POSITION OVERVIEW

This position will be a critical component of enhancing communication between the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Host Institution (Montana State University), the Chapter 3 Program (University of Wyoming), the Western SARE Administrative Council, other SARE Regional Coordinators, the National Outreach Committee and various Western SARE contractors. Communication and program coordination is most effective when focusing on the Host Institution’s strategic plan accepted by NIFA and the alignment of this plan with Montana State University and NIFA funding guidelines and criteria, initiating dialogues about innovative programs and curricular initiatives with the agricultural/natural resource public, extension and land grant universities, and ensuring that awards approved by the Administrative Council are managed and closed in a timely and equitable manner. Importantly, this position ensures that a member of the current faculty is represented in the Dean’s Office and is contributing to the innovation and outreach efforts of the College of Agriculture and Experiment Station.

GENERAL STATEMENT

Western SARE is one of four regions organized under the national SARE (www.sare.org), a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Its mission is to advance American agricultural sustainability through innovations that improve profitability, environmental stewardship and quality of life by investing in groundbreaking research and impactful outreach education. The Western SARE region encompasses 13 western states, as well as American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia and Guam.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

In addition to the commitment of WSARE principles framed in the Host Institution plans and objectives; the duties and responsibilities of this position are:

Leadership:

• Facilitate recruitment of new members into the AC (Administrative Council), through open advertisement of vacancies and preparation of candidate slate for election by standing AC;
• Interact with Professional Development Program (PD) Regional Coordinator and provide the required leadership to ensure Chapter 1 and Chapter 3 Western SARE program excellence, especially in terms of compliance with NIFA SARE guidelines, and to guarantee Western SARE efforts are integrated at the regional and national level;
• Deliver the required administrative leadership for the entire Western SARE research and education program and supervise and evaluate the professional staff;
• Enable collaboration between national SARE leaders at USDA-NIFA and the Western SARE AC to establish research and Extension priorities in sustainable agriculture for the region;
• Act as the program’s liaison to the national SARE office;
• Represent and promote the Western SARE program at the local, regional, and national level;
• Convene and support AC, Executive Council and staff meetings;
• Assist the Professional Development Program (Chap. 3 UW), AC and State Coordinators to fulfill the Western SARE goal through strong local programs focused on the development of human capacity;
• Manage the Research and Education Program including development of Call for Proposals for AC approval, updating national grant management system for each proposal round, populating R&E technical review panels, facilitate panel discussions and submit recommendations to the AC and review R&E progress and final reports.

Communication:

• Interact on a regular basis with Western Integrated Pest Management, the Regional Agriculture/Natural Resource Deans and Directors of both Agricultural Experiment Station and Extension organizations to promote the Western SARE program, coordinate research efforts, program collaboration and facilitate Extension activities on sustainable agriculture and natural resource conservation;
• Collaborate with the Communications and Outreach staff to publicize research-based results and educational programs developed from funded projects. This includes editorial and content review of regional publications like Simply Sustainable;
• Promote; via a series of competitive grant programs; the development of stakeholders’ led research and learning networks that facilitate adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and re-shaping of food production systems and the resilience of the ecosystems that support agriculture;
• Foster an environment where a diversity of views, activities, and backgrounds engage in a social contract to promote the development and adoption of sustainable environmental stewardship, agricultural production and consumption systems;
• Reach out to key constituents in the Western region (i.e. farmers and ranchers, stakeholder organizations, Extension and other ag educators, agricultural and natural resource nonprofit organizations, government agencies, underserved groups, and Deans and Directors at the Land Grant Universities) to engage them in the Western SARE priorities and programs.

Organization:

• Administer the Chapter 1 (Research and Education) competitive grants program efficiently and equitably through a professional program staff In coordination with the AC, this person will oversee the competitive process including preparing calls for proposals based on input from State Coordinators, surveys of regional stakeholders and input from AC and technical review panels;
• Facilitate a seamless flow of program advertisement, proposal review and panel recommendations from Chap 3 into the broader Chap 1 effort;
• Support program managers in the recruitment of proposal reviewers, assignment of proposals for review, collection and summarization of reviewers’ evaluations, and present reviews for funding decisions;
• Coordinate the posting of grants t based on MSU and NIFA guidelines, including finalizing award agreements, authorizing changes after grants are awarded and collection and review of project reports by program managers;
• Prepare and present to a comprehensive annual budget for review and approval;
• Establish the required human capacity and logistical structure that will act as the building block upon which the Western SARE research and education program will stand;
• Conduct; in coordination with the national USDA-NIFA SARE program; periodic needs assessments and program evaluations.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Ph.D.
• Documented experience in a Research Faculty or Scientist Position in Agriculture or Natural Resources (Tenured or Non-tenured experience) with extensive grant development, budgeting, and management experience.
• Grant writing and grant management experience.
• Experience working with agricultural producers.
• Experience supervising people.