State of Maryland

A Nutritionist I is the intermediate level of licensed work providing nutrition services to clients in a public health or community setting.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other Nutritionists.

Employees in this classification receive moderate supervision from a higher-level Nutritionist, health administrator or other administrator.  The work may require travel to various locations, such as schools, clients' homes and clinics to provide nutrition services.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Nutrition Program Trainee, Nutritionist I and Nutritionist II are differentiated on the basis of licensure status and degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The Nutrition Program Trainee is non-licensed and learns to perform the duties under close supervision.  The Nutritionist I and Nutritionist II are both licensed and Nutritionist I performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times, depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed while the Nutritionist II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision. 

Plans, implements and evaluates nutrition services for an assigned region or population;

Organizes and conducts the nutrition component of a county or regional health education program;

Provides direct nutrition and diet therapy counseling services to health department clients and county or regional residents through individual and group counseling;

Develops, reviews, evaluates and distributes nutrition education materials;

Serves as a resource person in nutrition matters to the local health department staff and to the community at large;

Makes public presentations on general nutrition topics;

Analyzes population characteristics within the service area and initiates outreach efforts for population subgroups whose characteristics indicate special nutritional requirements;

Provides in service training and nutrition education materials to professionals, paraprofessionals, and support staff in public and private schools and agencies;

Provides information on food assistance programs and initiates referrals to appropriate programs;

Establishes and maintains cooperative working relationships with local health agencies, community groups and others interested in problems related to foods and nutrition;

Researches information in order to keep abreast of current practice, participates in food and nutrition surveys and prepares reports for professional and other use;

May provide services to clients with special nutritional needs because of age, health status, socioeconomic status or other characteristics;

May assist in the orientation and training of students in nutrition and dietetics;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of the science and practice of nutrition, its relationship to health and disease, and its effect on the quality of life;

Knowledge of needs and issues or problems in nutrition in the community;

Knowledge of the interrelationships of social, cultural and economic factors as they affect food habits;

Knowledge of the techniques of nutrition education and counseling;

Knowledge of health care programs and delivery systems;

Knowledge of community organization;

Knowledge of research methods and data analysis;

Skill in interviewing and counseling individuals and groups;

Skill in making public presentations using a variety of media;

Ability to plan, organize and evaluate a public health nutrition service;

Ability to conduct community assessments by identifying and analyzing the characteristics of the population that potentially affect nutritional status;

Ability to evaluate the suitability and effectiveness of nutrition education materials;

Ability to communicate effectively;

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with health professionals, paraprofessionals and community leaders.

Education:   Determined by the Maryland State Board of Dietetic Practice under the licensing requirements for Nutritionists and Dietitians.

Experience: One year of experience providing professional nutrition or dietetic services.

Notes: 

1. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in Public Health, Community Health or Nutrition for the required experience.

2. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in Dietitian and Nutritionist classification or Dietitian and Nutritionist specialty codes in the Dietitian field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

1. Candidates for positions in this classification must possess a current licenseas a Dietitian/Nutritionist from the Maryland State Board of Dietetic Practice, 4201 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21215 prior to permanent appointment.

2. Employees in the classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle. Employees assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator's license valid in the State of Maryland.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State Departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using departments or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Professional Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Professional Service positions.  Some positions in Professional Service classifications may be designated as Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit E- Health Professionals classes.  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial, and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining. Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance levels in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class as defined in the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification, and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.