Postdoc Aso

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is committed to creating an environment of inclusive excellence that affirms diversity across a variety of dimensions, including ability, class, ethnicity/race, gender identity and expression. Inclusive excellence is the active process of including and respecting everyone as we strive for excellence and equitable outcomes in all we do at the University of Florida. We particularly welcome applicants who can contribute to such an environment through their scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and professional service. We strongly encourage historically underrepresented groups to apply.

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The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is seeking a full-time Extension Postdoctoral Associate who will be responsible for coordinating, conducting, and documenting activities related to the Huanglongbing (HLB) Coordination Network ECDRE project, which will develop a network to bring together research outcomes on HLB to support grower management decisions.  This includes reviewing relevant articles and issues related to HLB management, identifying needed grower support tools, and creating and implementing them.  Additionally, procedures and policies for project management will need to be developed across the 4 partner universities and one federal institution.  The position will also be responsible for supporting the design, development and implementation of training and education programs related to this project, coordinating and supporting the advisory committee, attending meetings with project members, fostering relationships with stakeholders, and identifying opportunities for collaboration.  The position is expected to implement evaluation of the program, compile data, and write reports. The candidate will work closely with Citrus Extension colleagues from partner institutions across the US, the US State Department of Agriculture, growers, harvesters, packers, and other stakeholders to advance HLB management. 

• Coordinate, develop, conduct, and document activities associated with the HLB Coordination Network (40%), including maintaining appropriate records, websites, MS TEAMS, and social media interactions, staying up to date with the research and stakeholder outreach
• Coordination, conduct and participate in the advisory committee meetings associated with the HLB Coordination Network in conjunction with the PD, PIs, and Co-PIs (30%)
• Support development, conduct, and document extension activities associated with the HLB Coordination Network (20%), maintaining appropriate records, websites, social media efforts, reports, evaluations, and staying up to date with the associated project activities
• Assist with other HLB extension programs as needed (10%)

So, what does this mean?

We recently received a multi-million-dollar, multi-year USDA, ECDRE Grant we’re calling the HLB Coordination Network.  There are three Universities on this project including in addition to UF:  Purdue University, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and University of California, Davis.  This position is to help coordinate the project across all PIs at all institutions and NIFA-ECDRE and is housed in Lake Alfred.

This position will support the organization and coordination of the HLB Coordination Network, including the objectives of the project that include:

• Develop database for stakeholders to access critical information about research findings on HLB
• Develop high quality extension products from existing and future knowledge needs, assessing extension effectiveness and research and continued extension gap monitoring

Immediate activities include coordinating and supporting the Global Citrus Stakeholder Advisory Panel and subcommittees, organization of MS Teams website, and working on initial stakeholder surveys. Other activities include, fostering relationships with stakeholders, website design, attending meetings with project members, and establishing workflow for extension communications. The position is expected to implement evaluation of the program, compile data, establish social media presence, and write reports.

This position will also attend and participate in other extension activities, as necessary.  The position will also involve being an outward face of the UF IFAS citrus extension team through presentations to industry at various events, participation on panels and other meeting development, and presence at various trade shows.  An interest in writing abstracts and presenting the HLB Coordination Network activities at local, state, regional, and national scientific meetings is encouraged.

Travel for this position will be throughout the citrus growing regions of the US as needed.  The position includes a UF P-card that can be used for travel expenses including hotels, airfare, registrations, and gas when traveling in a UF vehicle.  Food cannot be purchased with the P-card for individual use.  A waver will be applied for such that the P-card can be used to cover costs of snacks and lunches at workshops.

63,000

A doctorate (foreign equivalent acceptable) in Plant Pathology, Microbiology, Horticulture, Entomology, Agronomy, or a closely related discipline is required.  Candidates should have demonstrated skills in verbal and written communication, and interpersonal relationships.  Candidates must be supportive of the mission of the Land-Grant system.  Candidates must also have a commitment to IFAS core values of excellence, diversity, global involvement, and accountability.

Application must be submitted by 11:55 p.m. (ET) of the posting end date.

Individuals wishing to apply should go online to Careers at UF and submit:

• Cover letter that states applicant’s interest in the position and qualifications relative to the credentials listed above
• Curriculum vitae
• Contact information (including email addresses) for 3 individuals willing to write letters of recommendation
• Unofficial transcripts

Selected candidate will be required to provide an official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible.  Degrees earned from an education institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) .

Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the US. The University of Florida is a public institution and subject to all requirements under Florida Sunshine and Public Record laws.

The University of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Institution dedicated to building a broadly diverse and inclusive faculty and staff. The University and greater Gainesville community enjoy a diversity of cultural events, restaurants, year-round outdoor recreational activities, and social opportunities.