Educational Program Assistant - Regional Farm to School Coordinator

Search #: 499378

Work type: Part‑time

Location: Tolland County Extension Ctr

Categories: Administrative Services, Student Programs and Services

UConn Extension, a part of the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR), seeks applicants for five (5) part‑time (85% FTE / 29.75 hours/week) Regional Farm to School Outreach Assistants (Educational Program Assistant
2) to conduct outreach activities that are directly associated with increasing farm‑to‑school activities and local procurement among child nutrition program sponsors in Connecticut. Under the supervision of the Senior Educator in Food Systems, and the Visiting Associate Extension Educator in Food Systems, these positions will perform programmatic support for Extension outreach and education targeting.

Outreach Assistants will support the delivery of training and technical assistance tied to deliverables to the Connecticut State Department of Education. They will assist stakeholders in planning, collaborating, and building networks to support farm‑to‑school activities. They will assist in the coordination and delivery of learning events targeting stakeholders. They will present their work on a weekly basis to the supervisor for feedback and direction.

In addition to their outreach duties, they will conduct administrative duties toward grant management (e.g. monthly progress reporting, tracking meeting attendance, maintaining notes from stakeholder interaction, meeting deliverables, and timelines). The ideal candidate will have a demonstrated understanding of the challenges and opportunities for farm‑to‑school in Connecticut, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing small‑scale agriculture in the Northeast region.

Duties of this position will include, but are not limited to:

• Provide support with planning technical assistance and training events for stakeholders as required by formal Extension programs.
• Provide support with delivery of technical assistance and training to target audiences.
• Disseminate information about upcoming learning events and opportunities to stakeholders.
• Participate in weekly project team meetings to plan Extension outreach programs for stakeholders, such as conferences, professional development workshops, and monthly virtual meetings.
• Provide event coordination support at in‑person educational events through tabling, registration check‑in, signage, filming, and distribution of evaluations.
• Design and develop learning materials (presentation, fact sheets, posters, and/or videos) on topics relevant to stakeholders. Topics to be covered include but are not limited to using incentives to purchase local and regionally grown food, planning menus to feature local ingredients, marketing locally grown items on the cafeteria line, how to meet and talk with producers, and how to develop an action plan for farm to school in a school/district.
• Conduct in‑person visits with program participants to document their activities (photo/video) and identify needs for training and educational resources.
• Assist stakeholders with completing and utilizing the Connecticut State Department of Education's CT Fresh ED Compass— a digital evaluation tool designed to help child nutrition sponsors establish baseline and track progress on increasing farm‑to‑school activities.
• Support the implementation of program evaluation to measure the performance of outreach programs.
• Contribute to a welcoming and inclusive workplace culture that values and respects individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Perform related duties as required.