The Community Development Educator is an integral part of the UW-Madison Division of Extension and works alongside the people of Wisconsin to improve lives and communities. Extension serves the people and communities of Wisconsin by addressing local, statewide and national issues, improving lives through research-based education, fostering partnerships and action, and facilitating positive impacts.

As a Community Development Educator in Portage County, the position's primary focus is to design, deliver and evaluate research-based educational programs and services to support the many rural and agricultural-based communities within the county and strengthen the local economy. The Community Development Educator will be responsible for the following:
-Assessing and identifying community needs related to county-based infrastructure projects such as broadband deployment, clean energy development, and/or community-led housing assessment.
-Developing educational responses such as workshops, peer networks, and facilitated processes to help the community address the identified infrastructure needs.
-Offering and supporting community economic development planning programs, including community economic analysis, downtown development, and community vitality and placemaking, to help communities organize, prioritize, and achieve community economic development goals.

Given the economic importance of agriculture, many of these efforts and programming will take place in rural and agriculturally-focused areas of the county.

The Educator will work with a team of colleagues to refine and deliver existing and planned programs to increase the success of communities, municipalities, and counties in addressing their infrastructure needs and will support efforts related to comprehensive economic development planning with specific attention to Portage County and throughout Wisconsin.

As part of the position's county-based work, the Community Development Educator connects Portage County and its communities to other Community Development and Extension resources such as local government education, organizational and leadership development, and community food systems, and supports local initiatives through the facilitation of group and community engagement processes.

The Division of Extension has a deep and profound commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity, believing that these values are foundational elements to eliminate disparities and expanding access for all. As Extension, we acknowledge the need for strategic and coordinated actions that help us form a more equitable, anti-racist, non-biased, and inclusive organization. (https://blogs.extension.wisc.edu/oaic/call-to-action/) As such, all Extension employees are expected to foster and promote the values of diversity and inclusion.

• 20% Identifies, promotes, and maintains external partnerships to support the outreach program
• 10% Schedules and secures resources and communicates logistics in support of an outreach program
• 30% Delivers outreach program content and materials to community members
• 10% Researches, develops, and facilitates outreach program content and materials
• 10% Develops and evaluates curriculum and programs and provides recommendations for improvement
• 5% May assist with the monitoring of outreach program budget spending
• 5% Leads the implementation of programs, policies, and procedures through oversight of day-to-day activities for program staff and student and community volunteers
• 10% Communicate plans, activities, and achievements to Program Managers, partners, and relevant stakeholders

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Required
Bachelor's Degree

Preferred
Master's Degree in a field relevant to the programmatic responsibilities of the position

Required:
-Work experience relevant to the programmatic responsibilities of the position
-Demonstrated strong interpersonal and communication skills that contribute to positive and productive workplace relationships and effective partnerships
-Demonstrated use of problem-solving skills to successfully address complex issues
-Ability to communicate effectively using a variety of methods and technology
-Ability to effectively work with people from different cultural backgrounds, including those associated with race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, socioeconomic status, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and other aspects of human diversity
-Experience managing multiple tasks, timelines, and schedules while maintaining high quality work

Preferred:
-Demonstrated skill in interpreting, utilizing, and applying evidence-based information and research findings
-Demonstrated success in developing, delivering, and evaluating educational programs for diverse audiences utilizing a variety of educational techniques, methods, and modes
-Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining effective partnerships or coalitions with community partners and local governments

Full Time: 100%

It is anticipated this position requires work be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location.

Ongoing/Renewable

Minimum $54,550 ANNUAL (12 months)
Depending on Qualifications
Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Benefits information can be found at (https://hr.wisc.edu/benefits/).

-The primary accountability relationship for this position is the Area 7 Area Extension Director for supervision, compensation and benefits, and performance reviews.
-This position's primary programming focus is Portage County; however, some programming may also be conducted over a broader geographical area.
-Reliable transportation to meet position responsibilities and essential job functions are required.
-Some evenings or weekends work as needed to meet programming needs. Flexible scheduling is available to accommodate evening and weekend work.

Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment.

We are eager to learn more about how your experience and passion may align with this position. Please submit a cover letter referring to your related work experience and a resume detailing your educational and professional background. Please keep in mind, applicants need to articulate all required qualifications in their cover letter and/or resume. Applicants who have preferred qualifications should share those too in the cover letter and/or resume. The application reviewers will be relying on written application materials to determine who may advance to preliminary interviews.

Jeremy Solin
jeremy.solin@wisc.edu
715-498-7051
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Outreach Specialist(OE009)

A47-EXTENSION/ANRCD/COMM/CED/COMM EC DEV

Academic Staff-Renewable

280220-AS

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.