Nutrition Program Assistant-Snap-Ed

This position will be located in Whiteville, N.C. in Columbus County and will assist in the implementation of SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Education Program)on a local level by providing direct and indirect nutrition education to the SNAP eligible population throughout the state. Supports the Speedway to Healthy Exhibit by conducting exhibit tours for youth grades K-5; assists with delivery of programs through partnerships with community based organizations, schools, etc. that serve the SNAP eligible audience; and administers pre-/post-tests and evaluations to provide input for routine outcome reporting. The vision for the SNAP-Ed program is to empower participants to improve behaviors related to nutrition and physical activity in accordance with current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA food guidance.

Primary Function of Organizational Unit

The mission of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) is to provide opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds to achieve excellence through intellectual and technological advancements in the food, agricultural, environmental and life sciences that will cultivate and enhance their potential for global leadership, productivity and competitiveness. The goals of the CAES are three-fold: (1) Provide learning experiences through which students gain in-depth competencies, knowledge and skills which will ensure their success in the changing environments and improve the quality of life for the citizens of our community, state and nation, (2) Enhance, expand and integrate quality teaching, research, extension and international programs and (3) Strengthen the integration and use of effective cutting edge information and technologies.

Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T State University serves limited resource communities by providing practical research/evidenced based programs in the areas of 4-H and Youth Development; Agricultural and Natural Resources; Community and Rural Development; and Family and Consumer Sciences. Family and Consumer Sciences programs are delivered to help individuals, families and communities 1) live a healthy life, 2) sustain/achieve financial capacity; and 3) have healthy family relationships.

Work Hours 8am-5pm- Monday through Friday Is this position eligible for a remote or hybrid work arrangement, consistent with university and state policies.

Key Responsibilities and Related Competencies

Required Competency Knowledge

• Program Duties

Learns and utilizes terminology specific to the SNAP-ED grant to assist clients.

Uses standardized curriculum materials to educate SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Food Stamp) eligible audiences about food, nutrition, food resource management and other related topics to improve behaviors related to nutrition and physical activity in accordance with current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA food guidance (MyPlate).

Assists in creating lesson plans for group classes to include nutrition lesson, physical activity and cooking demonstrations.

Uses standardized evaluation instruments to assist in the assessment of program participants' knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors to determine educational needs and impacts.

Refers program participants to appropriate assistance programs.

Assists with recruiting adults for the program through collaboration with community agencies and programs within specified counties throughout NC.

Travels to various counties to conduct standardized programs for target audiences.

Assists the Coordinator with recruiting youth for the program by collaborating with schools where 50% or more of youth receive free and reduced meals.

Supports staff development and training opportunities to enhance knowledge of nutrition topics and successful methods for nutrition education.

Accompanies the Speedway to Healthy delivery coordinator to host sites and assists with Speedway exhibit set-up and take down.

Helps with the training of volunteers on how to use the facilitator guide to interact with children during their visit.

Acts as a group facilitator by engaging the children in the "pit stop" lesson during their tour of the exhibit as needed.

Required Competency Communication

• Verbal/Written Duties

Communicates clearly to convey, persuade, and negotiate information and ideas to individuals.

Gathers readily available information from office records to draft e-mails, memos and other documents required by Coordinators and Agents.

Proofreads documents for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and basic formatting. Provides answers to requests for general information in written format.

Required Competency Information/Records Administration Duties

Maintains accurate and complete records and reports for all activities.

Submits program participant enrollment data from youth and adult groups to be entered into EARS reporting system and other data entry tools as required by NC DHHS and USDA.

Maintains confidentiality of participants and individual records. Submit reports in a timely manner.

Submits travel authorizations and reimbursements, leave and other reports on regular basis.

Required Competency Office Technology Duties

Enters information into a unit or department database using Microsoft Office Suite.

Required Competency Problem Solving Duties

Resolves customer problems by reliance on program knowledge, analytical skills, and research of past actions.