Conservation Technician
TEAMRCD
S Riverside County, California
Job Type | Temporary |
Salary Details | $56,000 - $68,000 |
Deadline | Nov 22, 2024 |
Experience | 2 - 6 years |
Please find job details here.
About TEAMRCD:
The Temecula Elsinore Anza Murrieta Resource Conservation District (TEAMRCD) is a local public agency, headquartered in Temecula and providing conservation support to residents in Southern Riverside County. Governed by a five-member board of directors appointed by the County of Riverside Board of Supervisors, TEAMRCD covers nearly 700 square miles of service area within which a range of biological features and cultural landmarks exist. Our District’s vision is to expand our capacity to deliver resource-based services to our constituents such as conservation, wildland restoration, forestry and fire prevention, and education programming to our constituents, both through our own projects and in collaboration with a variety of federal, state and local partners and individuals.
Position Description:
TEAMRCD is seeking a Conservation Technician to help our small District better understand our residents' natural resource needs and connect them with technical and financial support. The successful applicant’s first task will be to assess our service area using existing sources to identify acreage under production, what crops are being grown, and what the top three resource concerns are. Supporting disadvantaged communities is a particular focus of this position. The Conservation
Technician will then work with our federal partners at the Natural Resource Conservation Service to enroll farmers in programs that will fund improvements on their farms. Typical activities will be hosting enrollment workshops, offering support to farmers in filling out federal forms, and onsite farm visits. An additional task will be to connect with non-farm stakeholders in our service area, to identify needs around building community wildfire resilience, and post-fire recovery. Finally, the Conservation Technician will spend a portion of their time promoting TEAMRCD’s Water Efficiency Technical Assistance program which evaluates irrigation efficiencies.
The ideal candidate for this position is someone enthusiastic about helping farmers improve their production capacity and building resilience to the many challenges inherent in farming. In addition, they are interested in helping communities adapt to our growing wildfire threat and provide resources to aid in this effort. They thrive on person-to-person interaction, collaboration with sister agencies and building partnerships.
This position is currently funded through 2025 and it is anticipated the funding will be extended beyond the current end date.
Position Requirements:
- Demonstrated knowledge in and experience with agricultural support and community engagement
- Ability to collaborate effectively with community members and partners
- Effective electronic and physical file/data management
- Demonstrated understanding of field mapping (GPS) and ArcGIS and other equipment, either at time of hire or ability and commitment to develop these skills.
- Possession of excellent writing and communication skills
- Ability to attend occasional evening meetings, along with occasional planned weekend work.
- Be in possession of a current California Driver’s License and auto insurance, as well as reliable transportation
- Being comfortable working independently
- Attention to detail, a strong work ethic and ability to strategize
- Managing confidential information
- Background check
Duties and Deliverables:
1. Using existing data, to produce a resource inventory and map of where producers are in TEAM’s service area and what they are growing, focusing on the socially disadvantaged agricultural community. The map will be field verified and the top three resource needs identified through surveys and interviews.
2. Public outreach to producers and hosting two sign-up workshops for farmers interested in applying for financial and technical support through the Natural Resource Conservation Service. Direct contact will be made with 40 farmers, ten of which will be disadvantaged.
3. The Conservation Technician will provide technical support to applicants to NRCS programs. The CT will train with NRCS to learn how to complete forms and provide ARC/GIS mapping for applications.
4. To provide outreach for TEAMRCD’s and Mission RCD’s Water Efficiency Technical Assistance Program (20% time).
5. The Conservation Technician will liase with regional stakeholders to identify community wildfire resilience and post-fire recovery needs and potential projects.
6. To promote NRCS and TEAMRCD services through TEAM’s website and newsletters.
Location: Work from home is allowable for this position, however a qualified candidate would need to be located in a community within driving distance of the entirety of TEAMRCD’s service area for field visits and successful partner collaboration. Work hours are generally Monday – Friday 9:00 am – 5 pm, but other schedules can be accommodated
Please submit a cover letter describing why you think you would be a good fit for this job, as well as a resume to Rae Shirer at manager@teamrcd.org, and cc Teri Biancardi at Teri.Biancardi@TEAMRCD.org.
When you apply, please indicate that you are responding to the posting on Conservation Job Board.
Category | Admin & Leadership, Forestry, General / Stewardship |