Kearny County Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent
Kearny County, population 4,026, is a two agent county located in southwest Kansas. Lakin is the county seat with Deerfield 9 miles to the east on U.S. Highway 50. The primary employers are farming and ranching operations, two school districts and the Kearny County Hospital.
TITLE: Extension Agent
PRIMARY AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY: Agriculture and Natural Resources
LOCATION: Lakin, Kansas
APPLICATION DATE: Applications will be accepted through May 26, 2021. Interviews will be conducted June 28, 2021.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Extension agents are professional educators who serve as a link between Kansas State University and communities across Kansas. Agents are administratively responsible to the Director of K-State Research and Extension (represented by a designated administrator) and the local extension board.
1. Provide primary leadership for the development and implementation of research-based educational programming related to agriculture and natural resources. Programming will include but is not limited to: agronomic and livestock production, agricultural economics, management and public policy, horticultural production and management, natural resources conservation, and environmental stewardship.
2. Share leadership for the development, implementation, and evaluation of the 4-H youth development program for school-aged youth in cooperation with volunteers and extension colleagues. Programming will include but is not limited to: supporting community clubs, out-of-school programs, school enrichment, volunteer management, and outreach to create new program opportunities with existing and new community partners.
3. Share responsibility for community vitality programming that helps our communities become better places to live, work, and play. Programming will strengthen social, civic, economic, and technological capacity of communities through leadership development and civic engagement.
4. Programming will include these steps:
- Identify local needs and emerging issues related to K-State Research and Extension’s five Grand Challenges (water, community vitality, health, developing tomorrow’s leaders and global food systems) by engaging with program development committees and other community organizations and professionals.
- Design appropriate educational strategies to engage clientele. These strategies might include delivering educational programming in a community-based setting, coordinating events and activities that provide experiential learning opportunities, using innovative technologies, providing individual educational consultations and facilitating groups seeking similar educational outcomes. Some overnight travel and evening and weekend work will be required.
- Develop and implement strategies to expand the reach of educational programming to under-served audiences and to make certain K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider of educational programming.
- Collect and communicate evidence of educational program impact.
- Develop specialized knowledge and skills by engaging as a member of a Program Focus Team.
5. Secure external funding such as grants, gifts and cost recovery to supplement local tax revenue to support and expand educational programming.
6. May periodically be assigned to serve as the local unit director providing administrative oversight for the fiscal operations, coordination of personnel, development, delivery and reporting of program impact and other administrative functions assigned by the director’s representative and the extension board.
7. Serve as a member of the Kearny County Extension team cooperating in the planning and delivery of county-wide programming and related events.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required:
- Bachelor’s degree
- Academic coursework and/or professional development and professional employment related to the position responsibilities
- Evidence of strong academic and/or professional performance as documented by college transcripts, acceptance into a graduate program or documented success in increasingly responsible professional positions.
- Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with individuals, groups and through mass media.
- Leadership skills as evidenced by working with individuals, groups and co-workers.
- Access to a personal vehicle and the ability to obtain/maintain a valid driver’s license.
Preferred:
- Master’s Degree.
- Experience working with adults and youth from various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.
- Commitment to personal professional development.
- Ability to utilize electronic communication and computer applications to fulfill programming responsibilities.
- Self-motivation and ability to work with a minimum of supervision, balancing multiple projects.
- Ability to design, promote, implement and evaluate educational programs.
- Skills in group facilitation.
- Knowledge of adult and youth teaching/learning processes.
- Experience in seeking and administering external grant funding.
- Ability to communicate effectively with both English and Spanish learners
Other
- Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States at the time of employment.