Nutrition Program Coordinator – Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center – National City, CA

Job Announcement – Nutrition Program Coordinator

Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center is looking for an enthusiastic and positive team player who is passionate about cooking and nutrition to coordinate and lead cooking and nutrition lessons for children, families, and adults here at our beautiful 7-acre Garden and Nutrition Education Center in National City, CA.

Summary: The purpose of the Olivewood Gardens educational kitchen is to introduce children and families to healthy foods and empower them to make healthy choices. The Nutrition Program Coordinator organizes and delivers all of the nutrition and cooking educational programs here at Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center. Programs include our children’s field trip program, family field trips, family dinner night, and our renowned Cooking for Salud! program for adults.

Specific responsibilities include designing and conducting hands-on cooking classes, planning lessons and developing recipes, and guiding interns and volunteers in the day to day operation of an interactive, teaching kitchen.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

Program Delivery

Design and conduct nutrition classes for children and adults with the goal of introducing visitors to healthy foods and providing farm to table nutrition education.
Develop lessons and recipes to maximize use of seasonal produce
Coordinate guest chef visits
Prepare recipes for each lesson
Be a role model of respect, curiosity for learning and encourage students’ interests and talents
Collaborate with Garden staff to coordinate plantings and harvests with lesson plans
Prepare produce orders and work with Olivewood partners to coordinate produce donations
Manage Farmers Market Box Program in partnership with Specialty Produce
Participate as kitchen lesson facilitator for teacher training academies
Manage and coordinate Tasting Stations and cooking activities at community events.

Kitchen Management

Maintain kitchen facilities and equipment; make necessary repairs in a timely manner to ensure that all equipment is in safe working order
Maintain kitchen pantry and supplies
Work with Executive Director to maintain a working knowledge of the kitchen budget and budget management
Plan and inventory for multiple kitchen activities in the same week (ie children’s field trips and parent education programs)
Maintain an orderly kitchen for volunteers and participants
Prepare and organize materials for the Cooking for Salud program

Volunteer and Intern Management

Ensure an engaging and rewarding experience for volunteers and interns
Recruit volunteers and interns for the kitchen
Provide orientation to the kitchen classroom
Train, mentor, and collaborate with kitchen volunteers and interns.
Gather and communicate feedback regarding volunteer and intern performance
Recruit, support and supervise volunteers involved with tasting stations at large community events

Communication and Outreach

Participate in Olivewood staff meetings
Produce monthly kitchen e-newsletter
Post recipes on website
Engage the use of social media to post weekly updates of the kitchen program
Represent Olivewood Gardens in the community at professional and community events
Promote the Farmers Market Box program in the community

OCCASIONAL DUTIES

Special Events

Provide support for annual fundraising dinner and donor events.
Coordinate and prepare food/drinks for board meetings, special guests, luncheons, and tours.

SUPERVISION AND REPORTING

This is a full-time exempt grant-funded position with a Monday-Friday work schedule. Regular evening or weekend work may be required. This position is an at-will position, is funding-dependent, and the employee reports to the Program Director.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education/Experience:

– Bachelor’s Degree in nutrition, education, public health, or related field preferred

– More than 2 years related experience and/or training in nutrition education, healthy cooking, culinary arts, kitchen management, teaching children or equivalent combination of education and experience in classroom or kitchen setting.

– Proven ability to successfully manage multiple educational programs

– Commitment to healthy eating and nutrition education

– Must have basic knowledge of public health codes

Interpersonal Skills:

– Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills

– Comfortable working with supervisor, co-workers, employees, interns, and volunteers

– Flexible in fast-paced and unpredictable environments. Able to weigh multiple factors to act quickly, decisively, and diplomatically.

– Proven experience working with people of different cultures and backgrounds

Language Ability:

– Excellent verbal and written communication skills

– Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.

– Ability to speak effectively before groups.

– Spanish and English is preferred.

Reasoning Ability:

– Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.

– Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

Computer Skills:

To perform this job successfully, an individual should have knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and basic social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)

Certificates and Licenses:

Servesafe Certification

Acceptable DMV record and valid driver’s license required

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Ability to work with frequent interruption and to simultaneously supervise a variety of tasks
Ability to stand, stoop, reach and bend. Mobility of arms to reach, dexterity of hands to grasp and manipulate large and small objects
Ability to read small print
Ability to stand for long period and walk long distances
Ability to lift, push and/or pull objects, which may approximate 40 pounds
Ability to work with and in the proximity of, equipment with moving mechanical parts
Ability to work outdoors and tolerate varying weather conditions
Ability to smell, taste and feel, in order to determine quality of raw food products

Compensation: This is a full time exempt position. A competitive compensation package is available including paid holidays, and a monthly stipend for health care.

About Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center: The mission of Olivewood Gardens is to connect and empower students and families from diverse backgrounds to be healthy and active through organic gardening, environmental stewardship, and nutrition education. Once the home of the Walton family, the organic gardens on the property have been cultivated for over 20 years, providing organic produce for the community. Now the site of our nutrition and garden education center, the unique 7-acre property is located in National City, where the rates of childhood obesity and Type 2 Diabetes are higher than the County average. In just 5 short years Olivewood has received over 38,000 visits from children and family members from throughout San Diego County who are interested in learning about food, health, and the natural environment. Olivewood has developed a children’s field trip program, a parent education series, community classes and events, and family programs – all with the purpose of improving health through food. Olivewood serves over 2,000 students per year, with a special emphasis on low-income, urban populations who have limited opportunities for nature-based learning. Our volunteer team of over 500 includes horticulturists, chefs, nutrition educators, graduate students, and community members.

How to apply

Please send your letter of interest and resumé to info@olivewoodgardens.org with the subject title “Nutrition Program Coordinator”. Please include in your letter of interest your requested salary range.

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