Community Outreach Specialist I – Gardens and Horticulture Program Assistant

Start Here. Grow Here. Stay Here. Showcase your love for community partnerships, educating civic and community organizations, businesses and advisory groups, and planning, organizing, coordinating, and facilitating projects and events in this great role with UF/IFAS Extension and Sustainability! Administrative Support: Provide direct administrative support to the Community and School Gardens, Residential Horticulture, Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM, and Chemicals in the Environment programs. Schedule meetings, classes, and site visits, reserve conference rooms, enter classes into event management software, support staff in email and eNewsletter communications, assist in travel coordination, data entry, general office functions. Customer service support in-person, on the phone, and over email. Assist and coordinate purchases for the programs, maintain purchasing records, following procurement procedures. Program and Reporting Assistance: Assist with managing community garden membership and annual garden membership renewals. Support for school garden program in maintaining garden contacts and email lists, coordinating with staff on annual schedule for planting support, trainings, and communications, and needed purchases. Assist with project and event coordination of the annual Master Gardener Plant Sale and Ed Fest. Assist in scheduling, communications, and customer service related to pesticide and other licensing exams and maintenance of records for Continuing Education Units for professional credentials. Tracking and data management responsibilities. Assist with the required reporting for UF and Sarasota County: quarterly contact reporting, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, Report of Accomplishments, civil rights, and record retention processes. Support volunteer facilitation and data management. Occasional outdoor work supporting gardens through workdays, repairs and needs assessments and events. Subject to Passing Substance Screening: This position is subject to passing a pre-employment substance screening. An applicant who fails to pass a required drug screening test shall be disqualified from employment in any class for a period of five (5) years. Work Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. * Hours may vary; weekends and evenings are occasionally required. About You Minimum Qualifications: High school diploma or equivalent Three (3) years of applicable experience One year of college may substitute for one of year experience Valid Florida driver’s license Preferred Qualifications: Interest in native flora and fauna, particularly Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ and edible landscaping principles Experience in volunteer coordination or management Ability to collect and report various data Ability to speak and write fluently in Spanish Knowledge of garden maintenance and repair needs Physical Demands: Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. About Everything Else Start Pay Rate: $23.33/hour Benefits: Enjoy great benefits including Health, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability, Flexible Spending Accounts, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Florida Retirement System (FRS) and many, many more! Starting January 2024, choose one of three great medical plans, including one with a $0 premium option, with completed preventative visits! For more information about employee benefits, please click this link or visit SCGov.net for additional information. Utilize our award-winning wellness program including free gyms and classes at multiple Sarasota County Government locations. Enjoy 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days and 16 paid vacation days in the first year of full-time employment with increasing accrual rates with years of service. (That adds up to a possible 30 days off in your 1st year!)​​ A different blend of voices prompt better conversations, choices and results for everyone. Sarasota County – Many Voices, One Team. We celebrate and value the experiences, backgrounds, perspectives, talents and strengths that make us different. Our vision is to attract, develop, retain and engage a talented workforce broadly representative of the citizens and communities we serve. To further value creativity, innovation, collaboration and great customer service – internally and externally. A job applicant with a disability who requires reasonable accommodation to participate in the application/selection process is requested to make known the need for an accommodation to Human Resources or appropriate county staff members. For assistance with the application, please call 941-861-5353. Sarasota County prohibits discrimination in all services, programs or activities. View the complete policy at scgov.net (keywords: ADA Compliance). Sarasota County Government is a Tobacco-Free/Drug-Free Workplace.