Alfalfa Outreach Specialist

The UW Madison, Division of Extension Agriculture Institute is seeking an Alfalfa Outreach Specialist. The Alfalfa Outreach Specialist position is a unique position, designed to extend alfalfa research findings via outreach and educational programming for producers and agribusiness professionals across Wisconsin, regionally and nationally.

The Outreach Specialist position will determine educational needs related to alfalfa productivity, quality, harvestability, and persistence and create relevant resources and training for fellow educators, crop consultants, service providers, alfalfa producers, and other stakeholders. The Outreach Specialist will do this by coordinating nationally with University faculty and staff and other organizations that support alfalfa production. The Outreach Specialist will also identify research and development needs and report those needs to individual researchers and/or the alfalfa-focused scientific community.

Specific roles of the position will include:
- Develop and deliver national training related to alfalfa production and use
- Update and create alfalfa-related educational materials
- Coordinate alfalfa-related research, education and outreach efforts with university faculty and staff throughout the United States.
- Work with partners and clientele to identify research gaps and educational opportunities related to alfalfa production throughout the United States, and develop timely resources
- Informing and guide alfalfa-focused scientists throughout the United States in addressing high-priority research needs.

The ideal candidates will have extensive academic training and experience in alfalfa and/or forage production and research as well as experience in developing and delivering impactful educational programming to both producers and agribusiness.

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 expanding 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. (https://blogs.extension.wisc.edu/oaic/call-to-action/) As such, all Extension employees are expected to foster and promote the values of diversity and inclusion.

• 20% Identifies, promotes, and maintains external partnerships to support the outreach program
• 5% Schedules and secures resources and communicates logistics in support of an outreach program
• 20% Delivers outreach program content and materials to community members
• 20% 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
• 10% Communicate plans, activities, and achievements to Program Managers, partners, and relevant stakeholders

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

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

Preferred
PhD in a field related to this position's focus

Required:
- Three or more years of relevant professional experience;
- Demonstrated experience with listed job responsibilities;
- Demonstrated skills in interpreting, utilizing and applying evidence-based information and research findings;
- Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively;
- 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:
- Ten or more years of relevant professional experience
- Strong interpersonal relationship and problem-solving skills in a team setting
- Demonstrated experience with building diverse, collaborative partnerships
- Experience in group facilitation to support needs identification, decision making and stakeholder engagement with complex issues
- Demonstrated ability to communicate scientific materials in written and verbal forms for a variety of lay and other audiences
- Demonstrated ability to utilize technology to communicate effectively
- Demonstrated ability to write grants and establish partnerships that pool or leverage public and private funds in support of the Institutional mission.

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.

Ongoing/Renewable

Negotiable
ANNUAL (12 months)
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/).

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a remote work policy that offers the potential for remote or hybrid work. More about that policy within the Division of Extension can be found here: https://kb.wisc.edu/extension/113536.

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.

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/.

Anne Pfeiffer
anne.pfeiffer@wisc.edu
608-263-1095
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Outreach Specialist(OE009)

A47-EXTENSION/ANRCD/AGR/CROPS/CROPS&SOIL

Academic Staff-Renewable

310465-AS