CONTEXT OF JOB:
The Director of Performance Nutrition/Sports Dietitian at the University of Delaware is a valued member of the University of Delaware and our multidisciplinary sports performance health care team, upholding and embracing the departmental mission of “Achieving Excellence Together.”, a dynamic individual who will report directly to the Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Health, Well-being, and Sports Performance.
This position works in a creative and collaborative team environment with athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, sports psychologists, sport coaches, team physicians, campus partners, and administrators to foster a multidisciplinary approach to student-athlete health and wellness.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Provide oversight and leadership of all aspects of the Sports Nutrition program for the Department of Athletics.
- Provide nutritional care and education to student-athletes.
- Work collaboratively with team physicians, campus healthcare professionals, coaches and staff to maximize student-athlete performance, health and well-being.
- Assess and counsel student-athletes on optional nutritional practices.
- Serve as the department lead in the implementation of food services within athletics.
- Assess and counsel student-athletes on optimal nutritional practices for training, competition, recovery from practice, competitions, injury and illness, weight management, hydration and supplementation and on medical-related nutrition concerns utilizing appropriate medical nutrition therapy techniques for concerns such as disordered eating, anemia, diabetes, bone minerals disturbances, amenorrhea, hypertension, gastrointestinal concerns, food allergies and intolerances, and other medical conditions.
- Assess and counsel student athletes regarding sport-specific and gender-specific recommendations for optimal body composition and weight for overall health and athletic performance.
- Provide and coordinate meal and snack plans to promote achieving short- and long-term goals for athletic performance and overall health.
- Develop and counsel in hydration protocols; educate and develop resources to support educational efforts regarding the nutritional needs of a student athlete.
- Provide counsel and recommendations to coaching and operations staffs for nutrition for home and travel games as it pertains to sport specific pre-game/post-game meals, for example, catering, hotels, airlines, competition for team; recommend appropriate pre-, during, and post-exercise fluids and snacks for individual training, team practice, and competition.
- Review and approve clinical notes for all part-time staff.
- Coordinate and manage body weight tracking program with Sport performance personnel.
- Manage student athlete performance nutrition risk referral program and create low-risk educational resources to support all sport performance staff.
- Serve as a resource for sport coaches, athletic trainers, and strength & coaches, team physicians, mental health staffs, and administration regarding sports nutrition and sports performance related issues; stay current on industry-related trends regarding food, nutrition, and health issues and research related to sports nutrition; develop and oversee nutrition policies and procedures.
- Oversee evaluation of all sports supplements, including herbal supplements, for legality, safety, quality, and efficacy, and identify NCAA compliant products to be distributed and consumed by student-athletes including continual research of the changing sports supplement industry.
- Assess and counsel student-athletes on appropriate and legal use of dietary supplements, regularly banned drugs and restricted substances in compliance with sport governing bodies; e.g., NCAA, U.S. Anti-doping Agency (USADA), World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) and the Division of Athletics policies.
- Comply with and abide by all Department, University, NCAA, and CAA Conference policies and procedures.
- Facilitate assistance with menu planning for all sport teams.
- Participate as an active member/leader in monthly Sport Performance leadership strategic planning meetings.
- Manage administrative needs, programming needs and food budget for the Sports Nutrition budget.
- Work within budget of Athletic/Campus contracts related to food or beverage products (Pepsi/Gatorade, Muscle Milk, etc.).
- Collaborate with appropriate parties within Athletics, on campus, and in State organizations to ensure proper certifications are obtained and kept up to date related to food distribution.
- Participate in and oversee participation of staff in monthly interdisciplinary care meetings with sports teams to discuss current issues related to health, safety and performance of student athletes.
- Represent Performance Nutrition and Sport Performance at weekly Team X departmental leader meetings to support strategic planning, communication and collaboration across departments in DACCR, and execute the vision of the DACCR strategy.
- Actively participate in multiple Sport Performance initiatives to improve innovation and support for our student-athletes, including WellHen survey creation, Sport Performance Integration project and social media planning group
- Foster partnership with State clinicians through Board of Directors role in Delaware Association for Nutrition & Dietetics.
- Create and lead Sports Med/Sport Psych/Performance Nutrition Eating Disorder care team.
- Create and maintain student workforce systems and procedures.
- Develop and update protocols and standing orders related to dietary supplements.
- Serve as department liaison to academic programs related to nutrition in order to develop undergraduate and intern opportunities with Sports Nutrition.
- Serve as Nutrition Independent Study course instructor.
- Collaborate with the College of Health Sciences’ Behavioral Health and Nutrition to develop a Sports Nutrition minor and an Eating Disorders Assessment Research Initiative in Athletics.
- Serve as main departmental contact for Whitney Kitchen to service student athletes.
- Lead athletics representative on biweekly DACCR/Aramark working group meetings.
- Collaborate with Aramark on overall management of Dining Services on South Campus (menu development, finances, logistics, etc).
- Plan and participate in focus groups with student athletes to garner feedback and make improvements.
- Manage meal service options for athletics during Winter/Summer terms.
- Hold annual review meetings with every sport to discuss goals for the year ahead and improvements from the prior year.
- Comply with industry standard and campus requirements related to documentation of patient visits.
- Work with Student Health Services Director and Team Physician regarding Electronic Medical Record system documentation requirements.
- Document all initial patient encounters and follow up appointments.
- Produce documentation when asked by Athletics and campus administration related reports when necessary.
- Oversee the operation of fueling station daily with access to fueling that is provided by PN to teams. This operation is an 11-hour per day operation.
- Oversee Football fueling station daily, separate operation from other teams.
- Oversee grab-and-go style breakfast daily; this is a separate meal and operation from the fueling station with simple snacks.
- Provide clinical instruction and supervision to:
- 6 misc wage undergraduate student managers
- 30 undergraduate student interns
- 3-4 post-graduate Dietetic Interns
- 1 Capstone Intern
- Partner with campus dining services to incorporate and operate a department-wide food option program.
- Serve as the department lead on the development of meal and nutrition/fueling station programs.
- Plan and execute initiatives and special projects.
- Meet with prospective student athletes as requested by sport coaches.
- Develop, coordinate, and teach nutrition education, cooking programs and grocery store and dining hall tours for student-athletes.
- Run the Performance Nutrition Center, an educational hub giving student athletes the opportunity to learn daily. This includes the creation of Performance Nutrition points to increase engagement.
- Manage and oversee creation and editing of daily educational programs with a different topic each day, including education on recipes and all aspects of performance nutrition.
- Develop and implement cooking demonstrations for all sports teams in Nutrition Center.
- Partner with Student Leadership and Student Development to incorporate educational programs for student-athletes.
- Perform miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in nutrition, or closely related field, and five years of experience as a Dietitian, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Advanced degree preferred.
- Current registration as a Dietitian from the American Dietetic Association and licensure OR eligibility for licensure by the State of Delaware Board of Dietetics and Nutrition or eligible for licensure at time of hire.
- Familiarity with NCAA regulations regarding the health and safety of student athletes.
- Current employment as a sports dietitian in a collegiate athletics department, or professional team/organization.
- Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) preferred.
- Previous experience within a Division I athletics program as a full-time Sports Nutrition or within a professional team/organization preferred.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Position hours include early mornings, evenings, weekends.
- Travel is required.
- Must maintain annual required continuing education in the field of sports dietetics.
- Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) certified or obtained within one year of employment.