Agriculture Water Quality Outreach Specialist

Employer: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Location: Altoona, Wisconsin, United States

Salary: Competitive Salary

Date posted: Sep 5, 2025

Position Type: Faculty Positions, Agriculture & Animal Sciences, Administrative, Academic Affairs, Extension Services, Business & Administrative Affairs, Community Relations & Institutional Outreach

Employment Type: Full Time

Job Duties:

The Agriculture Water Quality Outreach Specialist will work to design, deliver, and evaluate research-based educational programming and services aligned with the position's programmatic focus. Specific roles of the position will include:

• Develop and deliver outreach programming to farmers, crop advisors and conservation professionals based on applied water quality research and modeling
• Assess needs for and support on-farm applied research that documents water quality impacts of management practices and informs subsequent outreach and education
• Collaborate with Extension colleagues, industry, and other stakeholders to identify needs and develop and maintain robust, high-quality outreach education programs that provide solutions to improve the water quality impact of farms and the Wisconsin agricultural industry.
• Develop and maintain expertise related to the relationship between agricultural practices and water quality
• Build trust-based relationships with stakeholders
• Work with the Program Manager to facilitate programmatic efforts, maintain strategic direction, build partnerships, and seek a diverse funding portfolio to support the work

The ideal candidate will have experience with developing and evaluating educational programming and a track record of building positive relationships.

Regional Location:

The primary programming focus is Northwest Wisconsin. The position location is flexible within the region and will be determined based on programmatic needs, successful candidate’s preferences, and availability of suitable space.

Partial Remote:

This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location. Remote work requires an approved remote work agreement (RWA). A RWA requires successful candidates to possess their own high-speed internet and phone to perform the work on a university provided computer. Per University policy, transportation between home and assigned work location is not payable/reimbursable and will be at the expense of the employee.

This position has the possibility of working up to 2 days remote per Extension's Remote Work Policy.

Evening/Weekend Work:

This position may be required to work occasional nights and weekends to meet the program needs and priorities of the communities served.

Travel Expectations:

It is expected that employees will make individual arrangements for transportation adequate to meet position responsibilities and essential job functions. Read more about UW-Madison Driver Authorization.

Applicants are required to: 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.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Communicate plans, activities and achievements to Program manager, partners and relevant stakeholders
• Identifies, promotes, and maintains external partnerships to support the outreach program
• Researches, develops, and facilitates outreach program content and materials
• May assist with the monitoring of outreach program budget spending
• Delivers outreach program content and materials to community members
• Develops and evaluates curriculum and programs and provides recommendations for improvement
• Schedules and secures resources and communicates logistics in support of an outreach program

Department:

Division of Extension, Agriculture Institute, Agriculture Water Quality Program is hiring for a Agriculture Water Quality Outreach Specialist.

About Extension:

UW-Madison’s Division of Extension serves the people and communities of Wisconsin by addressing local, statewide and national issues, improving lives through research-based education, fostering partnerships and action, and facilitating positive impacts.

About the Institute:

The UW-Madison Division of Extension Agriculture Institute addresses emerging issues related to Wisconsin’s agriculture and horticulture systems with research-based outreach to advance economically sustainable, socially responsible, and environmentally sound practices.

About the Program:

The Agriculture Water Quality Program delivers educational content for farmers, crop advisors and conservation professionals on the relationships between ag production practices and water quality outcomes.

Agriculture Water Quality

Compensation:

The minimum annual (12 months) starting salary for the position is $65,000 but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications. Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Benefits information can be found at https://hr.wisc.edu/benefits/.

Required Qualifications:

• Three or more years relevant professional experience
• Demonstrated experience with listed job responsibilities
• Demonstrated skills in interpreting, utilizing and applying evidence-based information and research findings
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively
• Demonstrated ability to effectively work with people from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong interpersonal relationship and problem-solving skills in a team setting
• Demonstrated experience with building diverse, collaborative partnerships
• Experience in group facilitation to support needs identification, decision making and stakeholder engagement with complex issues
• Demonstrated ability to communicate scientific materials in written and verbal forms for a variety of lay and other audiences
• Demonstrated ability to write grants and establish partnerships that pool or leverage public and private funds in support of the Institutional mission

Education:

Required Education: Bachelor's Degree in a field related to this position's focus

Preferred Education: Master's Degree in a field related to this position's focus

How to Apply:

We are eager to learn more about how your experience and passion may align with this position. To begin the application process, click the '' button. You will be prompted to upload the following documents: Resume, Letter of Qualifications (cover letter). Please submit a cover letter referring to your work experience and a resume detailing your educational and professional background as it relates to this position. Your cover letter should communicate your interest in the position and how your skillset aligns with the role. The application reviewers will be relying on written application materials to determine who may advance to preliminary interviews. For additional guidance and resources on how to tailor your application materials to the job posting, please click https://extension.wisc.edu/careers/. Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States on or before the effective date of appointment. The application deadline is 11:59pm on October 6, 2025.

Contact Information:

Amber Radatz, aradatz@wisc.edu, (608)317-0001

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals. The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background. For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.