

   Weekend Requirements:

   None

   Benefits:

   Yes

   Unions:

   No

   Position Status:

   Exempt

   Weekly Hours:

   40

   Employee Status:

   Regular

   Number of Openings:

   1

   Sutter Health Affiliates are equal opportunity employers EOE/M/F/Disability/Veterans.

   Schedule/Shift: Regular/ Days

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right child nutrition manager for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your child nutrition manager job on Zippia to find and recruit child nutrition manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with child nutrition manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new child nutrition manager

   Once you've decided on a perfect child nutrition manager candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new child nutrition manager first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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