Sr. Director, Food is Medicine

When you’re the best, we’re the best. We instill an environment where employees feel engaged, satisfied and able to contribute their unique skills and talents while living and working as their authentic selves. We provide extensive opportunities for personal and professional development, building both employee competence and organizational capability to fuel exceptional performance through an inclusive environment both now and in the future.

Summary:

In this role, you will lead Vizient’s bold and mission-driven Food as Medicine strategy, shaping its integration across the care continuum. This position demands exceptional executive presence, strategic insight, and the confidence to engage with C-suite leaders from the nation’s leading healthcare organizations.

As Vizient’s lead clinical nutrition expert and program architect, you will design and implement a scalable framework that unites clinical, sourcing, and advisory capabilities to position nutrition as a strategic pillar of value-based care. Through national initiatives and cross-functional collaboration, you will embed Food as Medicine into care delivery models that drive improved outcomes, cost-efficiency, and health equity. The ideal candidate is a credentialed Registered Dietitian (RD) with deep clinical nutrition expertise, experience in sourcing or vendor partnerships, and a strong record of leading transformative healthcare initiatives powered by data and innovation.

Responsibilities:

• Strategy & Program Development : Design and lead Vizient’s enterprise-wide Food as Medicine strategy, aligning clinical, sourcing, and advisory models across care settings through the use of clinical data and evidence-based practices.
• Develop a national implementation framework and playbook to guide the integration of Food as Medicine initiatives across hospitals, IDNs, senior living, non-acute care, and community health settings.
• Engage executive health system leaders in strategic discussions to demonstrate the value of nutrition-based interventions, while collaborating with internal teams to identify and contract with aligned supplier partners.
• Sourcing Leadership: Partner with category management and sourcing teams to vet, contract, and optimize Food as Medicine-aligned suppliers (e.g., medically tailored meals, therapeutic food products).
• Ensure supplier offerings meet clinical standards, cost-effectiveness thresholds, and compliance with federal and state reimbursement models.
• Advisory & Clinical Integration:Support a team of clinical nutrition experts to deliver data-driven, clinically aligned advisory services to clients.
• Support clients in implementing nutrition-focused programs such as malnutrition initiatives, community-based food interventions, and CMS-aligned care models.
• Translate clinical needs into operational models that improve patient outcomes and optimize cost.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Influence : Collaborate closely with internal leaders across sourcing, sales, member delivery, analytics, and program services to drive coordinated execution.
• Champion the Food as Medicine program internally and externally — ensuring alignment with Vizient’s clinical priorities, GPO strategies, and member value proposition.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to staff, encouraging innovation and professional development.

Qualifications:

• Relevant degree preferred; advanced degree desired in Nutrition, Health Administration , Public Health, Business or related field.
• 10 or more years of relevant experience in clinical nutrition, foodservice management or healthcare advisory required.
• 5 or more years of leadership experience required.
• Registered Dietitian (RD) credential, active and in good standing required.
• Proven experience in sourcing, contracting, or vendor evaluation, especially related to nutrition or health-related food solutions.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing clinical dietitians or clinical nutrition teams.
• Deep knowledge of continuum of care models, including acute, post-acute, and community settings.
• Strong understanding of CMS policies, value-based care, and food-as-medicine programs.
• Experience working with or within group purchasing organizations (GPOs) or integrated delivery networks (IDNs)  preferred.
• Knowledge of population health, health equity, or social determinants of health programs preferred.
• Familiarity with malnutrition quality improvement initiatives or medically tailored meals preferred.
• Willingness to travel.

Estimated Hiring Range:

At Vizient, we consider skills, experience, and organizational needs in our compensation approach. Geographic factors may adjust the range estimate and hires typically fall below the top range. Compensation decisions are tailored to individual circumstances. The current salary range for this role is $135,200.00 to $236,600.00.

This position is also incentive eligible.

Vizient has a comprehensive benefits plan! Please view our benefits here:

http://www.vizientinc.com/about-us/careers

Equal Opportunity Employer:   Females/Minorities/Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The Company is committed to equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants without regard to race, religion, color, gender identity, ethnicity, age, national origin, sexual orientation, disability status, veteran status or any other category protected by applicable law.