Community Development Extension Educator

University of Wisconsin Madison•Eau Claire, WI

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Community Development Extension Educator supports Eau Claire, Chippewa, and Dunn County governments in addressing county priorities through research-based education, facilitation, community engagement, and organizational and leadership development. The Educator works closely with county leadership to identify emerging needs, establish priorities, and advance initiatives that address locally identified opportunities and challenges. Priority issues may vary among the three counties over time. Whenever possible, the Educator will work with county leadership to align priorities across the three counties to maximize impact and reduce the number of priority issues the Educator is supporting. Priorities will be established in partnership with county leadership and Extension program leadership and revisited regularly to ensure the scope and workload remain focused and manageable across the three counties. The Educator's program focus is facilitation, community engagement, strategic planning, and organizational and leadership development. The Community Development Educator is not expected to serve as a subject-matter expert in the county-identified priority issue areas. Instead, the Educator helps the counties access relevant expertise from local, state, and university sources. The Educator helps counties identify, organize around, and advance priority issues. Examples include: Design and facilitate strategic planning, visioning, goal-setting, and action-planning processes. Identify relevant research, data, and technical expertise to inform decision-making. The Educator helps counties engage the people, organizations, and systems necessary to address priority issues and achieve desired outcomes. Examples include: Identify organizations, groups, and individuals working on one or more of the identified county priorities. Design and facilitate community engagement processes. Facilitate alignment and collaboration among county government, municipal governments, community organizations, businesses, residents, and other stakeholders whose involvement is relevant to county priorities. The Educator works primarily with local governments and, when connected to identified county priorities, nonprofit organizations, coalitions, and other organizations to strengthen organizational capacity and leadership. Examples include: Design and deliver educational programs for organizational leaders, managers, boards, staff, and volunteers focused on leadership, communication, decision-making, collaboration, and organizational effectiveness. The Educator serves as a point of connection between county governments and the research, educational resources, and subject-matter expertise available through Extension and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Educators are expected to contribute to statewide efforts related to their area of expertise. Through statewide engagement, the educator remains connected to emerging research, promising practices, educational innovations, and professional networks that can be leveraged to support county priorities.

Requirements

At least two years of professional experience in community development, local government, nonprofit organizations, organizational development, public engagement, or a related field.
Experience facilitating groups, meetings, planning processes, or community engagement.
Experience building relationships and working collaboratively with different stakeholders.
Experience designing, delivering, or supporting educational programs.
Bachelors degree in community development, public administration, nonprofit management, leadership studies, organizational development, or a related field.
Have a valid drivers license and a reliable source of independent transportation for periodic in-state work travel, and/or comply with requirements for UW-Madison vehicle use authorization.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with county government, municipal government, Tribal Nations, or public-sector organizations.
Experience working with nonprofit organizations, coalitions, community-based organizations, or cross-sector collaborations.
Ability to work across organizational boundaries and bring stakeholders together around shared goals.
Master's degree in community development, public administration, nonprofit management, organizational development, leadership studies, or a related field.

Responsibilities

Schedules and secures resources and communicates logistics in support of an outreach program
Delivers outreach program content and materials to community members
May assist with the monitoring of outreach program budget spending
Researches, develops, and facilitates outreach program content and materials
Leads the implementation of programs, policies, and procedures through oversight of day-to-day activities for program staff and student and community volunteers
Develops and evaluates curriculum and programs and provides recommendations for improvement
Identifies, promotes, and maintains external partnerships to support the outreach program