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