Extension Specialist – Home and Community Food Production and Director of the H…

About the role

The Extension Specialist will provide leadership in delivering educational programming to UME field faculty, Master Gardeners, community and school gardens, public agencies, nonprofits, and businesses. The incumbent will also serve as Director of the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), a statewide unit that delivers digital horticulture and IPM resources and services.

Responsibilities

• State home and community food gardening expert.
• Develop and teach new research-based food gardening and IPM knowledge and practices.
• Create and communicate content on web pages and social media.
• Conduct surveys to assess the training and information needs of internal and external clientele in the area of urban/community food production.
• Lead for two statewide Master Gardener food gardening programs: Grow It Eat It and Seed to Supper.
• Support UME’s Ask Extension team.
• Provide leadership for the HGIC program including program coordination and fiscal and operations oversight.
• Train and support field faculty, Master Gardeners, non-profits, and other partners on community and school/youth gardening and teach topics such as climate change adaptation, soil health, IPM, seed saving, and growing climate-adapted food plants popular in immigrant communities.
• Educate using web pages, webinars, online modules, videos, applied research, demonstrations, social media, and classes, with an emphasis on experiential learning.
• Discover and share new knowledge.
• Work with partners to identify and address emerging issues and challenges.
• Develop creative and scholarly activities that are validated by peers and communicated, such as educational materials published and adopted by others, Extension publications, applied research results, conference posters, and professional presentations.
• Secure extra-mural funding to develop an applied research program.
• Develop grant-funded projects to enhance and expand educational programs.
• Develop internal and external partnerships and collaborations with campus and field faculty, non-profits, businesses, state and local government, and community and school gardens, with a focus on cross-programming.
• Collect and report data to evaluate programs and show impacts.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in plant sciences, crop sciences, horticulture, environmental sciences, or related field of study.
• Demonstrated leadership and management abilities along with evidence of the ability to work effectively as a team member.
• Demonstrated experience conducting surveys and outreach education.
• Experience managing programs and projects.
• Knowledge and use of computers and electronic technology for educational programming and project management.
• Evidence of excellent written and verbal communication and teaching skills.

Preferences

• Ph.D. in plant sciences, crop sciences, horticulture, environmental sciences, or related field of study.
• Evidence of experience working with broad audiences and all socioeconomic levels.
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose vegetable and fruit plant and pest problems and provide recommendations for prevention and management.
• Evidence of peer-reviewed journal articles, popular educational materials, and Extension publications.
• Demonstrated experience in grant writing and obtaining extramural funding.
• Evidence of skills to effectively use electronic and social media to communicate information to broad audiences.
• Experience working with graduate and/or undergraduate students and collaborating with non-profits.

Additional Job Details

• VISA Information: Candidate must be eligible to work in the United States at the time of hiring.
• Financial Disclosure Required: Yes.
• Background Checks: Offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check.
• Department: AGNR-UME-Associate Director.
• Worker Sub-Type: Faculty.
• Regular Salary Range: $64,763.00 - $142,517.00.
• Benefits Summary: For more information on Regular Faculty benefits, select this link.
• Equal Opportunity Employer: The University of Maryland, College Park is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
• Title IX Non-Discrimination Notice: The University of Maryland, College Park is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our community.
• EEO Statement: The University of Maryland, College Park is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment.