How to hire a nutrition services manager

How to hire a nutrition services manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step nutrition services 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 nutrition services manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new nutrition services manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a nutrition services manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your nutrition services manager job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a nutrition services manager for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a nutrition services manager to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a nutrition services manager that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of nutrition services manager salaries for various roles:

   Type of Nutrition Services Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Nutrition Services 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.	$12-34
   Director Of Food And Beverage	A director of food and beverage is responsible for ensuring the quality of foods and services to maintain the guests' overall satisfaction on their dining experience. Food and beverage directors manage menu selections, analyzing current food trends to meet guests' demands... Show more	$30-59
   Manager	Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department... Show more	$17-44

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Customer Service
   • Nutrition Services
   • Food Preparation
   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Meal Service
   • Food Handling
   • Infection Control
   • ServSafe
   • Tray Line
   • Rehabilitation
   • Food Production
   • Culinary
   • Cleanliness

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage food allergies and special diets by providing nutritious alternatives and creating student-specific menus.
   • Inventory, QA information and meetings.
   • Advise clients on FDA regulations and labeling compliance.
   • Design and teach culinary arts and nutrition curriculum for all ages.
   • Develop, conduct and oversee quality assurance (QA) audits.
   • Review patient menus to check for portion/dietary restrictions, allergies or special instructions.

   More nutrition services manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the nutrition services manager job description is a good way to get more applicants. A nutrition services manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a nutrition services manager in Montana may be lower than in Rhode Island, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level nutrition services manager. Additionally, a nutrition services manager with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average nutrition services manager salary

   $43,923yearly

   $21.12 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level nutrition services manager salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average nutrition services manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$56,316	$27
   2	Washington	$48,564	$23
   3	Utah	$45,911	$22
   4	Georgia	$45,035	$22
   5	Michigan	$44,654	$21
   6	Alabama	$44,313	$21
   7	Oregon	$43,139	$21
   8	California	$42,483	$20
   9	Ohio	$42,165	$20
   10	Texas	$40,080	$19
   11	Colorado	$38,028	$18
   12	Arizona	$37,300	$18
   13	Nebraska	$37,146	$18
   14	Minnesota	$36,475	$18
   15	Tennessee	$33,566	$16

   Average nutrition services manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$113,583	$54.61
   2	Fresenius Medical Care North America Holdings Limited Partnership	$79,317	$38.13	8
   3	Archbold Medical Center	$71,442	$34.35	2
   4	Encompass Health	$70,729	$34.00	293
   5	Scripps Health	$67,504	$32.45	6
   6	Sutter Health	$66,546	$31.99	17
   7	PeaceHealth	$63,091	$30.33	10
   8	Moffitt Cancer Center	$61,704	$29.67	1
   9	Cristo Rey Jesuit High School	$61,655	$29.64
   10	BASF	$58,946	$28.34	3
   11	Madera High School	$57,866	$27.82
   12	Rady Children's Hospital And Health Center	$55,583	$26.72	11
   13	George Mc Parland Elementary	$52,636	$25.31
   14	Kaiser Permanente	$52,588	$25.28	10
   15	Alive Hospice	$51,731	$24.87	1
   16	Healthcare Services Group	$51,619	$24.82	212
   17	Swedish Hospital	$51,408	$24.72
   18	Beaumont Health	$50,156	$24.11
   19	CaroMont Health	$49,642	$23.87	1
   20	Legacy Preparatory Academy, Inc	$48,529	$23.33

4. Writing a nutrition services manager job description

   A job description for a nutrition services 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 nutrition services manager job description:

   Nutrition services 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

   To find the right nutrition services manager for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with nutrition services managers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit nutrition services managers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit nutrition services managers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   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 nutrition services manager

   Once you've selected the best nutrition services manager candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new nutrition services 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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How much does it cost to hire a nutrition services manager?