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Area Agent, Sustainable Agriculture: North Carolina State University

Minimum Experience/Education: One of the following educational requirements:
- A Bachelor's degree with a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 overall or a 3.0 (based on a 4.0 scale) in the job related field,
- A Bachelor's degree with a cumulative grade point average less than 2.5 overall and the completion of at least one-half of coursework in a Master's degree curriculum with a cumulative grade point average 3.0 or higher with at least one of the degrees in the job related field, or
- Completion of a Master's degree with at least one of the degrees in the job related field.

Also required: a personal automobile; computer literacy; strong oral and written communication skills; the ability to plan, implement, market, and evaluate educational programs; willingness to work as a team member and support a total Extension program; and the ability to handle multiple demands and set priorities.

Personal Attributes: Successful performance of the duties encompassed in the County Extension Agent's job requires that the individual possess habits of industry, a sense of responsibility, and a genuine appreciation for the worth of the individual. The employee must be adept in both oral and written communication.

Departmental Required Skills: This is a 1.5-year grant funded, full-time area agent position for the 11 BRAC Regional Task Force Counties surrounding Fort Bragg. The 11 County Fort Bragg Region contains the following counties: Montgomery, Richmond, Lee, Moore, Hoke, Scotland, Harnett, Cumberland, Bladen, Robeson, and Sampson Counties.

Fort Bragg is gaining two national commands as a result of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure). The region will gain an estimated 30-40,000 new residents by 2012. This dynamic of "challenge and opportunity" will enable the agricultural economy of the region to position itself for future sustainability as it transitions from tobacco and other traditional commodities into a new realm of agricultural economic development, where more specialized and direct-market or value-added enterprises are predominant.

Preferred Experience, Skills, Training/Education: A Bachelor's degree in agribusiness, business management, or an agriculturally related concentration is required. A Master's degree in a related field is preferred.

Essential Job Duties: The Sustainable Agriculture Agent will 1) conduct inventories of agricultural capacities and markets, 2) develop processes to link capacities to markets, 3) establish agency-to-agency liaisons necessary to implement the procedural changes required for capacity-to-market linkage processes to occur and 4) provide an educational source and point-of-contact for the region's farmers, farm related businesses and farm service agencies on agricultural sustainability and economic development. All of these efforts will require close coordination with current Extension field faculty in the 11 county region.

Initial efforts will involve building working relationships with appropriate Fort Bragg personnel. "Sustainable Fort Bragg" is an ongoing initiative to procure all supplies needed on base, including food, from the suppliers who are close by and use less energy to make and/or transport materials to the base. Fort Bragg is highly interested in protecting adjacent open lands in order to perform training missions. The agent will educate the farmers and agribusiness clients about appropriate farmland protection strategies in the respective counties. Profitable farms are the best insurance for keeping adjacent lands open.

The Agent must be a team player and support the total Extension program through interdisciplinary efforts with extension specialists, local staff, customers and volunteers. Program marketing through mass media is essential. The candidate should possess a high degree of subject matter competency, a strong work ethic, and the ability to work independently and handle multiple demands, and set priorities.

Travel within the district is required.

Other Work/Responsibilities: The County Extension Agent is a member of the faculty of North Carolina State University. The County Extension Agent has primary responsibility for planning, executing, and evaluating that phase of county Extension programs within assigned areas of program responsibility. The County Extension Agent cooperates with colleagues in the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service and county leaders in performing assigned responsibilities. The performance of assigned responsibilities is governed by the philosophy, objectives, policies, and procedures of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service.

Necessary Licenses or Certifications: Valid Driver's License and reliable, personal transportation required.
Valid NCDL required within 60 days of hire and must be maintained.

AA/EEO
NC State welcomes all persons without regard to sexual orientation.

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