Dairy Industry Workforce Specialist

Position Summary:

The Dairy Industry Workforce Specialist will represent the interests of farm businesses and organizations connected to the Maine Dairy Industry through partnerships with businesses, communities, and other workforce and education development groups with ties to the dairy industry. This individual will be responsible for outreach to inform businesses of the full range of workforce and business service options and opportunities available to assist in business growth and development for the dairy industry. The Specialist will foster collaborations between stakeholders and will work to integrate workforce services including education and training to dairy workers across the state.

Essential Functions:

• Work with business, education, community, and workforce partners to link farms to services, and to provide feedback and reporting to local and industry stakeholders
• Provide assistance to farms including technical assistance, identification of opportunities and gaps within the industry, specifically in dairy workforce operations, and one-on-one assistance with farms to meet workforce needs
• Support local and regional workforce development organizations to identify career pathway opportunities and programs within industry/businesses to address skill gaps, hiring opportunities and to reduce barriers for workers in the industry to enter and/or stay in the dairy labor market
• Travel to dairies across the state to establish connections and assist in developing business and labor strategies
• Collect and analyze employer data, employer needs, and skill requirements, and report trends to Maine Dairy Industry Association and EMDC
• Assist with preparation of required progress reports as needed
• Other duties as assigned by EMDC or the Maine Dairy Industry Association

Core Competencies:

• Computer Skills: Technology fluent, adapts and learns new programs quickly, and uses computers to improve productivity
• Grant Experience: Experience with grant-writing assistance, and ability to manage and report effectively
• Customer Focus: Handles customer/client questions and complaints, communicates with customers/clients, handles service problems politely and efficiently, and is available for customers/clients, follows procedures to solve customer/client problems, understands company products and services, and maintains a pleasant and professional image
• Personal Organization: Keeps information organized and accessible, maintains clean/functional workspace, works systematically/efficiently, and manages time well
• Productivity: Manages workload, prioritizes tasks, develops good work procedures, manages time well, and handles information flow
• Quality: Is attentive to detail and accuracy, is committed to excellence, looks for improvements continuously, monitors quality levels, finds the root cause of quality problems, owns/acts on quality problems

Education/Experience:

• Knowledge of or experience within the dairy industry
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team to develop and implement sector-based and partnership strategies
• BA or BS degree in agriculture, business, or public administration or related field preferred
• Valid driver’s license
• Spanish language proficiency a plus, but not required

Working Conditions:

General business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, though exempt positions will typically require work to be performed outside general business hours. Work is generally performed in an indoor, professional office environment, however frequent travel will be required as necessary. This position will have a designated space at the Maine Dairy Industry Association headquarters in Augusta.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or listen, and regularly required to use a keyboard for typing. The employee is often required to stand and walk. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus. The employee must travel to different locations and must be able to provide own transportation.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time