CDA-Market Expansion Program Manager (Grant Specialist V)

State of Colorado • Denver, CO

16h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Conservation Market Expansion Program Manager is a strategic leader responsible for managing the cross-division coordination, organization, and execution of the $16M budget for the Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) grant and program. The Program Manager will directly influence the success of projects funded by the AMP Grant, uplifting conservation efforts and advancing marketing opportunities for farmers and ranchers across industries from every area of the state. The Program Manager will be responsible for distributing more than $13 million dollars over 2 years to support producers implementing conservation practices (soil health, noxious weeds, climate resilience, and others) and support producers engaging in new markets. The position will also be responsible for developing a program-wide strategy and workflow that aligns with division programs and federal funding rules. This program will have a lasting impact on the Colorado agricultural industry, and this position will determine the success or failure of the program.

Requirements

• Must be a Colorado resident at the time of application.
• Eight (8) years of program management, grant management, agricultural business, conservation or agricultural support services, business management experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position.
• OR Education and experience: A combination of related education, Public Administration, Agricultural Business, Environmental Science, Economics or related field and/or relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned equal to eight (8) years.
• Must have and maintain an active Colorado driver's license.
• Must be able to pass a motor vehicle background check.
• Must be a resident of the state of Colorado.
• Be willing to travel 6-10 times a year throughout Colorado.
• Must be willing to work outside of normal business hours.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and public speaking skills.
• Experience working with Program Management.
• Experience with Grant Management.
• Experience with outreach and education.
• Knowledge of conservation practices.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and juggle multiple priorities, and able to react and adjust quickly to changing conditions.
• Detail oriented.
• Excellent communication skills; able to communicate effectively and articulately in writing and orally with diverse communities in all corners of the state.
• Work well under pressure.
• Strong relationship management skills and excellent representation of the department in community interactions.
• A proven track record for developing and maintaining trusted relationships with stakeholders and industry experts.
• Excellent negotiation and consensus building skills.
• Proactive approaches to problem-solving and with strong decision-making capability.
• Highly resourceful team-player, with the ability to also be extremely effective independently.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with strategic program development and program management.
• Experience with federal, ideally USDA, grant management.
• Experience working with agricultural producers.
• Experience managing grantees, including tracking budgets.
• Experience with measuring, monitoring, and evaluation strategies.

Responsibilities

• Creates and leads the implementation of internal structures, workflows, and processes to support execution on grant deliverables, including distributing $13.7M directly to Colorado farmers and ranchers.
• Leads AMP project efforts across teams and divisions, including the Markets Division and Conservation Services Division (CSD), ensuring programs that utilize AMP funding execute on project deliverables and reporting requirements.
• Creates guidelines and program rules and makes daily decisions that will impact Colorado farmers and ranchers and their ability to apply for or spend these grant awards.
• Liaisons between CSD, Markets, and the Commissioners' Office, coordinating with the AMP Steering Committee to ensure successful project implementation.
• Maintains communication and coordination with federal partners at USDA-NRCS, advancing goals of the AMP program for the state of Colorado in coordination with CDA’s core values and strategic mission.
• Responsible for the overall strategic direction and administration of the AMP program, including creating and executing program processes and structures within the AMP team that work across CDA divisions.
• Develops, monitors, and evaluates inputs, outputs, and outcomes of individual grant awards and develops other organizational tools to track program progress.
• Develops grant reporting requirements that will impact farmers and ranchers.
• Provides regular status updates through in-person briefings, written reports, and other communication methods to inform the AMP Steering Committee and CDA leadership.
• Manages environmental review process, per federal regulations.
• Leads internal meetings with program managers across the Department that are working on AMP-funded programs.
• Ensures all state and federal reporting deadlines are met by internal staff.
• Utilizes reporting from grant specialists in each division to track and monitor the program budget, identify and resolve any financial issues successfully.
• Complies with all procurement and grant procedures and policies.
• Establishes and follows processes to prevent fraud, waste and abuse of program funding.
• Creates processes that other departments will utilize to manage their own grant and grant reporting.
• Responsible for communicating and coordinating across teams within the Conservation Services Division and Markets Division to ensure effective and impactful spenddown of AMP grant funds.
• Works with program leadership across teams and divisions throughout all phases of the AMP program, coordinating appropriate action steps for programs from program establishment through project completion.
• Reports regularly to the internal AMP Steering Committee, including presenting for approval programs spend-down plans for AMP funds, strategizing and adjusting spenddown plans as needed, and regularly updating the Committee on project progression with the ultimate goal of total accurate and impactful spenddown of AMP funds.
• Creates an organized internal and external communications strategy for AMP-related updates and deadlines as needed.
• Works with other departments (including Department of Natural Resources, Depart of Local Affairs) to demonstrate how this program will overlap and intersect with their programs, and design clear rules and strategies to align programs and meet goals.
• Assists program managers, at CDA and across the state, with the development, promotion, review, selection, awarding of grants through various Department programs.
• Disseminates to the necessary staff, all federal and state compliance requirements in administering AMP funding.
• Schedules, hosts, and coordinates cross-team and cross-department program updates in both virtual and in-person settings.
• Presents AMP updates to the AMP Steering Committee, Agricultural Commission, other Departments, including the Colorado Water Conservation Board, and the State Land Board, various stakeholder meetings, advisory councils, and others as needed.
• Has the primary responsibility for communication and coordination with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA/NRCS) federal partners on the AMP grant.
• Compiles and submits reports and invoices to USDA timely and accurately, with support from program staff, CDA’s accounting team, and the AMP Steering Committee.
• Submits semi-annual reporting to NRCS using their required reporting spreadsheet.
• Advocates for CDA’s policy and programs.
• Promotes Colorado producers, farmers, ranchers, and ag businesses.
• Ensures CDA is in compliance with grant agreement and grant rules.
• Works with CDA’s Procurement team to report grant progress and request reimbursements.
• Ensures CDA’s AMP-funded grants are processed per state and federal requirements.
• Attends training, meetings, or conferences required through the AMP grant award.
• Oversees a successful close out grant and wind down of the AMP grant program.
• Works with federal partners to ensure a smooth reporting and invoicing process.
• Allocates and monitors AMP funding awards, encumbrances, and expenditures across programs and teams.
• Compiles program results and statistical data to provide reports to USDA-NRCS and the AMP Steering Committee to relay programmatic performance and implementation.
• Engages Colorado stakeholders both through formal entities within CDA (steering committees, advisory groups, commissions, etc.) as well as through public stakeholder interest groups from diverse backgrounds on a regular basis throughout the project.
• Assists program managers in the promotion of AMP grant opportunities, including online and in-person workshop or information sessions.
• Develops electronic and print promotion material.
• Gathers feedback as needed on project priorities.
• Informs the CDA of areas of need within the state, including technicalities specific to certain industries.
• Informs producers of upcoming project opportunities funded by AMP grant dollars through conference presentations, webinars, or other engagement opportunities.
• Attends site visits across Colorado to visit with grantees.

Benefits

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan plus optional 401(k) and 457 plans
• Medical and dental health plans
• Employer supplemented Health Savings Account ($60 per month)
• Paid life insurance, plus additional optional life insurance options
• Paid Short Term Disability and optional Long Term Disability coverage
• 11 paid holidays per year plus generous vacation and sick leave accruals
• BenefitHub state employee discount program
• Employee Wellness program
• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, remote work opportunities, free parking, professional development and more!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed