Program Specialist I

About the role

Texas A&M AgriLife is a comprehensive agriculture program within The Texas A&M University System. It comprises five members including Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M Forest Service, and Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. The organization employs over 5,000 people and operates in every county across Texas.

Responsibilities

• Perform computer-based assessments and modeling of watershed and hydrologic data to understand changing water resource concerns
• Evaluate changing watershed conditions and management scenarios to assess potential impacts to hydrology and water quality; especially as they relate to climate change
• Develop written reports and/or manuscripts as appropriate describing assessments and results
• Deliver assessment results in the form of technical presentations to watershed stakeholder groups and peers at meetings, conferences, and other settings as appropriate
• Conduct project and task management duties such as ensuring on-time deliverables and project reporting
• Work with TWRI leadership to plan and propose future research endeavors that address water resource management issues and concerns
• Cook up with TAMUS administration and faculty; research and Extension personnel; federal and state agencies; non-profit organizations; personnel with other universities, centers, and institutes; and other partnerships to plan and develop projects and grant proposals to address critical water issues in Texas
• Other duties as required

Occasional Duties

• Support other related water management programs underway or under development at the Texas Water Resources Institute. This includes the potential to conduct periodic field work collecting water quality and quantity samples and performing other work supporting field research activities

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in hydrology, geography, agricultural science, engineering, environmental science, water management, or a closely related field
• Two years’ experience in watershed assessment, planning and management, and/or water quality data collection and assessment. Experience using geographic information systems
• Master’s degree in hydrology, water management, agricultural science, engineering, environmental science, or a closely related field with coursework related to watershed management and/or natural resource management, and/or water and human health
• Knowledge or experience of TMDLs and WPPs. Experience in automated hydrological/water quality field data collection. Experience in stakeholder facilitation and effective grant writing

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent written and verbal communication and information delivery skills
• Excellent organizational and task management skills
• Proficiency of MS Office Suite
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Ability to multitask and work cooperatively with others
• Ability to lift moderately heavy objects (up to 50lbs)
• Ability to exert heavy force
• Ability to interact effectively with various groups including the public, agricultural interests, city and county officials, non-profit and environmental advocacy organizations, river authorities and water resource personnel from Land Grant Universities and state and federal agencies
• Ability to travel statewide as necessary to perform salaried job duties
• Ability to work beyond normal business hours as job duties require

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Working knowledge of water monitoring systems and experimental design
• Demonstrated excellence in GIS and data analysis

Salary

Compensation for this position is commensurate based on the selected candidate’s qualifications.

Position Funding

This position is grant funded and availability is contingent on grant funding.

Benefits

• Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife