The Grower Education Specialist is a regionally-based member of the 10-person Research and Grower Education team serving all California strawberry farmers. The primary role is to actively outreach and support California strawberry farmers with information, learning opportunities, and other resources the California Strawberry Commission provides. Through regular contact and interaction with strawberry growers, the Grower Education Specialist continuously assesses grower needs and emerging issues within their local strawberry growing district. The Grower Education Specialist develops, plans and delivers learning experiences to help strawberry farmers and their employees successfully meet production challenges in a complex and ever-changing economic, social, environmental, and regulatory context. The Grower Education Specialist reports to the Director of Grower Education and works closely with other members of the CSC Grower Education and Research teams.
- Represent the California Strawberry Commission in local strawberry farming district. Build strong relationships with strawberry farmers, County Ag Commissioner, university researchers, agricultural associations, resource/regulatory/community agencies to stay informed of emerging needs and issues that strawberry farmers and their employees face.
- Work as part of CSC’s multi-region team to identify and prioritize activities to serve strawberry farmer’s needs, help them achieve success and build a positive image in their communities.
- Learn, refine and assist in delivery of existing training programs in diverse content areas including food safety, supervisory skills, regulatory compliance, irrigation, nutrient, pest and disease management.
- Design and deliver new learning content in areas where performance opportunities are identified.
- Effectively communicate CSC research findings and production best-practices to strawberry growers and their employees, with awareness for cultural, language, and educational diversity of this audience.
- Plan meetings and training events
- Draft, edit, translate and publish industry communications and educational materials
- Update and maintain internal and external information resources, including CRM, SharePoint, websites and social media
- Bachelor’s degree in agriculture or education related field such as Agriculture Education, Crop or Environmental Science, Irrigation or Pest Management, Safety/Industrial Hygiene, Organizational Development or Human Resources Management.
- High-fluency in both Spanish and English required with excellent written and verbal skills in both languages.
- Familiarity with cultural, language, and educational diversity of strawberry growers and their employees.
- 3-years’ experience developing and delivering agriculture-related education or training programs for adults.
- Passionate about serving all people working within the California Strawberry industry
- Positive disposition towards internal as well as external customers, especially under stress
- Excellent event-planning skills with impeccable attention to details
- Proficient to advanced skill with Microsoft Office suite: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Project…
- Familiarity with or ability to learn website maintenance and development
- Continuing education in learning and performance management areas such as Accelerated Learning, Brain-based learning, coaching, organizational development….
- Possession of or ability to acquire CA Driver’s License
Candidate should live in or be willing to relocate to one of the primary strawberry growing regions (Watsonville, Santa Maria, Oxnard). Travel within California is frequently required during peak training season. Driving for extended periods, as well as extended computer work are also required for successful performance of these duties. Some lifting is required during set-up of meeting rooms and transport of training materials between production districts.
CSC is fully committed to the Federal goal of equal opportunity in employment for all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital or family status, political beliefs, parental status, or protected genetic information. It is CSC’s policy to treat all its customers and employees fairly and equitable, with dignity and respect.
