Western Dairy Center Program Coordinator I

About the role

The Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences (NDFS) has an opening for the professional soft-funded position of Western Dairy Center Program Coordinator. The Western Dairy Center (WDC) is located in the C. Anthon Ernstrom Nutrition and Food Science building on the Logan campus of Utah State University. The WDC coordinator will be responsible for providing logistic and marketing support to the WDC for dairy industry outreach activities and coordinating dairy research for the center with Dairy Product Laboratory and faculty members in the department.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate all aspects of the WDC programs including short courses, workshops, training, industry consultancy and services This includes organizing logistics for WDC short courses, workshops, managing reimbursements, settling expenses, etc.
• Serve as the primary contact for all stakeholders, ensuring effective information dissemination.
• Gather information from various partners (e.g., BUILD dairy, DPL, etc.) and help WDC director WDC to prepare reports for various stakeholders.
• Cook up with the Department Business Manager on financial activities, including invoicing dairy partners, tracking WDC funds, and preparing financial reports.
• Manage WDC website, update information and create branding material.
• Help conduct cost analysis of research and outreach activities run through the center on a yearly basis in coordination with the Department Business Manager and DPL Manager and communicate to the faculty members concerned and industry clients.
• Cook up with the DPL manager for faculty, staff, students, and people external to the university who may be attending a short-course or contracting with the DPL for use of equipment.
• Operate research equipment in the DPL including the equipment needed to make cheese, ultrafiltration, yogurt, etc.
• Design and conduct applied dairy research addressing regional processing challenges contracted through the WDC.
• Help develop and submit competitive grant proposals.
• Manage externally funded WDC research projects and budgets.
• Prepare technical reports and extension publications and assist in the preparation of peer-reviewed manuscripts from the WDC research.
• Cook up with faculty, extension personnel, and industry stakeholders.
• Contribute to annual program planning and reporting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, dairy Science or a related science.
• Experience in program co-ordination, pilot scale trial management.
• Ability to communicate at a technical and non-technical level, with university faculty, staff, students and community members.
• Ability to work independently and in team situations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Food Science, Dairy Science or related science.
• Experience in an industrial setting involving the manufacture of dairy foods such as ice cream, cheese, pasteurized milk, cream, and yogurt.
• Experience in the business aspects surrounding industrial dairy processing including personnel management.
• Experience in running dairy processing equipment in safe environment.
• Demonstrated ability in preparing and delivering technical information through formal and informal learning situations.
• Experience in organizing logistics for teaching short courses, workshops, etc.