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What does a director of food and nutrition services do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read

A Director Of Food And Nutrition Services plans and coordinates the district food service program to guarantee proper nutrition and safeguard the health of students, staff, and visitors. They provide nutrition programs that meet all federal requirements.

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Director of food and nutrition services responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of food and nutrition services resumes:

  • Manage and monitor daily operational duties of full service dining room for patients including creating and maintaining department budget.
  • Implement HACCP guidelines for all locations, ensuring the safety and quality of food deliver to on-site and community-base satellite operations.
  • Maintain patient confidentiality under HIPAA.
  • Utilize WebDenis to verify Medicaid insurance.
  • Follow confidentiality laws and HIPAA privacy policies.
  • Streamline billing of claims to infusion contractors and implement NJ Medicaid electronic billing.
  • Increase student participation by overseeing and implementing marketing brands in school cafeterias.

Director of food and nutrition services skills and personality traits

We calculated that 17% of Directors Of Food And Nutrition Services are proficient in Healthcare, Patients, and Infection Control. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Customer-service skills, and Organizational skills.

We break down the percentage of Directors Of Food And Nutrition Services that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Healthcare, 17%

    Served on the Benedictine Healthcare System board to roll out operation Odyssey in Minnesota.

  • Patients, 16%

    Managed and monitored daily operational duties of full service dining room for patients including creating and maintaining department budget.

  • Infection Control, 8%

    Acquired valuable knowledge regarding infection control, safety and HFAP readiness.

  • Nutrition Services, 7%

    Provided clinical nutrition services, including nutrition assessment, modified diet formulation, self-management training and nutrition intervention to patients/residents.

  • Customer Service, 6%

    Handle personnel development of service staff; implement strict quality assurance guidelines to achieve excellent customer service and sanitation ratings.

  • Culinary, 4%

    Serve as host for new culinary directors on-boarding with the company.

Most directors of food and nutrition services use their skills in "healthcare," "patients," and "infection control" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential director of food and nutrition services responsibilities here:

Business skills. One of the key soft skills for a director of food and nutrition services to have is business skills. You can see how this relates to what directors of food and nutrition services do because "food service managers must understand all aspects of the restaurant business, including how to budget for supplies, comply with regulations, and manage workers." Additionally, a director of food and nutrition services resume shows how directors of food and nutrition services use business skills: "opened four accounts (two healthcare, one school, one business). "

Customer-service skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling director of food and nutrition services duties is customer-service skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "food service managers must be courteous and attentive when dealing with patrons." According to a director of food and nutrition services resume, here's how directors of food and nutrition services can utilize customer-service skills in their job responsibilities: "managed volume of $1 million food service operations.maintained high level of customer and client satisfaction with specific focus on clientretention. "

Organizational skills. directors of food and nutrition services are also known for organizational skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to director of food and nutrition services responsibilities, because "managers have many different responsibilities, including scheduling and overseeing staff, budgeting, and maintaining financial records." A director of food and nutrition services resume example shows how organizational skills is used in the workplace: "labor costs from 30% to 27% weekly.skills usedi have proven management and organizational skills. "

Physical stamina. director of food and nutrition services responsibilities often require "physical stamina." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "managers often work long shifts and sometimes spend entire evenings actively helping to serve customers." This resume example shows what directors of food and nutrition services do with physical stamina on a typical day: "conducted weekly physical inventories of product to ensure food cost targets are met. "

Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a director of food and nutrition services to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what directors of food and nutrition services relies on this skill, since "managers need to be able to resolve personnel issues and customer-related problems." How this skill relates to director of food and nutrition services duties can be seen in an example from a director of food and nutrition services resume snippet: "function as liaison with patients, patients' families, guests, and staff members on conflict resolution and service recovery. "

Communication skills. Lastly, "communication skills" is an important element of what a director of food and nutrition services does. Director of food and nutrition services responsibilities require this skill because "food service managers must give clear orders to staff and be able to convey information effectively to employees and customers." This resume example highlights how director of food and nutrition services duties rely on this skill: "monitor student services; maintain parent/community communications; human resources, maintenance and transportation services. "

Most common director of food and nutrition services skills

Choose from 10+ customizable director of food and nutrition services resume templates

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Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume
Director Of Food And Nutrition Services Resume

Compare different directors of food and nutrition services

Director of food and nutrition services vs. Swing manager

A swing manager is a person who supervises people and manages restaurants during designated times. Swing managers oversee personnel and the equipment and products to achieve high-quality standards. They are responsible for the sales growth, profit optimization, staff optimization, and total customer satisfaction. The skills they need include motivation, communication, mentoring, delegation, decision-making, and interpersonal skills. Problem-solving, strategic thinking, management skills, and commercial awareness are also necessary.

We looked at the average director of food and nutrition services salary and compared it with the wages of a swing manager. Generally speaking, swing managers are paid $62,460 lower than directors of food and nutrition services per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both director of food and nutrition services and swing manager positions are skilled in customer service, customer satisfaction, and food cost.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, director of food and nutrition services responsibilities require skills like "healthcare," "patients," "infection control," and "nutrition services." Meanwhile a typical swing manager has skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "inventory management," "cash handling," and "leadership." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

The education levels that swing managers earn slightly differ from directors of food and nutrition services. In particular, swing managers are 15.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a director of food and nutrition services. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Director of food and nutrition services vs. Bar manager

Bar managers are also called bar owners or supervisors of bar establishments. The managers are in charge of managing customer complaints, ensuring stocks in the bar, and in scheduling the jobs of employees. They oversee the overall operations of the bar, manage its staff, and ensure that the standards of products and services are met. They maintain the licensure of liquor and make sure that their staff follows the local regulations. Also, they see to it that customers are served promptly.

On average, bar managers earn a $54,059 lower salary than directors of food and nutrition services a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both directors of food and nutrition services and bar managers have skills such as "customer service," "food cost," and "food preparation. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real director of food and nutrition services resumes. While director of food and nutrition services responsibilities can utilize skills like "healthcare," "patients," "infection control," and "nutrition services," bar managers use skills like "wine," "beverage orders," "bartending," and "payroll."

Bar managers earn lower levels of education than directors of food and nutrition services in general. They're 13.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Director of food and nutrition services vs. Assistant restaurant manager

An assistant restaurant manager's role is to perform managerial support tasks and oversee restaurant operations, ensuring efficiency in workflow and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around maintaining records of all invoices and contracts, delegating tasks, monitoring the inventory of supplies, liaising with suppliers and vendors, and addressing issues and concerns. There are also instances when one must attend to customers' needs, prepare schedules, perform regular workforce inspection, and report to the manager. Furthermore, it is essential to implement all the company's health regulations and policies, all to maintain a safe and healthy environment for everyone.

An average assistant restaurant manager eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of directors of food and nutrition services. The difference in salaries amounts to assistant restaurant managers earning a $55,267 lower average salary than directors of food and nutrition services.By looking over several directors of food and nutrition services and assistant restaurant managers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "customer service," "culinary," and "customer satisfaction." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, directors of food and nutrition services are more likely to have skills like "healthcare," "patients," "infection control," and "nutrition services." But a assistant restaurant manager is more likely to have skills like "cleanliness," "food service," "product quality," and "restaurant operations."

Assistant restaurant managers typically earn lower educational levels compared to directors of food and nutrition services. Specifically, they're 12.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Director of food and nutrition services vs. Restaurant manager

A restaurant manager is responsible for handling the overall restaurant operations. These include monitoring revenues and daily restaurant sales, checking inventories and supplies, negotiating with third-party vendors, and managing customers' inquiries and complaints. Other duties include creating promotional offers, developing and improving sales strategies, organizing staff duties, maintaining the highest sanitary standards for everyone's strict compliance, and controlling operational expenses. A restaurant manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills and exceptional knowledge of food industry management.

Restaurant managers tend to earn a lower pay than directors of food and nutrition services by an average of $48,685 per year.While both directors of food and nutrition services and restaurant managers complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like customer service, culinary, and customer satisfaction, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between directors of food and nutrition services and restaurant managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a director of food and nutrition services might have more use for skills like "healthcare," "patients," "infection control," and "nutrition services." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of restaurant managers require skills like "guest satisfaction," "cleanliness," "restaurant management," and "guest service. "

The average resume of restaurant managers showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to directors of food and nutrition services. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 13.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.2%.

Types of director of food and nutrition services

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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