NJ Civil Service Navigator

Nutrition Program Specialist Family

Career series with 3 positions across 3 levels

Nutrition Program Specialist is a career-ladder family in New Jersey civil service, with 3 titles spanning 3 levels.

Entry is typically through Nutrition Program Specialist 1, advancing through the ladder toward Nutrition Program Specialist 3. Pay across the family spans $66,592 to $141,386, around the 70th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 28 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Agriculture.

Nutrition Program Specialist commonly advances into Program Specialist and Hazardous Site Mitigation Specialist.

3
Positions
3
Career Levels
Salary Range: $66,592 - $141,386/year

Positions in This Family

What the Nutrition Program Specialist family covers

Nutrition Program Specialist covers 3 title codes arranged into 3 levels of responsibility. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.

Institutional food service keeps the state hospitals, correctional facilities, developmental centers and veterans homes fed, and it runs on a small ladder from worker to cook to supervisor. Nutrition titles sit alongside it but belong to public health: they run the WIC program and dietary planning rather than the kitchen. Because the work follows the institution rather than the office, these titles carry unusual work weeks and shift patterns, and several exist in both twelve-month and ten-month variants.

The ladder, ordered by pay

The Nutrition Program Specialist rungs, listed from the best paid down. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.

The distance from the bottom of Nutrition Program Specialist 1 to the top of Nutrition Program Specialist 3 is $74,794, an increase of about 112% over the entry minimum.

What each title does

Reading the definitions side by side is the quickest way to see what changes as you move through the family.

  • Nutrition Program Specialist 1: Under direction of a Nutrition Program Specialist 2 or other supervisory officer in the Department of Agriculture, assists and…
  • Nutrition Program Specialist 2: Under the direction of a Nutrition Program Specialist 3 or other supervisory officer in the Department of Agriculture, supervises…
  • Nutrition Program Specialist 3: Under direction of a supervisory officer in the Department of Agriculture, supervises activities and staff engaged in the oversight and delivery of…

Requirements across the family

Across the 3 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a bachelor's degree on 3 of them. Stated experience runs from 1 year at the lowest rung to 3 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.

On how the jobs are filled: 3 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination.

Who actually employs these titles

State payroll records show 28 people working under 3 of this family's titles, spread across 1 agency. Agriculture alone accounts for about 100% of them.

  • Agriculture — 28 employees

Median actual pay varies across the family, from $82,173 for Nutrition Program Specialist 1 up to $136,605 for Nutrition Program Specialist 3. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.

State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.

How the pay is set

Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.

Where these jobs exist

These are state titles, hired by New Jersey departments, commissions and boards through the Civil Service Commission's announcement and eligible list process rather than by an ordinary job posting. How state hiring works, and which agencies employ what.

Related titles elsewhere in the plan

Other classifications built on the same terms as Nutrition Program Specialist. Worth checking if this family has no current opening.

Common questions about Nutrition Program Specialist jobs

How many Nutrition Program Specialist titles are there in New Jersey civil service?

The Nutrition Program Specialist family holds 3 title codes arranged across 3 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.

What does a Nutrition Program Specialist earn in New Jersey?

Published salary data for this family runs from $66,592 at the bottom of Nutrition Program Specialist 1 to $141,386 at the top of Nutrition Program Specialist 3. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.

Do you need to take an exam to become a Nutrition Program Specialist?

Yes for most of the family. 3 of the 3 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.

What qualifications does a Nutrition Program Specialist need?

The most common education requirement in this family is a bachelor's degree, named on 3 of the 3 titles. Stated experience ranges from 1 to 3 years depending on the rung. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.

Which agencies employ Nutrition Program Specialist staff?

State payroll records show 28 people in this family across 1 agency, with Agriculture the largest at 28. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.