Applicants must complete and submit an electronic application for employment to be considered. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of completing an electronic application.
The Extension Associate, Crop and Soil Sciences position will be located in the The Department of Crop and Soil Sciences within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.
Primary Purpose of Position
The primary purpose of this position is to provide comprehensive support to the Organic Cropping Team/Lab activities of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS). The Extension Associate will collaborate with and support a team of faculty members, research assistants, research associates, and graduate students working on a variety of organic cropping projects, as well as oversee the coordination of North Carolina’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NC SARE) Program that was established with the goal of supporting farmers, researchers, and educators as they explore practices that improve stewardship, profitability, and the social and economic health of farm communities. The position’s primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- With advice from the Faculty Coordinators, oversee the management of the NC SARE program including, but not limited to:
- Generate and responding to communications with the SARE advisory board.
- Provide board meeting support.
- Generate notifications and oversee monitoring of scholarship recipients.
- Organize and facilitating the processing of SARE communications to the appropriate inter-disciplinary and inter- institutional faculty and staff members.
- Respond to inquiries from the public and producers on the program.
- Maintain the NC SARE website which is the hub for communications and outreach of the NC SARE program.
- Compile data from participants for conducting analytics and reporting.
- Oversee the completion of the annual SARE reports.
- Manage and oversee operations for the Organic Cropping Systems Lab at North Carolina State University including; purchasing process, materials & supplies handling, HR support for new hires and on boarding, provide administrative support for lead PI and current team of post-docs.
- Provide financial support to lead PI with the creation of all budget and budget justifications for new awards within the unit. In addition, facilitating communication with Pre-Award and Post-Award teams at the University to ensure timely delivery of documents and supporting application materials for all proposals.
- Supervise team of temporary bi-weekly employees and visiting research scholars that support the ongoing research in Cover Crops and Plant Breeding.
- Monitor and manage grants within the unit to ensure project objectives are being met, compliance with all purchasing of supplies and equipment is in line with initial agreements, and interfacing with various university, extension units and outside funders in order to coordinate inter agency collaboration.
- Additional duties as assigned.
Minimum Experience and Education
Master’s degree in agricultural business management, business administration, public administration, or related field, or a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural business management, business administration, public administration, or related field and 3-5+ years of relevant experience.
Other Required Qualifications
- Require post-baccalaureate credentials or a bachelor’s degree, with at least 3 years of alternative or equivalent professional training and relevant experience.
- Demonstrated success and familiarity with grant funded projects and reporting.
- Excellent organizational, interpersonal, decision making, computer and data management skills, project management skills.
- Must be capable of working independently and as part of a team.
- Excellent communication skills (written and oral).
- Excellent problem solving ability and careful attention to detail.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree in agricultural business management, business administration, public administration, or related field.
- Familiarity with university grant and accounting systems.
- Knowledge of general food and farming systems, issues, and key players.
- Knowledgeable of North Carolina food systems.
Work Schedule
Monday – Friday / 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (additional evenings and weekend hours as needed)
Appointment Type
12 Month Recurring