Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension is seeking an experienced, mission-oriented Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) to support the New Hampshire National Guard’s Military Readiness Support Services program. This individual will serve as Ascension’s subject matter expert for nutritional readiness, performance nutrition, body-composition improvement, Medical Nutrition Therapy, and family nutrition education.

This is not a traditional food-service or hospital dietary-management position. The successful candidate will work directly with Service Members to improve their ability to meet military body-composition and readiness standards while also supporting the nutritional health of military families.

The New Hampshire National Guard consists of more than 2,900 geographically dispersed Soldiers and Airmen. The broader MRSS program is intended to strengthen financial, behavioral health, physical, and nutritional readiness so that Service Members remain operationally deployable while their families have access to an effective wellness support network.

Ascension is therefore looking for someone who combines strong clinical nutrition knowledge with the ability to coach, educate, motivate, document, analyze results, and translate nutrition science into realistic behavioral changes.

The ideal candidate is approachable yet accountable; comfortable counseling individuals who may have been formally referred because they failed military body-composition standards; capable of working independently with minimal day-to-day supervision; highly organized in managing multiple cases and deadlines; sensitive to confidentiality and protected health information; and able to communicate effectively with Service Members, family members, fitness professionals, program leadership, and military stakeholders.

Contractor Role Summary

The RDN will develop, implement, and manage the nutritional-readiness component of Ascension’s support to NHNG. The PWS specifically requires a multi-tiered program consisting of mandatory remedial nutritional counseling for Service Members failing Army body-composition standards, proactive evidence-based nutrition education, and voluntary household nutrition planning for military families.

The RDN will conduct nutritional intake and needs assessments, develop individualized Body Composition “Get-Well” Plans, provide ongoing nutrition counseling, prepare household nutrition plans, deliver performance-nutrition education, participate in virtual and in-person wellness programming, produce weekly nutrition content, and provide data supporting monthly and quarterly readiness reporting.

The position directly contributes to NHNG’s objective of improving body-composition compliance, Army Combat Fitness Test readiness, health behaviors, and overall force readiness.

Primary Day-to-Day / Recurring Responsibilities

• CONDUCT nutritional intake assessments for Service Members referred because of noncompliance with Army body-composition standards and initiate assessments within the PWS-required seven-business-day response period.
• DEVELOP individualized written Body Composition “Get-Well” Plans addressing dietary behaviors, performance fueling, weight-management strategies, and other evidence-based interventions supporting compliance with AR 600-9.
• PROVIDE continuous nutrition counseling and case-management support until official notification confirms that the Service Member has returned to body-composition compliance.
• DELIVER evidence-based Medical Nutrition Therapy and performance-nutrition interventions designed to improve health, body composition, and ACFT readiness.
• ASSESS nutritional needs of eligible Service Members, immediate family members, and eligible federal employees requesting voluntary nutrition assistance.
• CREATE customized Voluntary Household Nutrition Plans within ten business days of assessment, addressing practical meal planning, grocery shopping on a budget, healthy eating for children, and sustainable household dietary behaviors.
• DOCUMENT assessments, interventions, treatment plans, progress, and case activities accurately within Ascension’s HIPAA-compliant treatment-note/case-management environment.
• EDUCATE Service Members on performance fueling, healthy weight management, hydration, recovery nutrition, meal preparation, and other evidence-based nutrition practices consistent with military readiness objectives.
• INTERPRET and apply AR 600-9, The Army Body Composition Program, and FM 7-22, Holistic Health and Fitness, when designing nutrition-readiness interventions.
• COORDINATE nutrition strategies with the Strength and Conditioning Coach/Exercise Specialist to ensure physical-readiness and nutritional-readiness interventions complement one another.
• DELIVER at least two virtual nutrition-coaching sessions per month as part of the joint decentralized virtual wellness community required under PWS Section 5.6.
• SUPPORT development and administration of the joint “Winning Programming” peer-recognition and wellness-engagement initiative.
• DEVELOP one nutrition-focused subject-matter-expert communication product each week for delivery to the Contract Manager, including performance-fueling tips, evidence-based nutrition information, healthy recipes, or Army Body Composition Program guidance.
• ALIGN educational and promotional content with current Army publications and Government-approved messaging.
• SUPPORT unit meetings, readiness events, wellness activities, and up to twelve standard NHNG drill weekends annually when nutrition support is scheduled by the Contract Manager and COR.
• TRAVEL to NHNG readiness centers, training facilities, and other approved locations when required to deliver in-person services.
• TRACK referrals, active cases, enrollment duration, case outcomes, successful returns to body-composition compliance, and other nutrition-readiness measures.
• PROVIDE accurate program data to Ascension’s Contract Manager for Monthly Performance and Analytics Reports and Quarterly Readiness Impact Reports.
• MAINTAIN HIPAA, PII, DoD privacy, information-security, documentation, and records-management requirements when handling beneficiary information.
• COLLABORATE with Ascension’s Contract Manager, Exercise Specialist, Mental Health Counselor, Financial Counselor, and other authorized NHNG stakeholders to support an integrated holistic-readiness program.

The PWS specifically requires monthly reporting of referral/intake measures, active remedial cases, enrollments, length of participation, successful “graduations” back to readiness compliance, noncompliance information, and outreach/engagement metrics.