Assistant Director of Food Services

Purpose of Your Job Position

The primary purpose of your job position is to assist the Director of Food Services in planning, organizing, developing and directing the overall operation of the Dietary Department in accordance with current federal, state, and local standards, guidelines and regulations  governing our facility, and as may be directed by the Director or Administrator, to assure that quality nutritional services are provided on a daily basis and that the dietary department is maintained in a clean, safe, and sanitary manner.

Delegation of Authority

As the Assistant Director of Food Services, you are delegated the administrative authority, responsibility, and accountability necessary for carrying out your assigned duties.

Job Functions

Every effort has been made to identify the essential functions of this position. However, it in no way states or implies that these are the only duties you will be required to perform. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or is an essential function of the position.

Duties and Responsibilities

Administrative Functions

• Assist in planning, developing, organizing, implementing, evaluating, and directing the Dietary Department, its programs and activities.
• Assist in coordinating dietary services and activities with other related departments (i.e., Nursing, Housekeeping, Social Services, etc.).
• Assist in developing and maintaining written dietary policies and procedures.
• Assist in developing and maintaining written job descriptions and performance evaluations for each level of dietary personnel.
• Interpret the department's policies and procedures to employees, residents, visitors, government agencies, etc., as necessary.
• Assist the dietary staff in the development and use of departmental policies, procedures, equipment, supplies, etc.
• Perform administrative duties such as completing necessary forms, reports, evaluations, studies, etc., to assure control of equipment and supplies.
• Assist in developing and maintaining a file of tested standard recipes.
• Recommend to the Director adjustments in dietary services that assure the continued ability to provide daily dietary services.
• Make written and oral reports/recommendations to the Director as necessary/required concerning the operation of the Dietary Department.
• Submit accident/incident reports to the HR/Business Office within twenty-four (24) hours after their occurrence.
• Assume administrative authority, responsibility, and accountability of supervising the Dietary Department.
• Inspect food storage rooms, utility/janitorial closets, etc., for upkeep and supply control.
• Review and assist in developing a plan of correction for dietary service deficiencies noted during survey inspections.
• Process diet changes and new diets as received from nursing services.
• Assist the Infection Preventionist in identifying, evaluating, and classifying routine and job related dietary functions to ensure that tasks involving potential exposure to blood/body fluids are properly identified and recorded.
• Assist in reviewing departmental complaints and grievances from personnel and make written reports to the Director.
• Assist in developing and implementing a dietary service organization structure.
• Assist in implementing and maintaining an ongoing quality assurance program for the Dietary Department.
• Assist the Director in planning the dietary services portion of the resident's discharge plan as needed.
• Participate in facility surveys (inspections) made by authorized government agencies.
• Interview residents or family members, as necessary, to obtain diet history.
• Participate in maintaining records of the resident's food likes and dislikes.
• Assist in developing methods for determining quality and quantity of food served.
• Ensure that charted dietary progress notes are informative and descriptive of the services provided and of the resident's response to the service.
• Ensure that menus are maintained and filed in accordance with established policies and procedures.
• Maintain an adequate liaison with families and residents as necessary.
• Visit residents periodically to evaluate the quality of meals served, likes and dislikes, etc.
• Involve the resident/family in planning objectives and goals for the resident.
• Assist in developing diet plans for individual residents.
• Review therapeutic and regular diet plans and menus to assure they are in compliance with the physician's orders.
• Meet with the Director, medical and nursing staff, as well as other related departments in planning food service programs and activities.
• Ensure that residents are offered a nourishing snack at bedtime.
• Others as deemed necessary and appropriate, or as may be directed by the Director.

Committee Functions

• Serve on, participate in, and attend various committees of the facility (i.e., Infection Control, Policy Advisory, Pharmaceutical, Budget, Quality Assessment and Assurance, etc.) as required, and as appointed by the Administrator.
• Assist in implementing recommendations from established committees as they may pertain to dietary services.
• Meet with dietary personnel, on a regularly scheduled basis; assist in identifying and correcting problem areas, and/or the methods of improvement of services.
• Attend department head meetings, etc. as may be called.

QAPI

• Recognize your role as part of the QAPI efforts of our organization
• Carry out QAPI roles and responsibilities as required
• Look for and share with leadership ideas for improvement in the organization
• Knowledge of current Performance Improvement Initiatives
• Knowledge of current Performance Improvement Initiatives

Personnel Functions

• Assist in the recruitment, interviewing, and selection of dietary personnel as needed.
• Assist in determining departmental staffing requirements necessary to meet the Dietary Department's needs, and ensure a sufficient number of dietary personnel for each shift.
• Assist in scheduling department work hours (including vacation and holiday schedules), personnel, work assignments, etc., to expedite work.
• Delegate administrative authority, responsibility, and accountability to other dietary personnel as deemed necessary to perform their assigned duties (i.e., head cook, cooks, etc.).
• Counsel/discipline dietary personnel as requested or as necessary.
• Assist in standardizing the methods in which dietary tasks will be performed.
• Review and check competence of dietary personnel and assist in making necessary adjustments/corrections as required or that may become necessary.
• Maintain a productive working relationship with other department supervisors and coordinate dietary services to assure that daily dietary services can be performed without interruption.
• Make daily rounds to assure that staff is performing required duties and to assure that appropriate dietary procedures are being rendered to meet the needs of the facility.
• Create and maintain an atmosphere of warmth, personal interest, and positive emphasis as well as a calm environment throughout the facility.
• Assist in establishing a food service production line, etc., to assure that meals are prepared on time.
• Monitor absenteeism to ensure that an adequate number of dietary service personnel are on duty at all times.
• Report occupational exposures to blood, body fluids, infectious materials, and hazardous chemicals in accordance with the facility's policies and procedures governing accidents and incidents.

Staff Development

• Assist in the development of and participate in the planning, conducting, and scheduling of timely in-service training classes that provide instructions on "how to do the job," and that ensure a well-educated dietary services department.
• Assist in implementing, and maintaining an effective orientation program that orients the new employee to the department, its policies and procedures and to his/her job position and duties.
• Assist support services in implementing and conducting in-service training programs that relate to the Dietary Department.
• Attend and participate in continuing educational programs designed to keep you abreast of changes in your profession.
• Ensure that dietary personnel are trained to use labels and MSDSs to recognize hazards and to follow appropriate protective measures.

Safety and Sanitation

• Assist the Safety Officer in developing safety standards for the Dietary Department.
• Monitor dietary staff to assure that they are following established safety regulations in the use of equipment and supplies.
• Ensure that dietary service work areas are maintained in a clean and sanitary manner.
• Ensure that all food storage rooms, preparation areas, etc., are maintained in a clean, safe, and sanitary manner.
• Ensure that dietary staff performing tasks that may involve exposure to blood, body fluids, infectious materials, and hazardous chemicals participate in appropriate in-service training programs prior to performing such tasks.
• Ensure that all dietary staff follow established departmental policies and procedures, including appropriate dress codes.
• Ensure that dietary staff participate in and conduct all fire safety and disaster preparedness drills in a safe and professional manner.
• Assist the Infection Control Committee in the development, implementation, and revision of dietary aseptic and isolation techniques.
• Ensure that appropriate protective clothing/devices are readily available for handling infectious waste and/or blood/body fluids.
• Assist in maintaining a program for monitoring communicable and/or infectious diseases among residents and personnel.
• Ensure that dietary staff follows established infection control procedures when isolation precautions become necessary.
• Assist in implementing and maintaining a procedure for reporting hazardous conditions or equipment.

Equipment and Supply Functions

• Recommend to the Director the equipment and supply needs of the department.
• Place orders for equipment and supplies as necessary or as may be required.
• Make periodic rounds to check equipment and to assure that necessary equipment is available and working properly.
• Check supply rooms and custodial closets to assure that needed supplies are on hand to perform assigned cleaning tasks.
• Ensure that stock levels of staple/non-staple food, supplies, equipment, etc., are maintained at adequate levels at all times.
• Assist in interviewing food supply vendors, as may be required.
• Assist in the purchasing of food service supplies, equipment, etc., as required.
• Assist in developing and monitoring adequate inventory control procedures.
• Assist in developing and implementing procedures for the safe operation of all dietary service equipment.
• Ensure that only trained and authorized personnel operate the department's equipment.
• Ensure that all personnel operate dietary service equipment in a safe manner.
• Assist in developing and implementing procedures which ensure that dietary service supplies are used in an efficient manner to avoid waste.
• Ensure that containers of hazardous chemicals used in the department are properly labeled and stored.

Care Plan and Assessment Functions

• Assist in developing preliminary and comprehensive assessments of the dietary needs of each resident.
• Assist in developing a written dietary plan of care (preliminary and comprehensive) that identifies the dietary problems/needs of the resident and the goals to be accomplished for each dietary problem/need identified.
• Ensure that all dietary personnel are aware of the care plan and that care plans are used in planning daily dietary services for the resident.
• Ensure that the care plan identifies any special equipment and utensils the resident may need (e. g., plate guard, enlarged silverware handles, etc.).
• Provide substitute foods of similar nutritive value to residents who refuse foods served.
• Develop and maintain a good rapport with all services involved with the care plan to ensure that a team effort is achieved in developing the resident's comprehensive plan of care.

Budget and Planning Functions

• Assist in preparing and planning the Dietary Department's budget for food, equipment, supplies, and labor.
• Make departmental adjustments in order to conform to the approved budget, or as may be dictated by an analysis of the monthly operating statement.

Resident Rights

• Maintain the confidentiality of all resident care information.
• Knock before entering a resident's room.
• Monitor dietary services to assure that all residents' dietary needs are being met.
• Ensure that all dietary service personnel are knowledgeable of the resident's rights, including the right of refusal.
• Review complaints and grievances made by the resident and make a written/oral report to the Director indicating what action(s) were taken to resolve the complaint or grievance. Follow facility's established procedures.
• Maintain a written record of the resident's complaints and/or grievances that indicates the action taken to resolve the complaint and the current status of the complaint.

Miscellaneous

• Make weekly inspections of all dietary functions to assure that quality control measures are continually maintained.
• Be prepared to handle emergencies as they occur (i.e., rescheduling work assignments and work schedules, etc.).
• Work with the facility's consultants as necessary and implement recommended changes as required.

Working Conditions

• Works in office areas as well as throughout the facility's dietary service areas (i.e., dining rooms, resident rooms, activity rooms, etc.)
• Moves intermittently during working hours.
• Is subject to frequent interruptions.
• Is involved with residents, personnel, visitors, government agencies/personnel, etc., under all conditions and circumstances.
• Is subject to hostile and emotionally upset residents, family members, etc.
• Communicates with the medical staff, nursing staff, and other department supervisors.
• Works beyond normal duty hours, on weekends, and in other positions temporarily, when necessary.
• Is subject to call-back during emergency conditions (e.g., severe weather, evacuation, post-disaster, etc.).
• Attends and participates in continuing educational programs.
• Is subject to injury from falls, burns from equipment, odors, etc., throughout the work day, as well as to reactions from dust, disinfectants, tobacco smoke, and other air contaminants.
• Is subject to exposure to infectious waste, diseases, conditions, etc., including TB and the AIDS and Hepatitis B viruses.
• Maintains a liaison with other department supervisors to adequately plan for dietary services/activities.
• May be subject to the handling of and exposure to hazardous chemicals.

Education

Must possess, as a minimum, a high school diploma.

Experience

• Must have, as a minimum 1 year experience in a supervisory capacity in a hospital, skilled nursing care facility, or other related medical facility.
• Must have training in cost control, food management, diet therapy, etc.

Specific Requirements

• Must be able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language.
• Must possess the ability to make independent decisions when circumstances warrant such action.
• Must possess the ability to deal tactfully with personnel, residents, family members, visitors, government agencies/personnel and the general public.
• Must be knowledgeable of dietary practices and procedures as well as the laws, regulations and guidelines governing dietary functions in the long-term care facility.
• Must possess leadership ability and willingness to work harmoniously with and supervise other personnel.
• Must have the ability to plan, implement, and interpret the programs, goals, objectives, policies, procedures, etc., of the Dietary Services Department.
• Must maintain the care and use of supplies, equipment, etc., and maintain the appearance of dietary service areas; must perform regular inspections of dietary service areas for sanitation, order, safety and proper performance of assigned duties.
• Must have patience, tact, cheerful disposition and enthusiasm, as well as be willing to handle residents based on whatever maturity level they are currently functioning.
• Must possess the ability to seek out new methods and principles and be willing to incorporate them into existing dietary practices.
• Must be able to relate information concerning a resident's condition.
• Must not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the workplace.

 Physical and Sensory Requirements

(With or Without the Aid of Mechanical Devices)

• Must be able to move intermittently throughout the work day.
• Must be able to speak and write the English language in an understandable manner.
• Must be able to cope with the mental and emotional stress of the position.
• Must possess sight/hearing senses or use prosthetics that will enable these senses to function adequately so that the requirements of this position can be fully met.
• Must function independently, have flexibility, personal integrity, and the ability to work effectively with the residents, personnel, and support agencies.
• Must meet the general health requirements set forth by the policies of this facility which include a medical and physical examination.
• Must be able to relate to and work with ill, disabled, elderly, emotionally upset, and, at times, hostile people within the facility.
• May be necessary to assist in the evacuation of residents during emergency situations.

Regulatory Compliance - QAPI

• Recognize your role as part of the QAPI efforts of your organization.
• Attend trainings to build understanding and capacity to undertake QAPI work.
• Carry out QAPI roles and responsibilities as assigned.
• Follow established policies and procedures in support of QAPI efforts.
• Look for and share with leadership ideas for improvement in the organization.
• Communicate to leadership upon witnessing a positive outcome of a QAPI project or detecting barriers preventing project success.
• Support QAPI efforts both verbally and non-verbally (i.e., via actions and attitude), including adjusting performance and practice in accordance with QAPI initiatives and findings.