Agricultural Lead - Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Description

West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design (WVU DCANRD) is seeking applications for an Agricultural Lead.

About the Opportunity

This position will provide oversight of labor and knowledge to ensure the highest quality of operation of the Davis College Research, Education, and Outreach Centers (REOC's). This position will also contribute to the integrity of research, demonstration, and teaching activities conducted by faculty of the Davis College on the WVU Experiment Station Center. The incumbent will assist management in the planning and oversight of the day to day operations of the REOC's, including the oversight of student workers and leading staff activities. This position requires the incumbent be willing to work holidays, weekends, and after core business hours.

We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:

• 37.5-hour work week
• 13 paid holidays (staff holiday calendar)
• 15 annual leave (vacation) days per year or more based on years of service (employee leave)
• 18 sick days per year (for when you're ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family's, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)
• WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits
• 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for more retirement benefits information? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ's.
• Wellness programs

Pay Grade: 14

Work Hours: 7 am-3:30 pm

What you'll do:

Research and Education

• Assists Principal Investigator's (PI) and/or management in the oversight of research activities to include production, maintenance, collection, and collating of resources. Assists in statistical analyses and interpretation.
• Observes and records appropriate data and checks for completeness and accuracy in support of research projects. Prepares data for input in computer and assists in the processing of information generated from analyses.
• Maintains all required records, reports, statistics, etc. as mandated by Federal or State Laws and/or institutional policies and procedures. Maintains established departmental policies, procedures, objectives, and quality assurance, safety, and environmental controls.
• Assists PI's in the development and evaluation of new analytical procedures and techniques
• Performs data collection in field research plots to include measuring, harvesting, weighing, and preparing for storage of plant materials. Assists researchers in laying out replicated plots or replicated animal treatment groups. Requires an understanding of the research process and attention to detail.
• Coordinates pest scouting in research plots and indoor growing facilities at the REOC's.
• Assists REOC management and/or PI with the management of animals in research trials including feeding, moving, handling, weighing, and the collection of samples
• Assists faculty members who are conducting classes and demonstrations at the REOC's in seedbed preparation, plot layout, planting, cultivation, management and plot harvesting. Demonstrates techniques for students such as shearing, feeding, mixing feed, animal handling, vaccination techniques, egg grading, etc.
• Demonstrate techniques for sample collection from animals and provide training and monitoring of students in the program for analyzing feeds, mixing feed rations, etc.
• Assists faculty and PI with laboratory experiments in Davis College programs. Instructs student workers in laboratories on the operation of lab equipment.
• Maintains an inventory of all supplies and restocks and expands, as needed.

Animal Care and Husbandry

• Feeds food stuffs and commercial feed types to specific animals such as sheep, goats, beef cattle, llamas, and chickens daily and as needed.
• Follows protocols, policies, Standard Operating Procedures, and requirements as directed, under light supervision.
• Receives newly arrived animals and provides clean animal housing, handling facilities, food, and water.
• Handles, restrains, and identifies specific animals as required and assists in treatment under supervision or independently as directed from veterinarian staff or researchers (i.e. Soundness exam, weighing, cleaning housing facilities, relocating pastures, etc.).
• Tags, numbers, or otherwise marks animals for identification.
• Transfers animals to clean housing.
• Observes any irregularities in animal groups such as abnormal food and water consumption, deaths, abnormal stool, unusual behavior, injury, or distress and reports irregularities to supervisor, veterinarian, and/or Research PI.
• Performs other technical duties as required for animal care and husbandry to meet and exceed Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Expectations and Guidelines.
• Cleans, sweeps, scrubs, and sanitizes animal housing and working facilities. Provides clean bedding, fresh food and fresh water daily or as needed to ensure proper animal care and compliance with Standard Operating Procedures.
• Following standardized procedures, disposes of animal carcasses and other waste.
• Operates standard transmission and automatic University trucks, tractors, and equipment needed to complete tasks.
• Plants and harvests products for animal consumption to meet optimal growth and capacity.
• Restocks supplies and maintains all animal inventories. Unloads, stores feed/bedding upon delivery or transfer. Maintains accurate records, reports, and statistics.
• Reviews and updates Standard Operating Procedures in their area, as required.
• Maintains established department policies, procedures, objectives, quality assurance. Attends required meetings, seminars and classes.
• Other relevant duties necessary to fulfill the mission of the REOC's.

Administrative Responsibilitie

• Functions as a lead worker in meeting the operational needs of the REOC's. Assists management in overseeing, guiding, and assisting REOC staff, student workers and interns, in completing their operational assignments.
• Follows procedures and makes work assignments to ensure work is completed in a timely fashion ensuring proper quality and quantity. Inspects completed work assignments of staff to ensure quality control. Ensures that proper safety procedures are used while performing job duties.
• Assists in the training and development of staff. Trains employees on proper techniques and operation of equipment. Adjusts daily task assignments to meet changes in needs and priorities and informs management of problem areas.
• Provides daily reports on progress to management. Assists in managing employee performance by providing feedback to management and the Talent & Culture Human Resources Partner. May assist management in completing performance evaluations for staff.
• Assists in filling the duties of management in their absence. May approve employee timecards, leave, and work schedule.
• Provides knowledge and expert guidance in research, animal care and husbandry, agronomic, and horticultural responsibilities.
• Coordinates work assignments with other management to ensure work assignments are covered equitably between shift workers, completing tasks efficiently and to expectations.
• Oversee the collection of data by Graduate, Undergraduate students, and REOC staff.
• May attend meetings on behalf of management and interact with vendors.

Facilities/Grounds Maintenance

• Performs a variety of labor activities involved in REOC maintenance such as mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, shoveling snow, painting, lawn mowing, weed trimming and thawing frozen water lines.
• Assists management in performing general maintenance work. May be requested to work with or under the supervision of the maintenance crew leader in the following areas: plumbing, carpentry, cement work and/or construction of facilities. Maintenance activities may include repairing faucets, running lines, replacing toilet and bathroom fixtures, freeing clogged drains, replacing tile, replacing windows, building forms, replacing siding on barns or houses, building pens, mixing cement, repairing cement steps, and laying block, brick and stone. May be required to operate equipment associated with plumbing (water heaters, pumps, drain snakes). Maintain fences and gates and lanes to ensure integrity of the plot areas and the REOC's in general.

Agronomic/Horticultural Dutie

• Provides daily management and care for production and maintenance of food and fiber and horticultural crops for support of educational and research initiatives of the programs of Davis College. Activities to be performed include:
• Soil preparation
• Application of fertilizers and lime.
• Seeding.
• Transplanting.
• Cultivation.
• Application of pesticides.
• Pruning.
• Harvesting and storage of crops.
• Clipping.

Heavy Equipment Operation

• Conducts visual inspection of all equipment to insure safe and efficient operation.
• Assists management and/or trade specialists in performing routine equipment maintenance such as oil, filter and fuel filter changes, monitoring and maintaining fluid levels, and lubricating tractors and other REOC equipment.
• Operates a wide range of large agricultural and construction equipment such as tractors, sprayers, front loaders, scrapers, silo fillers, balers, haybines, combines, brush cutters, etc. to complete varied tasks associated with the maintenance and operation of the REOC's.
• Operates a truck weighing 26,000 lbs. GVW or less to haul logs, posts, fertilizer, lime, produce, livestock, equipment, hay and other products and supplies.

Qualifications

• Associates degree in an agricultural related field with 1-year relevant work experience in the required fields or a high school diploma/GED with at least 3 years of relevant work experience in the required fields (animal or plant research facility including working with layout). Bachelor's degree preferred.
• A minimum of one (1) year experience involving:
  • Experience on an animal or plant research facility.
  • Data collection and management.
  • Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint).
  • Experience in managing/leading personnel preferred.
  • Experience in instructing/educating students preferred.
• Ability to complete research tasks without direct supervision and produce quality results in a timely manner.
• Knowledge of research processes and the care necessary to generate quality research results.
• Ability to oversee staff and student workers in the day to day tasks associated with the operation of the REOC's.
• Ability to understand and carry out Organic Pasture Management and Forage Production Practices.
• Ability to learn, understand and follow WVU, Davis College and Division lab policies and procedures.
• Ability to utilize Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) to maintain data for research, samples, safety, etc.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to interact with students, faculty, and the general public.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, write coherently and concisely, and use appropriate grammar and spelling.
• Understanding of production practices of livestock and plants.
• Effective organizational, task management, and computational skills.
• Ability to understand simple to complex instructions, both written and oral.
• Demonstrated ability to walk/run in rough field conditions and terrain when herding animals.
• Demonstrated ability to physically restrain and handle animals and provide hands-on treatment of livestock.
• Proven ability to administer medications and vaccinations to animals.
• Ability to apply pesticides - will require obtaining license and wearing protective clothing and apparatus.
• Ability to lift, bend, stoop, walk, reach, sit and stand for extended periods of time.
• Ability to perform basic mathematical calculations.
• Ability to lift, carry, load and unload supplies and materials.
• Demonstrated ability to operate normal REOC equipment such as tractors, posthole diggers, spray equipment, balers, mixers, shearing equipment, brooder stoves, heaters, milking machines, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to work in barns spreading hay, shoveling manure, feeding animals and providing daily care.
• Ability to follow safety precautions and guidelines (e.g. wearing required clothing, masks, equipment, etc.).
• Ability to learn and understand the IACUC protocols and Standard Operating Procedures for animal care, health, and comfort.
• Ability to travel, with occasional overnight stays.
• Ability to obtain State P-Card.
• Ability to work on holidays, weekends, and after core business hours. Willingness to work on a rotating schedule.
• Any equivalent combination of related education and/or experience will be considered.
• All qualifications must be met by the time of employment.

• Valid Driver's license required.
• Completion of CiTi animal handler training required (Animal Care and Use Committee Requirement).
• Enrollment in WVU Occupational Health's Animal Handling Monitoring required.
• If applying pesticides, a pesticide applicators license is required (may obtain this licensure post hire).
• Relevant Environmental Health and Safety requirements and training.
• Expected to become familiar with Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocol and standard operating procedures for animal care, health, and comfort.