Extension Assistant Jobs in Texas (NOW HIRING)

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About Texas A&M AgriLife

Texas A&M AgriLife is comprised of the following Texas A&M University System members:

• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
• Texas A&M AgriLife Research
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University
• Texas A&M Forest Service
• Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

As the nation's largest most comprehensive agriculture program, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies focused on agriculture and life sciences within The Texas A&M University System. With over 5,000 employees and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, environments and the Texas economy through education, research, extension and service.

Click here to learn more about how you can be a part of AgriLife and make a difference in the world!

Position Information

Texas A&M AgriLife's Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA) Healthy Living program, based at the AgriLife Center at Dallas, seeks an experienced Program Coordinator II to work in close collaboration and coordination with the Healthy Living team, led by IHA Associate director, Dr. Rebecca Seguin-Fowler, whose work focuses on community-engaged research to address and ameliorate health disparities. The Program Coordinator II, under general supervision, works collaboratively with the Healthy Living team to plan, develop, and implement projects as well as provide technical, business management, administrative, and operational support to program leadership, including the Associate Director of Healthy Living.

Texas A&M AgriLife is an organization that supports healthy living for all Texans, through the research of tailored agricultural practices that yield nutritious food sources, outreach programs that train community members on growing their own food, and preservation of natural resources via eco-friendly means, all while following practices that lead to a stronger Texas economy. Overseen by the Office of the Vice Chancellor and Dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M AgriLife includes the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M Forest Service, and Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA) is the world's first academic institute to bring together precision nutrition, responsive agriculture, and social and behavioral healthy living research to reduce diet-related chronic disease in a way that considers environmental and economic factors. The IHA unites experts from various fields such as agriculture, nutrition, behavioral sciences, exercise physiology, health communications, public health, social sciences, life sciences, engineering, data and computation science, and economics.

Healthy Living implements, evaluates, and disseminates scientific solutions, applicable to all Texans, for improved public health. The Healthy Living team works on a broad portfolio of extramurally funded, community-engaged research and active collaborations with community partners, cooperative extension, and many academic and nonprofit organizations throughout Texas and beyond. We aim to understand the means of building communities around healthy living and about facilitating the delivery of current, accurate, evidence-based programs, guidelines, and information that supports healthier living for Texans. Areas of particular interest to Healthy Living include health promotion, food access, food systems, food and nutrition insecurity, dietary patterns and behaviors, diet/food interventions, program development and evaluation, physical activity behaviors and intervention development, policy system and environmental change, citizen science and community-engaged research, and mHealth technologies and interventions. The IHA's Healthy Living program is housed at the Texas A&M AgriLife Center at Dallas, which focuses on scientific research, public outreach, and education programs. The Center is a regional hub for Texas A&M AgriLife activity. It is one of 13 AgriLife Centers across the state - each focusing on issues specific to their region. Broad focus areas at the Dallas Center include healthy living, urban agriculture and forestry, and water and land resource management.

Responsibilities:

• Provide administrative, operational, and project management support to Healthy Living leadership, including managing complex calendars, coordinating meetings and travel, preparing agendas and materials, and supporting stakeholder engagement activities.
• Assist with fiscal management activities, including budget development, monitoring, forecasting, financial reporting, purchasing, travel, reimbursements, payroll allocations, and fiscal year planning.

• Coordinate meetings, advisory groups, and stakeholder activities, serving as a liaison between program leadership and internal and external partners.

• Prepare, review, and analyze financial, operational, and administrative reports; assist in identifying funding opportunities; support documentation and reporting requirements for grants, contracts, and program operations.

• Assist with the management and coordination of the Healthy Living portfolio by supporting program planning, goal setting, implementation, evaluation, and continuous process improvement efforts.

• Collaborate with the Healthy Living team to support the planning, development, implementation, and coordination of community-engaged research projects, programs, and strategic initiatives.

• Coordinate internal and external communications, including the preparation of reports, presentations, correspondence, executive communications, and other program materials.

• Support personnel administration, including onboarding, hiring, training coordination, personnel records management, effort reporting, payroll actions, and guidance on administrative policies and procedures.

• Maintain and prepare professional and organizational documentation, including curriculum vitae, biosketches, organizational charts, letters of support, and related materials.

• Develop and maintain project management, evaluation, and coordination tools, including online platforms such as Qualtrics and related systems.

• Collect, organize, and analyze data to support leadership decision-making, strategic planning, and operational effectiveness.

• Support operational planning and coordination across multiple program locations and initiatives.

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in related field or equivalent combination of education andexperience.
• Four years of related experience.
• Professional demeanor and demonstrated ability to manage and safeguard confidential information with the utmost discretion and professionalism, ensuring sensitive data is handled securely and in compliance with privacy policies.
• Ability to take initiative, work independently, multitask, work cooperatively with others, and manage priorities and tasks as assigned.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Outstanding planning and organizational skills.
• Knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation applications, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, etc.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in related field (e.g., public health, business, public administration, science, health administration, health communication, etc.).
• 6+ years of progressively responsible experience in research management, operations, executive support, or related administrative functions.
• Experience supporting executive leadership in a higher education, healthcare, research, or public health environment.
• Experience with grant administration, budget management, and university administrative systems.
• Fluent in Spanish and English, verbal and written.
• Project management experience, including project planning and evaluation, task management, resource allocation, and budget management.
• Research background, including experience with community-engaged research and evaluation projects.
• Experience with scientific writing, including proposal preparation and writing, developing written reports, and editing manuscripts and documents.
• Experience conducting human subjects research and working on research grants.
• Experience coordinating research programs in the following areas: underserved populations; minority and urban health; food systems; community-based health behavior interventions; and/or the integration of technology into community outreach and research.
• Knowledge and understanding of the mission and role of the Land Grant University System, including community-campus partnership and the Extension system.

What You Need to Know

Salary: Compensation for this position is commensurate based on the selected candidate's qualifications.

Why Work at Texas A&M AgriLife?

When you choose toworkfor Texas A&M AgriLife, you become part of an organization that is an established leader in agriculture and life sciences with a wide range of capabilities to meet the needs of our statewide, national, and international constituents.

In addition, Texas A&M AgriLife offers a comprehensive benefit package including the following:

• Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leaveand at leasteight hours of paid vacation each month
• Automatic enrollment in theTeacher Retirement System of Texas
• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife

Applicant Instructions

Applications received by Texas A&M AgriLife must either have all job application data entered or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to prepopulate the online application.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution's verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution's procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.