Agricultural Specialist

The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority seeks an Agricultural Specialist to advance the Authority’s ability to deliver on its mission and goals related to restoring and protecting working lands in the Santa Clara Valley.

Our mission is to conserve the natural environment, support agriculture, and connect people to nature by protecting open spaces, natural areas, and working farms and ranches for future generations. Since 1993 the Open Space Authority has protected almost 30,000 acres of natural and working lands across the Santa Clara Valley. Our agency manages and conserves a network of open space lands and natural resources, while providing compatible opportunities for hiking, biking, and equestrian uses, with a focus on increasing equity of access to the outdoors for all our constituents.

We know our continued success depends on our employees and the work they do. We are committed to providing a collaborative and inclusive work environment that encourages growth and development; and acknowledges individual and team achievements.

The Ideal Candidate

As a member of the Natural Resources Department, the Agricultural Specialist will engage with current and future agricultural tenants to build and maintain productive working relationships. As a cross-departmental and adaptable team player, you will excel in this position using your general knowledge of environmental issues and conservation, and advanced skills related to agricultural practices in support of the Authority’s mission.

You are an enthusiastic natural resources professional with three or more years of applied experience in agricultural management or natural resources planning. You can work closely with tenants, colleagues, and partner organizations. You are familiar with grant applications and management, to be able to partner with agriculture tenants to seek grants that will support their conservation practices. You are excited at the outstanding opportunity to implement the Authority’s commitment to working lands in Santa Clara Valley. You are able to navigate opportunities and challenges with resilience and courage.

You are in a continual state of learning – a drive to be on the leading edge allows you to bring innovative ideas to your work and apply strategic thinking in everything you do. You are not afraid to try something new, especially if you can learn from the experience. You bring analytical thinking to problems big and small, and to daily tasks, ensuring that you deliver thorough and complete work products.

Your strong communication and project management skills enable you to effectively collaborate with other departments and other agencies. You pride yourself on your expertise in agriculture and natural resources and look forward to building on it as you help the Authority ‘walk the walk’ of agricultural best practices in conservation.

You are excited by the challenge of current and upcoming initiatives for the Natural Resources department. A sampling of these include:

• Scoping and defining the agricultural program at the Authority.
• Establishing relationships with existing agricultural tenants and grazers.
• Bringing best practices of regenerative agriculture to existing tenants, enhancing their understanding and seeking grant funds to support the implementation.
• Supporting the Coyote Valley Conservation Areas Master Plan related to agricultural planning.

This position is classified as a Resource Management Specialist, please review the complete position classification here: https://bit.ly/3mQXi4t

Qualification

The ideal candidate will possess any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

• Equivalent to graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in agriculture, environmental resources, biological sciences, environmental studies or a closely related field; and
• Three (3) years of increasingly responsible experience in agricultural management or planning.
• Understanding of land use, farming, and ranching-related local, state, and federal policies.
• Knowledge of sustainable agricultural practices, agricultural business, and regulations.
• Ability to conduct effective research and make recommendations.
• Experience with effective project management methods.
• Strong scientific and technical writing with excellent vocabulary and grammar.
• Applied knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Suite, and ArcGIS software.
• Conversational Spanish or Cantonese preferred.

Note: This position is required to take and pass a pre-employment background check.

If you are excited by the opportunities and challenges offered in this position, we encourage you to apply, even if your experience is non-typical or if you are not sure you meet every one of the qualifications described.

Compensation & Benefits

The salary range for this full-time, non-exempt position is $51.69 to $62.83 hourly, depending on experience and qualifications. To complement this salary, we offer a robust benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their dependents – we cover 100% of the cost for these premiums. We participate in CalPERS retirement programs as well as offering a separate 457 Plan for tax deferred retirement savings. A basic life insurance policy is provided to all eligible employees with the option to purchase additional personal insurance benefits. The Authority supports a hybrid workplace and this position may be afforded opportunities for remote work.

Application and Selection

All application materials must be received prior to 8/12/2024, at 5:00 PM. To be considered for this opportunity, submit your application materials including cover letter and a self-prepared resume at the application link provided below. The Open Space Authority utilizes a robust process that will ask qualified candidates to engage in multiple steps leading up to a final panel interview. We encourage applicants to closely monitor email communication from the Authority’s hiring team.

Go here to apply for the job:  https://bit.ly/3RYNLo4 Workplace Culture Santa Clara Valley

Open Space AuthorityThe staff of the Open Space Authority are passionate about conservation and driven to make an impact in the community through their work. Everyone brings a unique skillset to their role and the creative collaboration of all staff maximizes talent to realize the Authority’s mission. We have established values and defined supporting behaviors that are shared and demonstrated by every employee at the Authority. Together all of these reflect the culture that makes the Authority the high performing agency that it is. We are Intentional, Respectful, Accountable, Empowering, Innovative, Collaborative, and Inclusive. You can learn more about the staff of the Authority and how everyone works together on our website here.  

The Open Space Authority envisions the Santa Clara Valley as a region dense with beautiful natural areas, where a vibrant network of interconnected open spaces, trails, wildlife habitats, and thriving agricultural lands enrich our communities. Learn more about the Authority tackles these goals.

The Authority values Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access in our work to preserve the natural environment, support agriculture, and connect people to nature:

• We have Accessible, Collaborative, and Accountable processes to engage the diverse communities we serve in our programs, projects, careers, and governance opportunities.
• We have Respect for the land and all people in our community.
• We are Inclusive and acknowledge current and historic land stewards.
• We Empower future generations of conservation leaders.
• We invite everyone to join and connect to nature with us. 

The Authority is committed to the principles of equal employment. We are earnest in our efforts to comply with all state and federal laws providing Equal Employment Opportunities, and all other employment laws and regulations. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, gender, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or physical disability. We are committed to creating a safe environment where people are treated with respect and appreciated for their unique differences, where issues are promptly raised and resolved and where communication flows across all levels of the agency.