Director/Associate Director of Sports Nutrition – Olympic Sports

University of Arkansas • Fayetteville, AR

2d

About The Position

The Director/Associate Director of Sports Nutrition – Olympic Sports reports to the Associate Athletic Director for Sports Performance Nutrition and provides leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight for comprehensive sports nutrition services to assigned Olympic Sports programs within the University of Arkansas Athletic Department. The role develops, implements, and evaluates evidence-based nutrition strategies to support student-athlete health, wellness, recovery, and competitive performance, collaborating with coaches, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning professionals, sports medicine personnel, and other performance-team members.

The position serves as a primary sports nutrition resource for assigned teams, providing individualized nutrition assessment, counseling, education, and performance-fueling strategies tailored to each sport. It leads daily Olympic Sports nutrition operations, supervises assigned sports nutrition fellows and undergraduate staff, and coordinates nutrition resources and services to provide consistent, high-quality support.

The role also assists with administration of sports nutrition facilities, fueling operations, nutritional supplement programs, and educational initiatives, ensuring compliance with applicable NCAA, SEC, University, and departmental policies. Regular, reliable, non-disruptive attendance and the ability to maintain collegial working relationships are essential job duties.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in clinical nutrition, dietetics, food and nutrition, or a related field from an accredited institution.
• Registered Dietitian by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and RD eligible in the state of Arkansas.
• Director: At least three years of professional sports nutrition experience within a collegiate athletics setting; Associate Director: At least two years of such experience.
• Experience providing individualized nutrition counseling, performance nutrition education, and dietary assessment to competitive student-athletes.
• Knowledge of NCAA regulations governing nutritional supplements and permissible student-athlete nutrition services.
• Knowledge of dietary assessment techniques, body composition considerations, and nutrition interventions appropriate for collegiate student-athletes.
• Advanced knowledge of sports nutrition principles, exercise physiology, energy availability, hydration, recovery, and nutrition strategies that support athletic performance.
• Strong written communication skills, including preparing professional reports, educational materials, program documentation, and correspondence.
• Strong leadership, supervisory, organizational, and program management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal communication, counseling, presentation, and public speaking skills.
• Ability to establish rapport and trusted professional relationships with student-athletes, coaches, and multidisciplinary performance staff.
• Ability to supervise, mentor, train, and evaluate personnel while establishing clear performance expectations.
• Ability to maintain confidential student-athlete information in accordance with applicable privacy requirements and University policies.
• Ability to collaborate across sports medicine, strength and conditioning, coaching, food service, and athletic administration.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in nutrition, dietetics, exercise science, sports science, or a related field.
• Four or more years of full-time professional experience as a registered dietitian within a collegiate and/or professional sports setting.
• Experience working with athletes with eating disorders or disordered eating habits.
• Experience managing performance fueling stations, nutritional supplement programs, or sports nutrition operations.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight for sports nutrition services to assigned Olympic Sports programs.
• Develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-based nutrition strategies that support student-athlete health, wellness, recovery, and competitive performance.
• Collaborate with coaches, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning professionals, sports medicine personnel, and other members of the performance team.
• Provide individualized nutrition assessment, counseling, education, and sport-specific performance-fueling strategies.
• Lead daily operations of Olympic Sports nutrition services and coordinate resources to ensure consistent, high-quality support.
• Supervise assigned sports nutrition fellows and undergraduate staff; mentor, train, and evaluate personnel and establish performance expectations.
• Assist in administering sports nutrition facilities, fueling operations, nutritional supplement programs, and educational initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with NCAA, SEC, University, and departmental policies and procedures.
• Maintain confidential student-athlete information in accordance with applicable privacy requirements and University policies.
• Maintain regular, reliable, non-disruptive attendance and collegial working relationships.

Benefits

• University contributions to health, dental, life, and disability insurance.
• Tuition waivers for employees and their families.
• 12 official holidays.
• Immediate leave accrual.
• Choice of retirement programs with university contributions ranging from 5% to 10% of employee salary.
• Healthy work-life balance culture.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director