Illinois Agricultural Education

The Rock Island County Farm Bureau is hiring for a part-time position that will cover both our Ag In The Classroom programming and office administrative tasks.

20 hours/week during the school year, flexible schedule during the summer months: 80% of this position will focus on agriculture literacy and engagement with the remaining 20% spent on administrative tasks from occasional Farm Bureau calls regarding membership benefits, processing financial deposits and payments, completing simple payment transactions, etc.

Office hours: Monday – Friday 10 am to 2 pm (adjust schedule as needed to accommodate extended office hours; essentially work within the 10-2 Monday – Friday unless evening, weekend, and/or special program requires an adjusted schedule.)

This part-time position will:

*Report directly to and be supervised by the manager of the Rock Island County Farm Bureau.

*Be responsible for opening, closing, and covering the RICFB office when the manager is not present.

*Perform daily administrative tasks such as process membership dues, prepare financial deposits and payments, prepare board of directors books for monthly board meetings to include running financial reports, agendas, minutes, etc.

*Assist the manager with programs, activities, and events.

*Respond to member requests for member benefit/discount information, update member records, print membership cards, etc. 

*Complete/submit monthly coordinator reports and submit yearly IAA Foundation Grant Application. Follow state Ag Literacy Objectives as set forth by the Illinois Ag In The Classroom.

*Coordinate a new strategy for agricultural literacy engagement within Rock Island County, utilizing existing relationships present inside the junior and senior high school faculty, combined with our community partners who are interested in advancing career development within the food, fiber, and fuel sector.

*Utilizing existing relationships within the media and business community to leverage Farm Bureau’s agriculture industry network to help the non-farm public further understand the value of all phases of the agriculture industry's role in career exploration and consumer education.

*Support successful agriculture learning experiences within the elementary education AITC activities that are teacher-driven such as the poultry kits (aka incubators).

*Continue to coordinate topics, locations, and curricula for the RICFB Foundation Virtual Reality Classroom Videos and schedule with local media and technology companies for production.

*Oversee usage and check out of RICFB Foundation Virtual Reality Classroom Videos and other AITC materials.

*Develop a Rock Island County Ag In The Classroom YouTube channel and create virtual lessons to distribute to teachers and schools.

*Based on the changing demands within the elementary education sector, as experienced since 2007, the RICFB Foundation will continue to support the Ag Mags and other kits but will focus their efforts on the middle and senior high school teaching staff and students who are primarily focusing on career education and expanding their consumer choices within the food, fiber, and fuel sector.

*Oversee the RICFB Foundation scholarship program, including developing the online application, scholarship judging and materials, and building a network with past scholarship award winners for future potential donors.

*Monitor and update the list of materials and resources from the Rock Island County Agriculture Literacy Coalition to be shared with others, including the program of Virtual Reality Classroom Videos, incubators, AgriScience Kits, Magic Kits, as well as any other coalition member’s educational materials.

*Coordinate website development, email, and social media marketing to promote consumer engagement.

* Conduct volunteer and county and/or district-wide teacher workshops and institutes. Develop and conduct in-school and group educational training programs.

*Maintain a network of key teacher contacts and adult volunteers for facilitating communications and disseminating promotional material.

*Cooperate with Rock Island County Farm Bureau Foundation Teacher Advisory Council and RICFB Foundation to explore possible grant funding and seek additional funding sources via local donations.

*Use a variety of methods to reach targeted audiences (school ag days, field trips, demonstrations, presentations, media, newsletters, exhibits, contests, etc.)

*Evaluate educational program impact on participants and prepare reports for the Teacher Advisory Council and RICFB Foundation.

*Other duties as assigned for the advancement of the overall program.

Position Requirements:

*Bachelor’s Degree in Ag Education, business or ag-related field. An associate’s Degree will be considered with equivalent experience.

*Salary negotiable based on experience.

*Computer skills required, including but not limited to Windows operating system, virtual reality systems, Google Forms, Jot Form, social media, and website maintenance.

Resume and cover letter should be sent to tmayhew@ricofarmbureau.org.