Details
Posted: 13-Jan-22
Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey
Salary: Open
Position Summary:
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is seeking an Associate Director for the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. This position will serve as the State Program Leader for Agricultural Retention, Development and Resource Conservation, an administrative position in the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. It will provide leadership to strengthen and modernize programs and delivery approaches that support agricultural viability, resource conservation, and farm adaptation to climate and environmental factors. The State Program Leader will help steward the significant investments in modernizing NJAES farms and field stations by developing and/or supporting the delivery of innovative, high impact, and mission-aligned research, extension, and demonstration programs in support of the state's agricultural industry.
NJAES comprises an extensive network of campus-based centers and institutes, county-based cooperative extension offices, and off-campus field stations. Program emphasis areas include commercial agriculture; environment and natural resources; fisheries and aquaculture; food, nutrition, and health; home, lawn, and garden; and youth and community development. NJAES' off-campus infrastructure includes several marine and coastal research/extension facilities, business incubators, and approximately 1,200 acres of research farms across the state.
A prime focus of this position is to strengthen experiment station program that supports the states farm sector, an industry producing products with a market value of more than $1.1 billion annually from a farmland base of 745,000 acres. NJAES has a long history of working to support a vibrant, economically viable, and adaptable agriculture sector within a highly urbanized environment. While the state's agricultural producers benefit from a productive land and resource base, and many capitalize on large and affluent local consumer markets, farmers across the state face myriad production, environmental, and business climate challenges. These include land access and resource conservation/management, labor availability, evolving pest, weed, and disease pressures, regulatory and policy issues, land use conflicts, wildlife pressures, market access, and the need for effective cultivation of new and beginning farmers. Many of these challenges are exacerbated by changing climate conditions, necessitating the development of new or modified cultural practices, technologies, policies, and resource conservation practices to aid agricultural adaptation. As previously noted, this position will lead NJAES efforts to secure external federal (USDA and other) funding to support agricultural innovation, agricultural climate adaptation, and related programmatic opportunities.
Establishment of this position within NJAES will provide programmatic leadership to complement recent and continuing State reinvestment in NJAES research farms and field stations to improve infrastructure, equipment, and technology deficiencies that have limited program development and delivery. Several research farms (Hort. Farm 3 located immediately adjacent to the Cook Campus, as well as the Snyder (Hunterdon County), Creamridge (Monmouth County), and RAREC (Cumberland County) farms have been substantially improved and are target sites for new and/or expanded programs related to agriculture-climate impact mitigation, soil health, wildlife management, home horticulture, and other NJAES mission-aligned priority areas. IT and other meeting infrastructure is also being modernized to position these sites for greater use for 4-H youth development, health and wellness, and related cooperative extension/community engagement programs that have been impeded by the inadequacy of space/technology.
Minimum Education and Experience:
- Master's degree or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
- A minimum of ten years of experience in planning, public policy, agricultural economics, conservation science, or related field within the context of agricultural retention and development.
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Demonstrated record of successful grantsmanship.
- Strong familiarity with policy, regulatory, and statutory processes (particularly as related to municipal land use law, land use planning, and agricultural retention/development).
- Deep knowledge of agricultural economic development, land preservation, and resource conservation theory, principles, and practices.
- Demonstrated aptitude for formal and informal teaching, including the delivery of presentations tailored to various audience needs and levels.
- Strong project management skills.
- Excellent writing, interpersonal, and communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to publish professional, practitioner, and academic manuscripts.
- Ability to attend programs, meetings, and events outside of conventional business hours.
- Demonstrated commitment to working with diverse populations and clientele groups.
- Familiarity with state and federal agencies, non-profits, and university programs focused on agricultural viability and resource conservation
- Use of personal vehicle in order to travel for business demands; a valid driver's license would be required for this position.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Familiarity with land grant university mission and institutional settings.
- Basic familiarity with farming practices and principles, including land management practices, business management, and farm equipment/technologies.
- Understanding of the structure of agricultural organizational leadership, agricultural associations, agricultural service providers, etc.
- Proficiency (or ability to develop proficiency) with ArcGIS or related mapping applications.
Equipment Utilized:
- Requires proficiency with MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
Physical Demands and Work Environment:
- Most work will be completed in a general office environment and require computer/deskwork; however, the position will require the ability to safely visit. The position will therefore encounter the potential hazards of a working farm (e.g., uneven farm/forested terrain, farm animals, farm equipment/machinery, etc.).
- In-state travel (e.g., to NJAES research farms, private sector farms, meetings, etc.) will be required.
- Periodic travel (out of state) to attend professional meetings and other events may be required on a limited basis.
- Attendance at evening and weekend events will be required.
- Ability to travel in-state, with occasional out-of-state travel (must possess valid driver's license).
Special Conditions:
- In-state driving and limited driving within the region will be required.
- Clean Driving Record
Posting Number: 22ST0140
Location: Cook (RU-New Brunswick)
