2021 Call for CE Positions
The 2021 CE Position Call was launched in August 2021 to identify UCCE Advisor and UCCE Specialist positions to be released over the next 12 months. The process has concluded.
The 2021-22 Release of UCCE Positions web page will list all the positions that have been released for recruitment as a result of this process. On March 14, 48 CE Advisor positions were released. CE Specialist positions will be announced in April 2022.
Rebuilding the UC Cooperative Extension footprint, to address California's emerging and future needs, is made possible by the historic 2021-22 state budget increase. We are extremely grateful for the support and look forward to working with our partners to leverage these resources.
While this state budget increase will allow UC ANR to hire more people and achieve greater impact, we will continue seeking funding from additional sources to support the appropriate number of people with expertise needed to consistently and significantly improve the lives of all Californians. UC ANR continues to pursue non-traditionally funded positions as a complimentary strategy to grow the programmatic footprint. There are UC ANR resources on: how to develop co-funded positions and shared benefits of funding partnerships.
Process Information
Here is the link to the process flowchart with more details.
As in the past, we talked to our community partners and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing needs to prioritize the next rounds of hiring. We didn’t just refill past positions, instead we identified positions to address California’s emerging and future needs. Submittal groups, listed below, were expected to seek stakeholder input and work collaboratively across UC ANR units to make the best use of submission restrictions.
Review and consideration of UC ANR thematic cluster areas for hires was encouraged (see below) given building capacity in these areas is a priority to UC ANR.
Important Resources
- UC ANR thematic cluster areas for hires: Fire Advisor Network; Food System Resilience Network; Health Resilience Network; Urban Community Development Network; Water Resiliency Network.
- 4-H Youth Development and Youth, Families and Communities Academic Position Guidance
- FAQs
Those that submitted the position proposals:
- County Directors (1 position per county they oversee)
- Research and Extension Center Directors (1 position each Director)
- Statewide Program and Institute Directors (1 position each Director)
- Program Team Leaders (1 position each PT)
- UC Campus Provosts and/or Chancellors (# of positions varies, see link to process flowchart and details above)
For Advisor positions: The first four groups listed above submitted proposals, using the Universal Review System (URS) accessed from the ANR Portal.
For Specialist positions: UC Campus Provosts or Chancellors emailed proposals to Wendy Powers. For any questions, please contact Wendy Powers or Mark Bell. For more information regarding how appointments will be handled between UC ANR and UC campuses other than UCB, UCD, and UCR, there is a Memorandum of Understanding and the APM guidelines. Program Team Leaders will submit their respective group's reviews through the URS.
UCCE Programmatic Footprint Maps
- Link to landing page with some helpful information
- Link to dashboard with maps
- These maps illustrate current positions for UCCE Advisors, UCCE Specialists, other UCCE Academics, and Community Educator Specialists. They also illustrate UCCE Advisor and Specialist positions under-recruitment.
- This information can illuminate gaps and needs to inform UCCE position proposal development and future hiring.
- Google sheet for user questions & comments
For overall process questions, contact Katherine Webb-Martinez at katherine.webb-martinez@ucop.edu or (510) 987-0029.
For questions about using the Universal Review System (URS), contact Chris Hanson at christopher.hanson@ucop.edu.
Call For Positions
Position Details
29 Food Safety and Organic Production Area Advisor Imperial Riverside
The position focuses on improving food safety management in crop production (pre- and post-harvest) with particular emphasis on organic food production in the CA low desert region. Advisor will identify necessary actions that create an equitable playing field for underrepresented groups and strive to include and advocate for diverse communities. This position will be housed at UCCE Imperial County and provide multi-county programmatic coverage for Imperial and Riverside counties with direct impacts across Arizona and Mexico’s Sonora desert region. The educational and professional requirements are a PhD in horticulture, agronomy, soil science, soil-water-plant interactions, plant pathology, food science, microbiology or closely related discipline. Experience in vegetable production, irrigated agriculture, organic agriculture, microbial safety, food safety regulations, methods of statistical analysis, and experience participating in interdisciplinary research is highly desirable.
Proposed Headquarters
CE Imperial County
Proposed Area of Coverage
Imperial and Riverside Counties
Contacts
- Jairo Diaz (REC Director) - Main Contact
Associated Documents
- Area CE Advisor in Food Safety and Organic Production (pdf), uploaded 12/08/2021 by Christopher Hanson
Recent developments accentuate the value of building the UC ANR team to include a food safety and organic production area advisor for the Imperial Valley growing area. In 2020, an outbreak of Salmonella Newport was associated with California-grown. FDA conducted a follow-up sampling and found widespread presence of pathogenic serovars of Salmonella in Imperial Irrigation District canals that are used for irrigation of produce, including. In December 2021, FDA also published proposed language for a revised set of agricultural water requirements associated with the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule.
In summary, produce growers in the Imperial Valley and other users of the water face Salmonella (a known hazard) that is likely to be present in the primary irrigation water source. Produce operations currently follow FD&C general requirements for produce that is human food and many of those operations also take part in third-party food safety audits. The revised language of the Produce Safety Rule, if finalized, will substantially shift the focus of risk reduction related to agricultural water from microbiological sampling and metrics to a systems type approach described by FDA in the revised language.
Produce growers across California require the type of science-based, data-driven support provide by UC ANR in order to achieve food safety and environmental co-management goals. Imperial Valley produce growers face increased the need for education and outreach on produce safety. This need is partially addressed at this time through efforts of UC ANR personnel across California, particularly in Davis, however a local resource would be a benefit to Imperial Valley growers.
Thank you for considering this statement of support for the proposed UC ANR position.