OPS DIETETIC TECHNICIAN - 64855574

State of Florida

9d • Onsite

About The Position

This position is located in the Jackson County WIC Clinic. This is a part-time position, up to a 25-hour work week. This is a breastfeeding peer counselor position; you must have experience with breastfeeding at least one baby. This is a para-professional position for the Jackson WIC Agency. All work is carried out under the supervision of a Health Educator. The employee in this position is required to work under the direction of the professional staff. The employee will be expected to foster teamwork and assist staff when clinic staffing is short. The employee is responsible for good communication of all program issues with their supervisor and the WIC Coordinator. The employee will be required to satisfactorily complete the State of Florida Nutrition Training Series. The employee must be able to work with all clients in a fair and impartial manner. The employee will support and promote excellent customer service. Compliance with all standards associated with this position is required, along with adherance to security, integerity and confidentiality regulations, policies and procedures related to information under the direct control of this position. The incumbent in this position is responsible for the integrity and confidentiality of the data sets under his/her control. The incumbent of this position will come to work and exhibit an attitude of friendliness and eager customer service towards all participants and act respectfully and courteously to fellow employees and program participants.

Requirements

• Must have experience with breastfeeding at least one baby.
• Ability to communicate effectively.
• Knowledge of VENA.
• Knowledge of principles and techniques of effective communication.
• Knowledge of community resources.
• Knowledge of program objectives.
• Knowledge of basic arithmetic.
• Skilled in basic counseling techniques.
• Skilled in the Florida Nutrition Training Series.
• Skilled in Florida WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program.
• Ability to assist clients in accessing community resource services.
• Ability to understand and apply the methods and practices used by this position in medical, nutrition, child development or childcare settings.
• Ability to interview clients to identify needs.
• Ability to plan, organize and coordinate work activities.
• Ability to establish and maintain working relationships with others.
• Must be a paraprofessional with no extensive professional training in health, nutrition, or the clinical management of breastfeeding.
• Must be recruited and hired from the same population served by the local WIC agency and has similar characteristics to the participants served by the agency.
• Must be available by phone outside of normal clinic hours up until 9 pm at night and on weekends.

Nice To Haves

• Obtained a high school diploma or GED.
• Has experienced exclusively breastfeeding, preferably exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months; and ideally, exclusively breastfeeding for 6 months with continued breastfeeding for at least 12 months.
• Is currently or has been a WIC client.
• Has breastfed at least one baby.

Responsibilities

• Counsels WIC pregnant and breastfeeding mothers by telephone and/or clinic visits at scheduled intervals determined by the local WIC program.
• Cross trained in anthropometric and hematological health data collection and will perform on prenatal participants receiving breastfeeding education and counseling in the WIC clinic.
• Receives a caseload of WIC clients and makes routine contacts with all clients assigned according to agency protocol.
• Gives basic breastfeeding information and support to new mothers. This includes at a minimum telling them about the benefits of breastfeeding, overcoming common barriers, and getting a good start with breastfeeding. She also helps mothers prevent and handle common breastfeeding concerns.
• Is available outside usual 8 to 5 working hours to new mothers who are having breastfeeding problems.
• Respects each client by keeping her information strictly confidential.
• Keeps accurate records of all contacts made with WIC clients.
• Reads and/or views assigned books and materials on breastfeeding that are provided by the supervisor.
• Refers mothers, according to clinic-established protocols, to the: WIC Nutritionist or Breastfeeding Coordinator, Lactation consultant, Certified Lactation Counselor, Designated Breastfeeding Expert, Public health programs in the community and/or social service agencies.
• Acts as a backup for certifying low-risk participants for program benefits based on established criteria.
• Performs and records accurate measurement as needed.
• For low-risk, utilizes established nutrition criteria to assess nutritional and anthropometric information to assign appropriate nutrition risks and food packages.
• Provides individual nutrition counseling for low-risk WIC participants based on nutritional assessment, anthropometric and laboratory data.
• Identifies high-risk clients and refers to nutrition staff.
• Documents counseling in the participant’s FL-WISE record as appropriate.
• Attends and assists with prenatal classes, breastfeeding support groups, and Jackson Hospital breastfeeding encouragement visits.
• Attends monthly staff meetings and breastfeeding conferences/workshops as appropriate.
• May assist WIC staff in promoting breastfeeding peer counseling through special projects.
• Other WIC duties as assigned.
• Documents all contacts, assigned phone use, enters timesheets, Employee Activity Records, Leave and Attendance Records, travel, etc according to agency protocol.
• Maintains 100% compliance with the responsibilities for an Information/Key Custodian in accordance with DOH Information Security, Policies, and Procedures.
• All other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• State of Florida 401(a) FICA Alternative Plan (mandatory)
• Participation in state group insurance (upon meeting eligibility requirements. Consult with People First and/or the serving HR office)
• Workers’ Compensation (mandatory, if needed)
• Reemployment Assistance (Unemployment Compensation) (mandatory, if needed)
• Deferred Compensation (voluntary)
• Employee Assistance Program (voluntary)
• And more!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED