Are you excited about a new and exciting opportunity? Do you have a passion for working with families and individuals in need of healthcare, housing, and community support services? Are you interested in working for a mission-driven and innovative organization? Well, look no further! At Community of Hope, we envision Washington, DC, where everyone is healthy, housed, and hopeful. If you are ready to make a positive difference in the community, this position is for you! 

Our mission: To improve health, end homelessness, and partner with communities to make Washington, DC more equitable. 

Our Approach and Values: 

We celebrate people’s strengths and acknowledge the impact of trauma on people’s lives.   

We embrace diversity, welcome all voices, and treat everyone with respect and compassion. 

We lead and advocate for changes to make systems more equitable. 

We strive for excellence and value integrity in all that we do. 

Position Summary:  The Nutritionist promotes the integration of nutrition and wellness services into the COH Medical Home Model by fostering food-related community partnerships, providing consultation and education to COH providers and other care team members, and developing nutritional education curriculum and materials.   Additionally, they empower COH patients with nutritional information and food-based resources in order to improve health outcomes related to nutrition-sensitive conditions, including obesity, hypertension, and diabetes; evidence-based interventions will be delivered through nutrition-based care plans, one-on-one nutrition counseling sessions, and group nutrition and wellness programming.   

The pay rate for this position ranges between $70,000 - $80,000 annually and the offer amount is determined by the candidate's education, qualifications, and experience.  Indeed provides their own estimated salary calculator and is not affiliated with COH's range. 

Highlighted Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Delivers one-on-one nutrition counseling and support to a minimum of 10 patients per day, either in person or over the phone.
• Reviews the quality of current nutrition education delivered in one-on-one and group settings and identifies enhancements to curriculum, associated patient-education materials, and staff knowledge.  
• Works with medical, nursing, and health services leadership to develop and deliver new group education approaches based on patient feedback and known gaps in services, such as wellness, weight loss, and walking groups, and grocery store tours.
• Works with behavioral health department to develop and implement interdisciplinary approaches to address the intersection of mental health conditions/exposure to trauma and food-related behaviors.
• Designs culturally appropriate patient education materials and works to promote adoption by the care team. 
• Provides trainings to clinical staff to increase knowledge of current nutrition guidelines, disease-specific dietary recommendations, and culturally competent approaches to working with patients.
• Reviews free or low-cost phone applications that support patients’ self-management goals around nutrition and promotes patient adoption of high-quality tools.
• Works with patients to establish meal plans in accordance with patient preference, cultural background, and health and financial capabilities; evaluates the health and diet needs of patients and make clinical recommendations.  
• Develops and implements patient-specific care plans around obesity and nutrition-sensitive conditions, including hypertension, prediabetes, diabetes, and high cholesterol. 
• Works with patients to define SMART goals around weight loss, nutrition, and healthy behaviors more generally.
• Conducts appropriate telephonic and in-person follow-up for established care plans and supports patients as they work to achieve their SMART goals.
• Makes appropriate referrals to nursing staff, behavioral health providers, and other members of the care team, and ensures that interventions for risking-risk and high-risk patients are coordinated and patient-centered.
• Coordinates and communicates with care team members, including care coordinators and primary care providers, to gather relevant input, communicate patients’ goals and preferences, and ensure the care team is working in a coordinated fashion to support patients’ goals.
• Enters all patient visit information into the electronic medical record at time of visit, according to programmatic requirements.
• Identifies gaps in services to address social determinants of health based on outcomes and patient feedback. Assists in developing plans, community resources, and other partnerships to meet identified needs, particularly around food insecurity. 
• Maintains target productivity standards.
• Serves as a liaison to external partners in the food and nutrition space and works to promote partnerships that enhance access to healthy, affordable foods and culturally competent education, including cooking courses and grocery store tours.
• Uses population health data to target outreach to specific patients/sub-populations that could benefit from nutrition-based interventions. 
• Contributes accurate and timely data to support program reporting and quality improvement.
• Works with Women’s Health Services Manager to support high-quality, timely program reporting.
• Provides direct nutritional counseling to patients, following approved guidelines.
• Participates in quality management activities, including peer review which occurs every other month.
• Precepts nutrition students as agreed upon with supervisor.
• Maintains safe, secure, and healthy work environment by following standards, procedures, and legal guidelines.
• Documents all patient encounters, including face-to-face, telephone, and electronic communications, in the medical record in a timely fashion.
• Secures patient information and maintains patient confidence by completing and safeguarding medical records and keeping patient information confidential.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Must hold current license as a dietitian or nutritionist in the District of Columbia.
• Master’s Degree in Nutrition or closely related field strongly preferred.
• Experience providing culturally competent, patient-centered education in a low-income setting highly required.
• Ability to multi-task and problem solve required.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, team-based setting required.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, and Excel required.
• Ability to meet patients outside of traditional office setting, including grocery stores, required.
• Ability to work flexible hours (i.e. evenings, weekends) to provide increased access to patients required.
• Ability to travel to other sites for the purposes of training, meetings, and providing cross-coverage required.
• Experience in community health center setting preferred.
• Proof of required vaccinations is required.  This includes, but may not be limited to, Flu and Covid. COH will consider requests for reasonable accommodations for anyone who cannot be vaccinated for a religious or medical reason, subject to applicable law.
• All Health Staff must receive the required vaccinations. This includes annual flu and covid vaccines. Medical or religious exemptions may be requested.

At COH, we understand the toll that the Covid-19 pandemic has taken on the workforce, which is why we prioritize the following well-being and work-life balance-centered benefits: 

• Remote work opportunities are available for many of our roles, promoting a culture of work-life balance. 
• 8-hour workdays, which include a paid lunch 
• 11.5 paid company holidays, 1 personal floating holiday, 15 days of paid vacation (increases to 20 after 3 years of service), and 12 days of paid sick leave on an annual basis 
• Annual performance-based raises, up to 5% of your annual pay 
• National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and DC Health Professional Loan Repayment Program (DCHPLRP) participants 
• Tuition reimbursement, loan repayment for clinicians, licensing reimbursement, and continuing education unit funds for licensed staff 
• Many opportunities for internal promotions and transfers across the agency as we continue to grow; we average 30+ promotions each year 
• Ongoing internal leadership training for supervisors 
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion training and initiatives for all staff 
• Ongoing well-being activities, culture compact activities, and trauma-informed care initiatives 
• Medical/Dental/Vision Plans through CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield 
• Life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance 
• 403(b) Retirement Plan 
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical and dependent care reimbursable expenses 
• And much more! 

About Us: 

Community of Hope is a mission-driven, innovative, and rapidly growing nonprofit. For 45 years, we have provided healthcare, housing, and community support services to make Washington, DC more equitable. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, we provide medical, dental, emotional wellness, and care coordination services for the whole family at three locations in DC. 

Community of Hope also strongly emphasizes maternal and child health, with midwifery practice and the only free-standing birth center in DC. In 2024, Community of Hope provided about 50,000 medical visits, 6,300 dental visits, and 17,000 behavioral health visits for about 16,000 patients. Community of Hope is also one of the largest providers of homelessness prevention and housing services for 1,600 households—1,384 families and 220 individuals—experiencing homelessness in DC. Community support through Family Success Center, our WIC nutrition centers, and perinatal care coordination for pregnant people experiencing homelessness reach hundreds more families. We believe that everyone in DC can be healthy, housed, and hopeful.   

We were selected as one of The Washington Post 150 Top Workplaces in 2024 and 6 other times since 2014 based on feedback from our staff. 

To request a reasonable accommodation to complete an employment application or for general questions about employment with Community of Hope, contact a Recruiting Coordinator. Email: hr@cohdc.org Phone: 202-407-7747. Community of Hope is an equal opportunity employer.