Farm Financial Management Outreach Specialist

Job Summary:

About Extension:

UW-Madison's Division of Extension serves the people and communities of Wisconsin by addressing local, statewide and national issues, improving lives through research-based education, fostering partnerships and action, and facilitating positive impacts.

About the Farm Management Program:

Farm Management Program is part of the Division of Extension's Agriculture Institute and works with the agriculture community to develop research-based information, resources and tools that help inform decisions for profitable, healthy farm businesses. Agriculture is central to a prosperous Wisconsin. Financially viable, healthy farm businesses are essential to Wisconsin's $100 billion agriculture economy.

About this Position:

The Farm Financial Management Outreach Specialist position is designed to incorporate research findings into outreach to producers and agribusiness professionals across the state. This position will provide outreach education to commodity and specialty crop farms in the areas of financial management, and will focus on identifying financial risk and opportunity resulting from variability of prices received, access to new markets, prices of inputs, and new technologies and practices affecting both yield and quality. The Outreach specialist will:

• Collaborate with Extension colleagues and stakeholders to identify needs and develop and maintain robust, high-quality outreach education programs to find solutions to the most critical farm management issues facing Wisconsin producers

• Develop and maintain specific expertise in farm management related to new and financial management issues that present a risk opportunity for farm businesses.

• Build trust-based relationships with stakeholders

• Work with the Program Manager to facilitate programmatic efforts, maintain strategic direction, build partnerships, and seek a diverse funding portfolio to support the work.

The ideal candidate will have experience with developing and evaluating educational programming and a track record of building positive relationships.

Division of Extension headquarters are located within Madison, WI but the position location is flexible and will be determined based on programmatic needs, successful candidate's preferences, and availability of suitable space.

The Division of Extension has a deep and profound commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity, believing that these values are foundational elements to eliminate disparities and expand access for all. As Extension, we acknowledge the need for strategic and coordinated actions that help us form a more equitable, anti-racist, non- biased, and inclusive organization. As such, all Extension employees are expected to foster and promote the values of diversity and inclusion. See our Call to Action: Extension's Strategic Commitment to Inclusivity & Anti-Racism Work (https://blogs.extension.wisc.edu/oaic/call-to-action/).

Download our informational brochure (chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://extension.wisc.edu/files/2023/04/UW_Ext_brochure_web.pdf) to learn about our mission and our educational outreach.

Responsibilities:

Delivers and assists with planning outreach program activities, strengthens partnerships, ensures adherence to policy, and assists with program administration to promote stable and productive relationships between the university and local community. Strives to expand and ensure access to programs, facilities, and educational services to diverse audiences. May assist with tracking and managing the outreach program budget.

• 25% Identifies, promotes, and maintains external partnerships to support the outreach program
• 10% Schedules and secures resources and communicates logistics in support of an outreach program
• 20% Delivers outreach program content and materials to community members
• 15% Researches, develops, and facilitates outreach program content and materials
• 20% Develops and evaluates curriculum and programs and provides recommendations for improvement
• 5% May assist with the monitoring of outreach program budget spending
• 5% Communicate plans, activities and achievements to Program Manager, partners and relevant stakeholders

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Education:

Required

Bachelor's Degree in a field related to this position's focus

Preferred

Master's Degree in a field related to this position's focus

Qualifications:

Required:

• Three or more years relevant professional experience

• Demonstrated skills in interpreting, utilizing, and applying evidence-based information and research findings

• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, both written and verbal, through a variety of technologies

• Demonstrated ability to effectively work with people from different cultural backgrounds, including those associated with race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, socioeconomic status, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and other aspects of human diversity

Preferred:

• Education or experience with agricultural economics, strategic business management, including financial and risk management, marketing, and/or agriculture policy

• Strong interpersonal relationship and problem-solving skills in a team setting

• Demonstrated experience with building diverse, collaborative partnerships

• Demonstrated ability to communicate scientific materials in written and verbal forms for a variety of lay and other audiences

• Demonstrated ability to write grants and establish partnerships that pool or leverage public and private funds in support of the Institutional mission

Work Type:

Full Time: 100%

This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location.

Appointment Type, Duration:

Ongoing/Renewable

Salary:

Minimum $70,000 ANNUAL (12 months)

Depending on Qualifications

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Benefits information can be found at (https://hr.wisc.edu/benefits/).

Additional Information:

Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment.

How to Apply:

We are eager to learn more about how your experience and passion may align with this position. To begin the application process, click the "apply now" button. You will be prompted to upload the following documents:

• Resume

• Letter of Qualifications (cover letter)

Please submit a cover letter referring to your related work experience and a resume detailing your educational and professional background. Your cover letter should communicate your interest in the position and how your skillset aligns with the role. The application reviewers will be relying on written application materials to determine who may advance to preliminary interviews.

For additional guidance and resources on how to tailor your application materials to the job posting, please click https://extension.wisc.edu/careers/.

Contact:

Trisha Wagner

trisha.wagner@wisc.edu

608-263-4176

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Official Title:

Outreach Specialist(OE009)

Department(s):

A47-EXTENSION/ANRCD/AGR/FARM/FARM MGMT

Employment Class:

Academic Staff-Renewable

Job Number:

301584-AS

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, click here

If you need to request an accommodation because of a disability, you can find information about how to make a request at the following website: https://employeedisabilities.wisc.edu/disability-accommodation-information-for-applicants/

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require you and your references to answer questions regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.