Nutrition Educator

Job Description

PLEASE ATTACH THE ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS LISTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

Job ID: 34409
Agency: Department of Health - Division of Family and Community Health
Location:Lake Andes, Platte, Wagner or Burke, SDSalary: $24.41 Hourly
Pay Grade: H
Closing Date: 1/12/26

This is a Full-Time 40 Hours Weekly position with the Department of Health - Division of Family and Community Health. For more information on the Department of Health, please visit https://doh.sd.gov/ .

Summary:

The South Dakota Department of Health's programs and services help prevent illness and injury, promote healthy places to live, work and play; provide education to help people make good health decisions; prepare for, respond to, and prevent public health threats; and support efforts to enhance quality and accessibility of healthcare. Our services touch the lives of every person in the state of South Dakota.

We recognize that employees are our most valuable resource, and we are committed to promoting a culture of excellence in DOH. We trust our employees to be innovative, challenge existing processes, and make the best decisions. We are interested in employing a diverse and skilled workforce that exhibits the values of leadership, accountability, communication, integrity, and teamwork. Public health is a diverse and growing field that offers many career options for people from a variety of educational backgrounds. Imagine yourself as part of a winning team that is making the lives of South Dakotans healthier and safer.

The South Dakota Department of Health values flexibility in the workplace. Part of that flexibility includes the ability to work from home. Working from home is a meaningful way to meet individual needs, wants, and desires when it comes to balancing the entire team's home and work lives. That balance is something we value while allowing most positions the opportunity to work remotely up to 3 days a week. Working from home is a privilege and is subject to review depending upon the position.

Please visit our website at http://doh.sd.gov/ for further information about the Department of Health and the WIC Program sd.gov/WIC.

This opening is for a full-time position with the South Dakota Department of Health for a Nutrition Educator (NE) in the Office of Family Nutrition Services (OFNS). This role supports the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Food Program in the South Central Region. The NE works in collaboration with a team under the supervision of a Dietitian Manager. The position provides services for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Food Program which promotes nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices and leads participants to develop a client-centered plan to meet identified needs. Functions of the position include, but are not limited to:

• Determine participant eligibility, including identity, income, residency, categorical and nutritional risk
• Provide nutrition support and education,
• Conduct nutrition education and health assessments
• Provide breastfeeding education and support,
• Link clients to appropriate health and social resources,
• Offer nutrition related technical assistance to team members,
• Deliver nutrition education in community settings,
• Collaborate on setting nutrition, outreach, and breastfeeding goals for the population served
• Provide maternal and child health services, including developmental screenings, infant safe sleep education, and promotion of immunizations, oral health, and other public health initiatives
• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with community partners and providers to enhance referrals and explore innovative partnership opportunities

The NE counsels high-risk participants in consultation with a Registered Dietitian, provides nutrition related technical assistance to team members, provides nutrition education in community settings, and works collaboratively to develop nutrition, outreach, and breastfeeding goals for the population served.

Work hours extending beyond the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. workday and on Saturdays may be required. Travel will be required to satellite sites, and overnight stays may be required for service delivery, trainings, or meetings. Lifting may be required to do anthropometric measurements of infants and children.

Licenses and Certifications:

Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Nutritional Sciences, Community Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition, Dietetics, Public Health Nutrition or Home Economics or Consumer & Family Science (with emphasis in nutrition or with at least 12 hrs. of course work in Science and 12 hrs. course work in Nutrition), or a related field.

The Ideal Candidate Will Have:

The ideal candidate will have excellent interpersonal skills that facilitate the establishment and maintenance of effective working relationships at the individual, group, and community levels. Will be organized, plan ahead, and set goals and priorities. Will demonstrate excellent customer service to all people served, and a commitment to maintain a positive work environment.

Knowledge of:

• motivational interviewing skills;
• principles and practices of food and nutrition sciences;
• breastfeeding education Infant/child developmental milestone;
• infant/child developmental milestones.

Skills to:

• motivate participants to make decisions/goals on how they would like to improve their nutritional status;
• provide nutrition and health information effectively via one-to-one and group settings, virtual settings (zoom, teams, telemedicine), phone and text, and/or online;
• share education at the client's level of understanding .

Ability to:

• prioritize and facilitate referrals within the context of multiple and complicated participant needs;
• apply federal and state regulations; policies and procedures in the functions of the position;
• work both autonomously and in a team environment, demonstrate flexibility;
• communicate effectively;
• demonstrate cultural competency when working with socioeconomically and culturally diverse populations;
• recognize and facilitate opportunities for outreach, marketing, and partnership building;
• communicate effectively with interpreters either in-person, by phone, or during virtual service delivery;
• multitask, prioritize complex situations and adapt to quickly shifting priorities.

Additional Requirements: To be considered, please attach your resume.

This position is eligible for Veterans' Preference per ARSD 55:10:02:08.

NCRC: If you possess a National Career Readiness Certificate, please submit the certificate with your application. For more information on how to acquire a National Career Readiness Certificate contact a South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation Job Service Office. A certificate is not necessary to be considered.

The State of South Dakota does not sponsor work visas for new or existing employees. All persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete an Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I-9. The State of South Dakota as an employer will be using E-Verify to complete employment eligibility verification upon hire.

The State of South Dakota offers $0 premium employee health insurance option plus eleven paid holidays, generous vacation and sick leave accrual, dental, vision, and other insurance options, and retirement benefits. You can view our benefits information here . This position is a member of Class A retirement under SDRS.

Must apply online: https://gen-stateofsouthdako-trn.inforcloudsuite.com/hcm/xmlhttp/shorturl.do?key=37Q
You must apply online, emailed resumes or submissions will not be accepted.
South Dakota Bureau of Human Resources
Telephone: 605.773.3148 Email: careers@state.sd.us
http://bhr.sd.gov/workforus
"An Equal Opportunity Employer"

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