Job Details

Agricultural Environmental Specialist

This position is located within the Office of Soil and Water Conservation. This position may be domiciled in the Shreveport, Columbia, Monroe, or Bossier City LA USDA Service Centers. Ready to make a meaningful impact on Louisiana's workforce? Join the Office of Soil and Water Conservation as an Agricultural Environmental Specialist! Support the office's mission by supporting the conservation of water quality and soil health and stability on croplands, woodlands, grasslands, wetlands, and waterways throughout Louisiana.

Why Join the Office of Soil and Water Conservation?

• Serve a mission-driven organization focused on conserving Louisiana's soil and water resources
• Receive competitive compensation and a comprehensive state benefits package
• Contribute to initiatives that enhance workplace culture and employee experience
• Work as part of a collaborative and supportive team

Selected Core Competencies:

• Communicating Effectively: The ability to relay information correctly and appropriately to connect people and ideas.
• Developing Plans: The ability to prioritize tasks and competing demands to create accurate plans.
• Managing Projects: The ability to initiate, plan, execute, manage, and close out all project goals within the established timeline.

Selected Preferred Competencies:

• Focusing on Customers: The ability to serve the needs of those who support and/or rely on the services provided.
• Learning Actively: The ability to acquire necessary knowledge and skills to improve performance and achieve organizational goals.
• Managing Meetings: The ability to conduct a meeting and manage others to accomplish the results needed in the allotted amount of time.
• Networking: The ability to intentionally develop or maintain relationships with internal partners, external partners, and professional contacts.
• Solving Problems: The ability to discover solutions to problems.
• Thinking Creatively: The ability to generate ideas, manipulate ideas, and make unconventional connections to develop original approaches.
• Training Others: The ability to facilitate the acquisition of work-related knowledge and skills in an effort to improve employee performance.

LDAF cares about the well-being of its employees! We offer a fully employer-funded Employee Assistance Program (EAP), providing valuable support and resources to help you and your household members thrive at work and at home. The EAP is also free for all members of your household.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Three years of experience in agriculture, chemistry, natural resource management, structural pest control, or inspection or enforcement for compliance with agricultural, environmental, or public health laws, rules or regulations; OR
• A bachelor's degree in forestry, an agricultural, biological, chemical, environmental science, or engineering field.

Job Specification:

The official job specifications for this role, as defined by the State Civil Service, can be found here.

Job Duties and Other Information:

Incumbent of this position will provide operational support to the Office of Soil & Water (LDAF-OSWC) within the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry for conservation of water quality, and soil health and stability on croplands, woodlands, grasslands, wetlands and waterways of Louisiana by providing financial assistance, administrative support and centralized coordination to the State's 44 Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCDs) who work with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to provide conservation planning services for landowners and managers. AES III will work more independently than AES I or AES II, and will develop and implement multi-parish and statewide conservation programs and projects.

Functional Requirements:

• Working 60/40 outdoors/indoors
• Moderate light lifting, 30 pounds with occasional lifting of up to 50
• Walking and standing (8 hours) Climbing stairs and occasionally ladders
• Prolonged sifting at work station or in a vehicle for travel
• Occasional bending or kneeling
• Lifting items such as briefcase, computer, scanner, luggage or other items used to travel and perform field work
• Frequent reaching above shoulder height and carrying specialized equipment needed to perform duties
• Occasional walking over irregular ground
• Occasional demands maybe required for strenuous activities over long periods of time
• Drive a vehicle to perform duties
• Safely handle a truck/trailer and safely operate an outboard boat/motor
• High levels of interpersonal cooperation and public speaking

Environmental Factors:

• Working indoors outdoors and in immersed in remote wetlands
• May be required to wear appropriate safety protection
• Slippery and uneven walking surfaces
• Exposed to grain dust, bad odors from farm animals, chemicals, fertilizers and other agricultural materials
• Working in cold temperatures for short periods of time
• Occasionally working around residential and wildland hazards
• Exposed to smoke and dust
• Occasional excessive smoke, heat, humidity, cold, wet, and extreme dry conditions

Position-Specific Details:

• Appointment Type: Full-time, This position may be filled by Job Appointment, temporary appointment that may last up to 4 years.
• Career Progression: This position may be filled as a Agricultural Environmental Specialist 1 or 2.
• Compensation: The salary offered will be determined based on qualifications and experience.

How To Apply:

No Civil Service test score is required in order to be considered for this vacancy. To apply for this vacancy, click on the "Apply" link above and complete an electronic application, which can be used for this vacancy as well as future job opportunities. Applicants are responsible for checking the status of their application to determine where they are in the recruitment process. Further status message information is located under the Information section of the Current Job Opportunities page. *Information to support your eligibility for this job title must be included in the application (i.e., relevant, detailed experience/education). Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of completed education and experience sections on your application. Applications may be rejected if incomplete. For further information about this vacancy, contact:

Kimberly Guy-Buckley HR Supervisor Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry 5825 Florida Blvd., Suite 1001 Baton Rouge, LA 70806 ...@ldaf.state.la.us

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry strictly prohibits workplace harassment and discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, religion, national origin, military service, sickle cell trait, protected genetic information or other non-merit factor. LDAF also strictly prohibits employment decisions based upon or influenced by such factors.

Louisiana State Government represents a wide variety of career options and offers an outstanding opportunity to make a difference through public service. With an array of career opportunities in every major metropolitan center and in many rural areas, state employment provides an outstanding option to begin or continue your career. As a state employee, you will earn competitive pay, choose from a variety of benefits, and have access to a great professional development program:

• Insurance Coverage
• Parental Leave Up to six weeks paid parental leave
• Holidays and Leave State employees receive the following paid holidays each year:
• New Year's Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
• Mardi Gras,
• Good Friday,
• Memorial Day,
• Independence Day,
• Labor Day,
• Veteran's Day,
• Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
• Additional holidays may be proclaimed by the Governor
• State employees earn sick and annual leave which can be accumulated and saved for future use. Your accrual rate increases as your years of service increase.
• Retirement State of Louisiana employees are eligible to participate in various retirement systems (based on the type of appointment and agency for which an employee works). These retirement systems provide retirement allowances and other benefits for state officers and employees and their beneficiaries. State retirement systems may include (but are not limited to):
• Louisiana State Employees Retirement