Extension Specialist, Agriculture & Natural Resources Specialist

Extension Specialist, Agriculture & Natural Resources Specialist  - 24000000FV 

Description

 

POSITION X2429        Extension Specialist, Agriculture & Natural Resources Specialist                                        

LOCATION                   University of Tennessee, Institute of Agriculture, Extension, Department of Animal Science, Knoxville, TN

SALARY AND BENEFITS

Salary is commensurate with training and experience. This is a grant-funded

position. Continued employment is contingent upon performance and funding. Benefits include group

hospitalization and life insurance; State Employees Retirement; Workers’ Compensation; sick and annual

leave; numerous University of Tennessee and state benefits programs, including liberal time off for holidays and

longevity pay after three years of service; reimbursement for official travel.

 

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Agriculture and Natural Resources Specialist will provide leadership in partnership with Dr. Liz Eckelkamp's Dairy Extension Program and the Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives (SDBII) project. THE SDBII program is a USDA-AMS funded effort that provides support through training and competitive grant programs to dairy business in the Southeast region (12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia; 1 territory: Puerto Rico; 1,103 counties). University of Tennessee serves as the lead institution for this extensive grant program with Dr. Eckelkamp serving as the Program Director. This position is expected to develop strong working relationships with Extension agents and partners, as well as coordinate with counterparts nationwide. This person will coordinate program evaluation efforts to provide continuous program quality improvement such as tracking program delivery, collecting success stories/impacts and other qualitative program evaluation data, and compiling reports. Deliver current, research-based subject matter information and educational training to dairy producers, dairy businesses, and Extension agents. Author publications for public distribution to support educational programs. Connect with dairy producers and producer programs across the state, including the Master Dairy Program and Webinar Wednesday. Support the SDBII by planning and conducting workshops and conferences and developing publications. Plan, conduct, implement and evaluate assigned educational programs in such a manner that they meet the needs of all participants. Address current needs and anticipate upcoming needs in a manner that problems can be solved in a proactive manner. Develop and prepare appropriate training materials and programs for Extension personnel and clientele and deliver them in the most effective means possible while modeling exemplary teaching methods. Keep current in assigned subject matter area and strive for professional improvement by means of study, seminars, professional meetings, and self-evaluation.

 

Qualifications

 

RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS:

•                  Program Development (including curriculum development and grantsmanship) Planning and conducting workshops and conferences, grants for the SDBII program, conducting farm visits, collecting survey data, and developing reports. This position covers 1,103 counties.

 

•                  Teaching (in-service training for agents, training for dairy businesses, and multi-state programs) Teaching at workshops, organizing webinars and webinar speakers, tracking attendance, and uploading meeting recordings for asynchronous viewing. Perform training for agents and producers including the appropriate training methods including face-to-face and online. These teaching outcomes will reach extension personnel and dairy businesses across 1,103 counties.

 

•                  Conducting needs assessment and environmental scanning. Keeping current on all current trends in their program area and ability to create curriculum to employees who will be teaching it to clientele.  Conducting assessments to find the needed programs in portions of the state. Serve as a contact for Extension specialists, agents, and county-level partners on programmatic efforts, grant programs, and updated resources. This position will be involved with 5 grant programs offered annually to dairy businesses across 1,103 counties.

 

•                  Program evaluation - Track participation, evaluate grant effectiveness, and impacts on dairy businesses required to report Outcome Indicators for participants in the grant project. Use Excel to organize and analyze data collected and prepare program evaluations in Qualtrics, google forms, or similar programs. This includes teaching and training efforts as well as grant success for the 5 grant programs offered annually to dairy businesses across 1,103 counties. Responsible for preparing reports for University of Tennessee and USDA.

 

•                  Program management- Orders and manages publications for usage, prepares educational materials for workshops, newsletters, brochures, quarterly reports, maintains and distributes to newsletter/email lists, maintains peer reviews and printing authorization for publications. This includes success stories from grant recipients across the Southeast region for USDA-AMS requests.

 

•                  Public relations-Publications, recruitment materials, websites (SDBII and UTDairy), videos, Facebook pages, and other ways of contacting the public with our programs. Coordinates with North Carolina and Kentucky counterparts to collect program evaluation and outcomes for their producers, when applicable.

QUALIFICATIONS

Ability to organize, apply sound judgment, work independently, communicate, and collaborate effectively with both interdisciplinary and interdisciplinary teams. Ability to form a task force and facilitate the committee. Skills to see program impacts through data and applied research and share that information with stakeholders. Ability to stay within the budget of your grant. Ability to supervise Exempt, Non-Exempt or student employees working on program. Ability to work with volunteers and do all Minors on Campus checks. Expected to have skills to conduct innovative programs, demonstrate teaching effectiveness, implement applied research, and have success in garnering extramural funding. Ability to collect, analyze and report qualitative data. Knowledge of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook.

Required: Requires a Master's degree in the appropriate discipline or substantial work experience which demonstrates promise in teaching, Extension and/or service in alignment with the appointment.

Preferred: 1-3 years working in a related field to dairy cattle. Experience working on a dairy farm or with dairy producers is preferred. At least 1 year working in Extension or another community-based program.

 

Must have a valid Driver's license, ability to communicate with a diverse audience, ability to drive long distances in short periods of time.

 

TO APPLY:

Please apply online by clicking this link:   External Applicants         Submit a complete application packet which includes a 1) letter of interest, 2) a resume or curriculum vitae, 3) and official or unofficial transcripts showing degree(s) conferred.   UT Extension                         Phone:    (865) 974-7245 212 D Morgan Hall               Fax:         (865) 974-0882 Knoxville TN 37996-4525       E-mail:      [email protected]      Web Site: http://utextension.tennessee.edu

 

Job
  Extension Service Professional 
Primary Location
  US-Tennessee-knoxville 
Organization
  Animal Science - Ext 
Schedule
  Full-time 
Campus/Institute  Institute of Agriculture 
Job Posting
  Mar 5, 2024, 9:04:12 AM