Illinois Agricultural and Conservation Technical Specialist
American Farmland Trust
Obtenez une réponse de cet employeur
Votre CV et votre lettre de motivation, adaptés exactement à ce que l’employeur recherche.
Avantages offerts par ce poste
Résumé du poste
American Farmland Trust Illinois seeks an Experienced Illinois Agricultural and Conservation Technical Specialist to support soil health and water quality programs across the Southeast region. Based near Effingham, this hybrid, full-time role collaborates with farmers, landowners, NRCS and partners to advance conservation practices.
The position emphasizes technical assistance, program coordination, stakeholder engagement and occasional travel; salary range $70,000 to $75,000, with a strong
Qualifications
- BA/BS in agriculture or related field; 3+ years experience in agriculture or watershed/water quality outreach and planning, advanced degree may substitute for 1 year of experience.
- Midwest conservation and agriculture experience with nutrient management and soil health principles, conservation cropping systems and NRCS planning.
- Certified Conservation Planner and/or Certified Crop Advisor preferred.
- Experience creating events/outreach/tools tailored to partner needs and audiences.
- Experience with public outreach and community engagement.
- Ability to work independently and in a team under time pressure, with a collaborative, professional approach.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills; ability to translate technical content for non-technical audiences.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office; ArcGIS and spatial mapping tools a plus.
- Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in practice.
Responsabilités
- Provide technical conservation and agronomy guidance to farmers and partners following NRCS standards.
- Develop conservation practice recommendations and verify implementation.
- Create technical documents for watershed programs and deliver presentations and reports.
- Engage farmers and service providers to identify challenges and opportunities for soil health and water quality.
- Collect field data including soil health assessments and samples.
Connaissances
Formation
Outils
Description du poste
Hybrid Effingham, Hybrid - Effingham, IL 62401 Apply Overview Salary Range $70,000.00 - $75,000.00 Salary/year Level Experienced Position Type Full Time
The Illinois Agricultural and Conservation Technical Specialist position offers an exciting opportunity to support the strategic agenda of a growing, forward-looking conservation organization. S/he will have the opportunity to work across teams within AFTs Midwest Region, as well as with external partners including farmers, landowners, and agricultural professionals.
This is a permanent position that will support and build on AFT producer-led programs in the Midwest, especially in Southeast Illinois. The Illinois Agricultural and Conservation Technical Specialist will work with farmers, farmland owners, state and federal agencies, agricultural service providers, and conservation leaders to coordinate across diverse partners and programs. Several of the programs will directly support the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). This is a remote work position based in Southeast Illinois and will report directly to the Midwest Senior Program Manager overseeing water quality initiatives.
The Illinois Agricultural and Conservation Technical Specialist will play an active role in supporting the development and execution of regional, farmer-led soil health and water quality programming in Southeast Illinois (within 100 miles of Effingham County).
- Provide technical assistance in the form of conservation and agronomy expertise to farmers, landowners, farm advisors and partners in the adoption, implementation and management of conservation cropping systems practices, including necessary technical design standards for practice application.
- Develop conservation practice recommendations and verify implementation according to NRCS standards and specifications.
- Create technical documents for farmer-led watershed programs, including delivering presentations and summarizing research and data for reports, fact sheets, and other materials.
- Engage farmers and agricultural service providers to identify challenges, needs, and opportunities related to conservation practices to improve soil health and water quality.
- Gather field-based data, including soil health assessments, soil sampling, and forage or biomass sampling, as well as the organized management of field data.
- Develop and launch farmer-led watershed programs in priority watersheds in Illinois by engaging with farmer leaders and program partners and sharing information with a diverse group of stakeholders across multiple formats, such as webinars, networking events, educational workshops, and field days.
- Support establishment of farmer-led watershed groups and ongoing efforts related to administrative needs, event planning, scheduling meetings, etc.
- Work with local partners to ensure success of farmer-led watershed groups in increasing adoption of conservation practices that improve soil health and water quality.
- Plan, host, and represent AFT at public meetings, field days, and educational events in the region.
- Participate in regular staff meetings and events, maintaining strong team culture among AFT staff.
- Help build positive relations with the team and external partners.
This position does not have fundraising or budget management responsibilities.
This position does not have supervisory or management responsibilities but will occasionally oversee project tasks completed by other team members.
This is not necessarily an all-inclusive list of job-related responsibilities. Management reserves the right to revise the job or to require other or different duties be performed as assigned
The Illinois Agricultural and Conservation Technical Specialist must be entrepreneurial and a self-starter, outgoing and energetic, organized, and capable of working well independently as well as part of a team.
- BA or BS degree and a minimum of 3 years of related work experience in agriculture or watershed/water quality outreach and planning. An advanced degree in one or more of the noted disciplines may substitute for 1 year of work experience.
- Midwest conservation and agriculture experience with nutrient management, soil health principles, and conservation cropping systems, including the USDA-NRCS conservation planning process.
- Certified Conservation Planner and/or Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) certification is preferred.
- Experience developing compelling events, outreach tools, and/or programming that are responsive to partner needs and strategically relevant to target audiences.
- Experience with public outreach and community engagement.
- Must be able to work independently, deliver high-quality work in a dynamic organization under time pressure, and bring a collaborative, outgoing, professional, and innovative approach to tackling these issues.
- Strong interpersonal skillsand the ability to work in a team environment.
- Excellent communication skills (verbal and written), including the ability to translate technical content for distribution to non-technical audiences, with demonstrated commitment to high-quality work.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite. Preferred experience using ArcGIS and other spatial mapping tools.
- Demonstrated commitment to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and knowledgeable about how those principles can be effectively applied in practice.
- Willingness to work occasional evenings or weekends to meet program needs and deadlines.
- This position requires approximately 40% travel, primarily within Southeast Illinois, including the Embarrass and Little Wabash watersheds, to meet with farmers and partners. Travel will generally occur weekly, with overnight travel approximately once per month, and may include occasional travel throughout the Midwest. Future years may involve more extensive travel across Illinois. Mileage is reimbursed.
- Candidates must currently live in or be willing to relocate to Southeast Illinois, within approximately 100 miles of Effingham County.
Supervision, performing a variety of routine work within established policies and procedures and receives detailed instructions on new projects and assignments.
Not applicable.
American Farmland Trust offers excellent vacation, medical, retirement and other benefits. The salary range for this position is from $70,000 to $75,000 based upon experience.
- Insurance coverage begins the 1st of the month following the date of hire.
- Medical & Prescription Coverage
- Dental Coverage
- Vision Coverage
- Company Paid Life Insurance & Long-Term Disability (LTD)
- Voluntary Life Insurance
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Healthcare & Dependent Care
- Health Savings Account (HSA)
- 401k Plan
- Sick Leave: Regular full-time employees accrue 13 sick days per year.
- Vacation Leave: Accrue 15 days during the first year increasing by one day per year to 20 days per year maximum.
- Holidays: AFT observes twelve fixed holidays and a week between Christmas and New Years off during the year (all offices closed) plus a choice of up to three (depending on hiring month) floating holidays.
- Be a part of a purpose-driven, committed, knowledgeable, high-performing, experienced and fun team
- A diverse and inclusive work environment
- A cause and mission you can be proud of
- Competitive compensation & benefits
- Remote work opportunity
'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M101.744%2012.4726L102.894%2016.1947L99.0021%2013.2201L101.744%2012.4726ZM105.3%208.40937H100.488L99.0026%203.59473L97.5116%208.41047L92.7%208.40385L96.5965%2011.3834L95.1055%2016.1942L99.0021%2013.2196L101.408%2011.3834L105.3%208.40992V8.40937Z'%20fill='white'/%3e%3cdefs%3e%3clinearGradient%20id='paint0_linear_5593_1381'%20x1='90'%20y1='9.44471'%20x2='99'%20y2='9.44471'%20gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3e%3cstop%20stop-color='%2300AD70'/%3e%3cstop%20offset='0.998594'%20stop-color='%2300B67A'/%3e%3cstop%20offset='1'%20stop-color='%23DCDCE6'/%3e%3c/linearGradient%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e){kind=small}
