Overview:
The CSC Grower Education team has been tasked with identifying and meeting grower needs through educational programs for the industry as part of the CSC strategic plan. The Specialist will take a leading role in the development and delivery of educational programs that raise growers’ capacity to function in the highly regulated areas of California where strawberries are grown. The Grower Education Specialist will also work with members of the CSC grower education team to refine and deliver CSC’s current, highly attended education programs for growers and their employees in the areas of regulatory compliance, food safety, leadership development and irrigation management. The Grower Education Specialist will report to the Director of Grower Education and work closely with CSC members across departments.
Duties / Responsibilities:
Training:
Facilitate interactive trainings modules in English and Spanish to industry members in topics such as food safety, supervisor development, production practices and regulatory compliance relevant to strawberry growers, their employees and other industry stakeholders.
Develop new education programs in technical areas that improve strawberry production practices for growers and their employees.
Develop didactic materials, resources and guidelines for growers and field level employees.
Outreach:
Survey and maintain professional interactions with district growers and industry stakeholders.
Assess growers’ emerging needs and identify resources to address those expressed needs.
Assist with coordination of meetings on priority topics often on an ad-hoc basis.
Connect CSC staff to growers and industry members to promote cross-departmental initiatives.
Work with CSC staff to monitor relevant issues that affect growers, in particular issues around production practices, regulatory affairs and labor management.
Qualifications:
Required:
3+ years of demonstrated ability to facilitate classes, trainings or other relevant experience related to educating adult learners.
Professional fluency in oral and written Spanish and English.
Competency with basic Microsoft programs such as Outlook, Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
Live within or be willing to relocate to the Watsonville strawberry production area.
Overnight travel within California 1-2 nights per week during the peak training season.
Ability to lift equipment to set up of meeting rooms and transport training materials across the state.
Valid driver’s license and clean driving record.
Desired:
Education and/or experience in an agricultural related field.
Strong commitment of customer service towards growers.
Experience developing and delivering bilingual, agricultural education programs in agriculture.
Technical knowledge of agricultural production, agribusiness, human resources, labor management, labor policy, regulatory affairs or farm-level management are highly desirable.