Junior Nutritionist

Junior Nutritionist

Joint post with British Nutrition Foundation/McDonald’s

We have an opportunity for a 12-month placement jointly at the British Nutrition Foundation and McDonald’s. This unique dual role will offer the candidate an opportunity to get a wide experience in a nutrition role in a charity and a global Food Service Restaurant setting.

The British Nutrition Foundation

The British Nutrition Foundation, a registered charity. exists to promote health and wellbeing and prevent diet-related ill health through evidence-based nutrition science. It provides a bridge between nutrition science, government, industry, education and people, and a conduit to a healthier, more sustainable food environment for all. The British Nutrition Foundation’s team of nutrition scientists, education and communication professionals promotes access to the latest evidence-based and trusted nutrition science, so that people have the knowledge, skills and confidence to make positive food, diet and lifestyle choices, and to create a healthier, more sustainable food environment for all.

McDonald’s

McDonald’s is proud to be one of the most recognised brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries and billions of customers served each year. As the global leader in the food and service industry, we have a legacy of innovation and hard work that continues to drive us. McDonald’s has run its business in the UK since 1974 and currently operates over 1500 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, serving almost four million customers each day. McDonald’s is one of the UK’s largest private sector employers, employing over 170,000 people.

Why a joint placement?

Eating food purchased from the out-of-home sector is a common feature of our lifestyles. Improving the nutritional profile of foods offered, whether through reformulation, reviewing portion size or designing new products, will positively influence the food environment and can help support healthier food choices for the future.

McDonald’s has been a Corporate Member of the British Nutrition Foundation for a number of years and values its impartial sound advice and support on nutrition. The Foundation supported the development of McDonald’s Plan for Change Great Food commitments The Detail Behind Our Plan For Change | McDonald's UK. It advises McDonald’s on emerging areas of nutrition science and how to more effectively measure positive nutritional impact.

The role

The successful applicant will be assigned a mentor at the British Nutrition Foundation, where they will join the Nutrition Intelligence team. This role offers the opportunity to collaborate across the Foundation, supporting programmes and initiatives that help people make informed food choices and develop healthier eating habits.

As a Junior Nutritionist, they will contribute to a range of nutrition science activities, including researching and writing evidence-based reviews, articles and other content on nutrition, healthy eating and sustainable diets for a variety of audiences. The role will also involve supporting the communication and dissemination of nutrition information to key stakeholders across multiple platforms.

At McDonald’s the successful applicant will:

Support the day-to-day operation and coordination of the Nutrition Team and support the wider department coordination activities.

Maintain and report nutrition data, ensuring a high level of accuracy to support customer communications and regulatory compliance.

Track progress against internal and external nutrition commitments and targets.

Support the creation, review and approval of customer-facing nutrition, ingredient and allergen information.

• Support the delivery of McDonald's Nutrition Strategy and Plan for Change commitments.

Respond to customer nutrition and allergen enquiries, develop training materials, and maintain nutrition content across company platforms.

Work cross-functionally with Food Development, Food Safety, Supply Chain, Insights and Marketing teams to deliver nutrition priorities.

The Junior Nutritionist will be part of the McDonald's Nutrition Team, within the wider Quality, Food Safety, Nutrition and Sustainability function. The role will support the delivery of McDonald's nutrition strategy, contributing to key projects that help drive positive nutrition outcomes for customers across the UK and Ireland. As the team's coordinator, the successful candidate will play a central role in managing nutrition data, reporting and administrative activities, ensuring the effective delivery of team priorities. They will work closely with cross-functional teams, gaining exposure to the commercial, technical and regulatory considerations involved in nutrition decision-making within the food industry. This is an excellent opportunity for an early-career nutrition professional to develop their technical knowledge, project management skills and stakeholder management experience.

What we are looking for

For this position, we are looking for a recent bachelor’s (with a minimum of a 2:1) or master’s degree graduate in Nutrition, Dietetics or Nutrition with another Science discipline (e.g. Food Science & Nutrition).

The ideal candidate will also have some previous industry experience, either during a placement year or experience after university, and be registered, or eligible for registration, with the Association for Nutrition.

Key skills required for this role include:

Strong analytical and data interpretation skills.

Excellent attention to detail, organisational skills and accuracy, with the ability to quickly learn and use nutrition databases.

• A passion for evidence-based nutrition science and a commitment to applying scientific evidence in practice.

• A good understanding of current issues in nutrition, food systems, sustainability and food policy.

Knowledge of nutrition, ingredient and allergen labelling, with an appreciation of the importance of data quality and accuracy.

Excellent written, interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex scientific information clearly and adapt writing for different audiences.

The successful applicant will be employed by the British Nutrition Foundation on a starting salary of £28,000 – £29,000 per annum with the post commencing in September 2026. After completion of a successful 3-month probation period, additional benefits will include a contribution to a personal pension, a season ticket loan and medical insurance.

Presence in the London offices will be anticipated for the majority of the role. The successful applicant can expect to spend:

a day a week at the British Nutrition Foundation’s office in Central London and

- four days a week at McDonald’s (hybrid work model with 2 days in the East Finchley office).

Applications

Applicants should send a covering letter, CV and a reference from a course tutor or previous employer to S.Coe@nutrition.org.uk by 26th August 2026. Interviews are anticipated to start on 2nd September 2006. For any queries please contact a.spiro@nutrition.org.uk

Our approach to diversity is simple —it’s about embracing everyone, and everyone is welcome at the British Nutrition Foundation. We are committed to welcoming all applicants with the right skills, regardless of gender identity, orientation or expression, age, race, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, and perspective. Diversity fuels innovation, brings diversity of thought, and connects us closer to the companies and people we work with. If you need any specific arrangements to be made or considerations to be taken during our recruitment and selection process to enable you to perform at your best, please let us know in your covering email or letter.