Food
Processing Specialist
(Extension Dairy and Food Processing
Specialist)
University of Idaho – Moscow, ID
School
of Food Science
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Open for
Recruitment:
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August 17, 2012 - September 16, 2012
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Announcement #:
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15084053143
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Salary Range:
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$44,200.00 + DOE
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Full or Part Time:
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Full Time
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Location:
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Twin Falls
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This position is
contingent upon the continuation of work and/or funding.
Materials Required:
Online
Application (click to apply)
Job References
Resume
Letter of Qualification
MAJOR FUNCTION:
The Extension Dairy and Food Processing Specialist, reporting to the
Tech-Help Executive Director and Director, School of Food Science, will
provide direct technical assistance to dairy and food processors to improve
product quality, productivity and global competitiveness. The Specialist will
be responsible for business development and assistance, achieved by
establishing relationships with dairy and food manufacturers in southern
Idaho, assessing and monitoring business and technical needs, providing
technical assistance and workshops/short courses, and coordinating with
other state, federal, and local service providers. The incumbent will
primarily serve the needs of the dairy processing industry in southern
Idaho. This position will be located in Twin Falls at the UI Extension
Office.
RESPONSIBILITIES: (% of time, Essential/Marginal)
Provide direct technical assistance to the dairy and food manufacturing
industry in Idaho by: (70%E)
- Apply in-depth knowledge of
dairy and food processing technologies, ingredient functionality,
quality issues, and food safety to industry problems, seeking
assistance of experts in the field as needed.
- Business development and
project delivery: regularly travel to dairy processors and related
clients to maintain relationships, assess opportunities, evaluate processes,
provide troubleshooting advice and to deliver
projects.
- Provide technical assistance
for dairy and food processors in areas such as food safety, HACCP,
regulatory compliance, plant operations, productivity, processing
technologies, workforce training quality assurance and product
development.
- Engage with company top
leadership to determine client company needs,
generate options or solutions, develop proposals, determine costs, and
find appropriate resources to work in partnership with the client to
meet proposal goals.
- In conjunction with other
Tech-Help manufacturing specialists, use broad and innovative
manufacturing process knowledge (such as lean manufacturing, theory of
constraints, etc.) to help dairy and food processors improve the
effectiveness of their operations to meet their company goals.
- Solicit industry financial
support and grants to fund and expand program offering.
- Work in conjunction with
Idaho TechHelp, the Food Technology Center
in Caldwell, faculty in the School of Food Science in Moscow/Pullman,
the College of Southern Idaho and third party service providers to
coordinate outreach.
Provide public and on-site training for food processors by: (20%E)
- Regularly providing training
in the form of workshops and short courses at company sites or for
small groups of dairy and food processors on topics such as food
safety, food regulations, whey processing, drying, evaporating,
pasteurization, cleaning and sanitizing, cheese making, yogurt
manufacturing, and other timely topics.
- Educate firms on the
requirements for such training.
- Assess firms (employees)
state of preparation so as to provide the appropriate level of
training.
Measure success of program and report to stakeholders: (10% E)
- Manage the operations and
budget of all programming to ensure TechHelp
revenue generation requirements.
- Perform follow-up evaluations
of projects to determine economic impact, to
seek additional improvement needs, to develop positive customer relationships,
and to collate feedback on services and effectiveness.
- Report on consulting and
marketing projects both in process and those completed using the TechHelp reporting system and by attending regular
team meetings.
- Report on impact and program
revenue to CALS (CALS PLAN) and TechHelp.
- Track financial status of
program.
Serve as industry liaison with the School of Food Science: (5%M)
- Regularly interfacing with
trade associations, commodity groups and companies to communicate SFS
programs.
- Communicate industry research
and education interests to the SFS.
- Actively participate in the
Extension Food Safety Topic Team.
- Assist with the SFS student
internship program.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Education: Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, engineering, or related area
Experience: must have a minimum of 5 years experience
in the food processing industry
Skills: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and
written; computer literate with word processing, database, and spreadsheet
applications
Must have own vehicle and valid driver’s license
ADDITIONAL DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:
Education: Master’s degree in food science, dairy science, food engineering
or related area
Experience: 7 years experience in a technical
capacity in the dairy products/processing industry; project management;
applied R&D or plant operations
Experience: ten years experience in the food
processing industry with an emphasis in dairy processing
Experience: consulting and business development with industrial clients
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