Senior Planner (Market Development Coordinator) - Augusta - 200025276

State of Maine; Virginia (MN); Hybrid; USD 54,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Work-Life Balance

Health Insurance Coverage

Retirement Plan

Vacation & Sick Leave

Parental Leave

Job summary

State of Maine in Augusta seeks a Senior Planner (Market Development Coordinator) to expand Maine's local food systems by guiding market development, coordinating supply chains, and connecting producers with new markets.

The role requires experience in market development, policy, and stakeholder collaboration; remote work options are available with management approval. Opening Sep 17, 2026; Closes Oct 9, 2026. A Bachelor's degree and four years of related experience are required.

Qualifications

• Direct experience in local food system work with nonprofits or government.
• Curriculum development and implementation to deliver technical assistance.
• Understanding of market economics and supply chain coordination, export markets, and packaging.

Responsibilities

• Guide businesses to identify distribution channels and resources to access markets.
• Collaborate to increase marketing and distribution of Maine agricultural products.
• Coordinate data collection on sales, distribution, and consumption of Maine food products.
• Develop tools and resources to support market development activities.

Skills

Local food systems

Curriculum development

Market economics

Project management

Stakeholder coordination

Independent work

Policy development

Public speaking

Written communication

Funding processes

Monitoring & data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

If you are a current State of Maine employee, please submit your application through the internal application process using the Find Jobs report in PRISM. Seasonal employees who do not have PRISM access should apply through the State’s career page and indicate on the application that they have previously worked for the State.

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Do you have a passion for connecting farms and agricultural producers to local food systems? Would you like to help the State of Maine achieve its goal of increasing the consumption of locally sourced food and food products grown in Maine? If so, this job may be your future!

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION & FORESTRY

SENIOR PLANNER

(MARKET DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR)

Opening Date: September 17, 2026

Closing Date: End of the day October 09, 2026

Location: Augusta

Position Number: 200025276

Position Type: Permanent Full Time/Year-Round

Class Code: 0603

Grade: 25 (Professional/Technical Unit)

Salary: $54,412.80 - $76,315.20 Per Year

AGENCY DESCRIPTION: The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) is recruiting to fill a full-time Institutional Market Development Coordinator (Senior Planner) position with the Division of Agricultural Resource Development at its Augusta headquarters. Remote work options are available subject to management approval.

BRIEF JOB DECRIPTION: The person in this position plays a meaningful role in Maine’s local food systems. This position requires experience in market development and market access for agricultural and value-added food businesses, particularly in product, market, and business development; marketing, branding, and promotions; supply chain coordination; and/or local food and beverage distribution or procurement.

This position involves researching, designing, implementing, and evaluating effective resources to support market development for Maine agriculture, food, and beverage producers and processors. This position will be responsible for monitoring market data trends; matching Maine agricultural and value-added food businesses with available resources to enable them to explore, assess, and successfully access new and viable market channels for their products; positioning their products in these markets; and tracking and evaluating program effectiveness. This position will be the primary liaison for relevant market-focused organizational partners, service providers, and Maine-based businesses seeking market access and market development support for agricultural and value-added food products. Correlating to this work is the Maine Climate Action Plan Goal to increase the amount of food consumed in Maine from state food producers to 30% by 2030. Examples of the work the person in this position will conduct are:

• Guide businesses to identify distribution channels, networks, and resources to build capacity to access, enhance, and/or expand market pathways.
• Collaborate with entities working to increase the marketing and distribution of Maine agricultural and value-added food products in state, regional, domestic, and international markets.
• Coordinate closely with entities working to collect data related to the sales, distribution, and consumption of Maine food and agricultural products.
• Develop tools and resources that support market development activities and strategies for Maine businesses.
• Implement guidelines, processes, and programming for Maine-based agriculture and food businesses to engage in relevant market development, trade shows, trainings, events, and peer learning exchanges.
• Support the Department in preparation for and participation in inbound and outbound trade missions.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities required:

• Direct experience in local food system work with nonprofits or municipal or state government.
• Curriculum development and implementation skills to deliver responsive technical assistance.
• An understanding of market economics and experience in areas such as supply chain coordination, export markets, specialty crop marketing, food safety, and packaging.
• Robust project management experience and ability to action plan and achieve benchmarks.
• Experience in convening stakeholder groups and helping such groups achieve consensus.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently on complex projects under deadline.
• Experience developing policies for an organization or network.
• High degree of comfort with public speaking.
• Highly organized written communication skills, including conveying program outcomes and objectives.
• Familiarity with state and/or federal funding processes and program management
• Knowledge of monitoring, reporting, data collection, audit practices, and analysis.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: A Bachelors’ Degree in assigned area and four (4) years of related work experience. Equivalent related experience may be substituted for education on a year-for-year basis.

ASSIGNED AREAS: Agriculture, agribusiness, supply chain management, food studies, food systems, public policy, planning and management.

PREFERENCES: Excellent organizational, writing, communication, teaming, problem-solving, consensus-building, and process skills are essential. Those with a bachelor’s degree in sustainable agriculture, food systems, natural resources management, public policy, or a directly related field and four (4) years of professional experience in food systems management, supply chain or market development coordination, and/or related field. A master’s degree would be helpful. Related training and experience may be substituted for education on a year-for-year basis.

Currently, this position is not eligible for visa sponsorship or STEM OPT extensions.

No matter where you work across Maine state government, you find employees who embody our state motto—“Dirigo” or “I lead”—as they provide essential services to Mainers every day. We believe in supporting our workforce’s health and wellbeing with a valuable total compensation package, including:

• Work-Life Balance – Rest is essential. Take time for yourself using 13 paid holidays , 12 days of sick leave , and 3+ weeks of vacation leave annually. Vacation leave accrual increases with years of service, and overtime-exempt employees receive personal leave.
• Health Insurance Coverage – The State of Maine pays 85%-100% of employee-only premiums ($12,213.60-$14,369.04 annual value), depending on salary. Use this chart to find the premium costs for you and your family, including the percentage of dependent coverage paid by the State.
• Health Insurance Premium Credit – Participation decreases employee-only premiums by 5%. Visit the Office of Employee Health and Wellness for more information about program requirements.
• Dental Insurance – The State of Maine pays 100% of employee-only dental premiums ($365.28 annual value).
• Retirement Plan – The State of Maine contributes 14.06%of pay to the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS), on behalf of the employee.
• Gym Membership Reimbursement – Improve overall health with regular exercise and receive up to $40 per month to offset this expense.
• Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts – Set aside money pre-tax to help pay for out-of-pocket health care expenses and/or daycare expenses.
• Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness – The State of Maine is a qualified employer for this federal program. For more information, visit the Federal Student Aid office.
• Living Resources Program – Navigate challenging work and life situations with our employee assistance program.
• Parental leave is one of the most important benefits for any working parent. All employees who are welcoming a child—including fathers and adoptive parents—receive forty-two (42) consecutive calendar days of fully paid parental leave. Additional, unpaid leave may also be available, under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
• Voluntary Deferred Compensation – Save additional pre-tax funds for retirement in a MaineSaves457(b) account through payroll deductions.
• Learn about additional wellness benefits for State employees from the Office of Employee Health and Wellness.

There’s a job and then there’s purposeful, transformative work. Our aim is to create a workplace where you can learn, grow, and continuously refine your skills. Applicants demonstrate job requirements in differing ways, and we appreciate that many skills and backgrounds can make people successful in this role.

As an Equal Opportunity employer, Maine State Government embraces a culture of respect and awareness. We are committed to creating a strong sense of belonging for all team members, and our process ensures an inclusive environment to applicants of all backgrounds including diverse race, color, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, physical or mental disability, religion, age, ancestry, national origin, familial status or genetics.

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