The Role and Team

The role of Dietitian is a key position within apetito and is responsible for leading on nutrition standards and  ensuring we deliver competitive advantage and make a real difference to our customers through the application of evidence based nutrition and dietary solutions and service.

The successful candidate  will be responsible for delivering outstanding nutrition and dietetic support  across key areas of our business (e.g. Healthcare, Wiltshire Farm Foods, Care homes  and Education)   in addition to providing critical support to New product development , Marketing & PR , Category management  and our Specialist nutrition team.

Our Dietitians have   a safe-guarding responsibility , to challenge and inform how nutrition impacts our customers, whether a patient in hospital,  a resident in a Care Home, a child in Education or  someone in their own at home  -  nutritious food is essential to health and wellbeing and the dietitian is integral to ensuring we continue to deliver exceptional nutrition solutions.

Who we are

About apetito

apetito is the UK’s leading supplier of food to the health and social care sectors. Servicing over 400 hospitals, 450 care homes and thousands more through our work with Local Authorities, we produce delicious, nutritious and sustainable meals for people at home or in care. Through our food we look to ‘make a real difference’ to all our customers, up and down the country.

Our Values

Established in 1958, as a family-owned business, our values sit at the very heart of what we do. We are proud to be a business that ‘makes a real difference’, committed to producing ‘great food to be proud of’. We have developed a range of products designed to ‘enhance health and well-being’ for all our customers. We are proud supporters of British food and farming and focus on using the best ‘ethical and sustainably’ sourced produce.

We are driven by a ‘passion for service’, dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people, offering healthy and delicious meals to customers across the UK.

Ethical & Sustainable

As a business which operates within food manufacturing, we believe we have an obligation to make a positive contribution on society. With over 300 products in our range, we ensure our produce is ethically and sustainably sourced, working only with suppliers who share our commitment to making a positive impact.

We’re a proud member of the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI), a leading alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs, that promote respect for workers rights globally. All our new suppliers now operate under the ETI’s guidelines.

We are also a member of The UK’s Plastics Pact, an initiative looking to transform the plastic packaging industry in the UK. As part of the initiative, we have committed, along with other ambitious targets, to eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic completely by 2025.

We have also made a commitment to our employees – we’re recognised as an accredited Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation. Joining an elite group of FTSE 100 companies and public sector organisations.

Giving Back

Here at apetito, we take our duty to give back to our local communities and chosen charities very seriously. In 2018, we raised over £30,000 for Alzheimer’s Support and Alzheimer’s Society alone, thanks to the incredible efforts of our employees and charity committee. We also support our communities through the apetito Staff Foundation, which gives financial support to the chosen charitable causes of our staff and their children. Since 2005, we’ve raised over £175,000 for these charities.

In addition to your salary you will receive a comprehensive training program, 25 days annual leave holiday entitlement, the ability to buy additional annual leave, retail discounts, free car parking, subsidised staff restaurant, free turkey (or voucher) at Christmas and much more!

Business Unit support and customer service

• Providing customer facing support to our business unit teams  e.g.  with presentations, responding to customer queries and  supporting  tastings and customer meetings.
• Supporting  at key conferences and shows.
• Liaising  regularly with external dietitians and other healthcare professionals to provide direct support and advice on apetito products, systems and service and to build strong customer relationships.
• Engaging  with customers and consumers to stimulate and identify new opportunities 
• Supporting   key  new product launches 

Product development

• Working  closely with colleagues to identify, research and shape new product development opportunities that create competitive advantage and  to maintain  or improve appropriate nutrition standards
• Specify nutrition and diet standards  for new and improved products .
• Ensure all Health and Nutrition claims and policies  are compliant with current legislation whilst enabling the optimisation of commercial opportunities.
• Working  closely with our Specialist Nutrition team to define special diet specifications and briefs.

Staff training and support

• Striving to continually raise the nutrition and dietary expertise in our business. (e.g. through training programmes for new product launches , inductions and across our Wiltshire Farm Foods franchise network).

Marketing and public relations

• Providing  support /  writing of content for publications e.g.  product / range releases,  thought leadership articles and  short articles on key topics. 
• Providing  expert support  to key marketing activities 
• Hosting, recording and planning podcasts
• Filming content for external and internal business use.
• Managing dietary and nutrition information in brochures
• Presenting at conferences and shows.

Policy & leadership

• Providing leadership  and development support for the Development dietitian, and subject matter expertise to the wider team.
• Leading  on nutrition related subjects as a key  member of our  Food & Packaging Policy team ,  ensuring relevant legislation and policy changes are represented.
• Building and maintaining relationships with key external organisations
• To develop  and  evolve   robust nutrition related strategies to create competitive advantage and make a real difference.
• Challenging  current practice with a view to gaining competitive advantage through nutrition and diet improvements.
• Increasing  visibility   and influence in nutrition areas of  strategic importance to the company (e.g. external professional Associations)

Essential:

• Relevant dietetic qualification (e.g. BSc in dietetics or post graduate qualification)
• Registered dietitian with the Health and Care Professions Council
• Member of British Dietetic Association
• Full driving licence
• Significant experience of working as a dietitian  (at NHS band 6 or above - or  equivalent)
• Experience of working in hospitals and in the community

Desirable:

• Senior Level dietitian experience (e.g. NHS Band 7)
• Experience of direct  people management
• Experience of care of the elderly
• Experience of working  directly with Hospital Catering Departments
• Sound understanding of nutrition UK standards  and foodservice in hospitals, care homes and community  settings
• Demonstrable track record of driving and improving nutrition related  policy and working practice
• Experience of food product development
• Member of  relevant BDA specialist groups

Personal Qualities:

• Ability to apply evidence based nutrition
• Ability to take a strategic view
• Confident – able to work well with colleagues and customers at all levels
• Demonstrates the drive  to challenge and improve
• First class communication and presentation skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills 
• Excellent attention to detail
• Commercially aware