• Gather worldwide market, competitive and customer information.
• Assist in defining targeted customer requirements.
• Conduct detailed competitor evaluations.
• Validate product specifications with customers.
• Assist in determining Pricing and Volume estimates.
• Participate in strategy development.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business/Management, Engineering/Technology, Agricultural Sciences, or Marketing discipline or equivalent experience.
• Masters degree in Business or Agriculture a plus.

Required Skills and Experience

• Knowledge of agricultural industry ; prefer 1+ years experience in an agricultural related field.
• Knowledge of a dealer channel and product support capacity.
• Strong analytical skills.
• 1+ years field sales or product support experience; with customer interaction.
• Knowledge of agronomy and/or ag economics.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Understanding of a product development/product delivery process.
• 1+ years experience in the precision farming industry.

The information contained herein is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and qualifications required of individuals performing the job. The qualifications detailed in this job description are not considered the minimum requirements necessary to perform the job, but rather as guidelines. They may vary from position to position.

The College of Agriculture at the University of Kentucky seeks nominations and applications for the position of the Assistant Dean for Research/Associate Director of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. The Experiment Station serves as the research arm of the College of Agriculture and includes 13 academic departments, Research and Education Centers at Princeton and Robinson Station and an Animal Research Center in Woodford County. The College has a strong partnership with the USDA-ARS Forage-Animal Production Unit (FAPRU).

Responsibilities: The position reports to the Associate Dean for Research/Director of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station and will be responsible for general support of excellence of grazing animal and forage sciences research in the College. The successful candidate will be the primary administrator working with the USDA-ARS FAPRU. The candidate will work in a team environment with the Dean of the College and the Associate Deans for Extension, Academic Programs, and Administration, as well as department chairs and unit leaders. Specific responsibilities include:

1. Coordinating research projects between university and ARS scientists and managing region-wide communications, with special emphasis on stakeholders, about forage animal research, in concert with the Research Leader and Lead Scientists of USDA-ARS FAPRU.

2. Providing support for faculty related to external funding, with particular emphasis on enhancing competitive funding and multidisciplinary team-based research.

3. Enhancing faculty funding from and interaction with USDA CSREES and other federal agencies.

4. Streamlining reporting processes related to research compliance, financial accountability, and research outcomes.

5. Enhancing strategic partnerships with other Colleges, including Medicine, Pharmacy, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Social Work as well as with other universities.

6. Implementing the College Strategic Plan for Research.

7. Seeking opportunities for professional growth, depending on background and experience.

Qualifications: The position is open to candidates with a PhD degree in a discipline related to grazing animal or forage sciences and a distinguished record of research and/or administration of research, who can qualify for tenure in an appropriate academic department. Preference will be given to those with extensive experience and expertise in management and communications related to federally funded research with a demonstrated ability to administer interdisciplinary grants. Additionally, the candidate must have strong communication and public relation skills to communicate effectively within the university environment, with ARS stakeholders and with Kentucky citizens. We seek a diverse pool of candidates, and nominations are encouraged. Review of applications will begin May 1. For additional information, we invite you to visit the website for the University of Kentucky, http://www.uky.edu/the College of Agriculture, http://www.ca.uky.edu/.

Salary and Benefits: Salary is negotiable and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Position Available: June 1, 2008 or until a suitable candidate is found.

Application: Qualified applicants should submit a letter of application (Cover Letter), curriculum vitae including a list of publications (Resume), vision statement for the position (Specific Request 1), college transcripts (Specific Request 2), and the names (with complete contact information) of three to five professional references who have agreed to write a letter of reference (Specific Request 3). Questions about the position should be directed to the Chair of the Search Committee, Dr. Stephen Workman (sworkman@bae.uky.edu), or to Dr. Nancy Cox, Associate Dean for Research (ncox@uky.edu)

To apply for job # SP521549 a UK Academic Profile must be submitted at www.uky.edu/ukjobs. If you have any questions, contact HR/Employment, phone (859) 257-9555 press 2 or email ukjobs@email.uky.edu. Application deadline is May 15, 2008, but may be extended as needed. Upon offer of employment, successful applicants for certain positions must undergo a national background check as required by University of Kentucky Human Resources.

The University of Kentucky is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from minorities and women.

USDA Risk Management Agency - ECONOMIST

The USDA Risk Management Agency, Kansas City, MO, is actively recruiting Economists for positions under the Career Intern Program.

Job Description: Economists are responsible for applied and theoretical research pertaining to crop insurance programs. Economists review, analyze, evaluate and recommend marketing processes for various crops to determine policy changes needed to assure consistency with the basis by which prices and price elections are determined.

Educational Requirements: A Bachelor’s or Graduate Degree with an overall GPA of 3.0 or better with a major field of study in economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting or calculus.

Career Intern Program: The Career Intern Program is a two-year program designed to provide valuable on-the-job experience as well as formal classroom training. After successful completion of the program, employees are eligible for conversion to permanent positions.

Advancement: Employees are provided a meaningful blend of formalized training and on-the-job work assignments to prepare them for advancement. Employees are eligible for promotion to the next higher grade after completing one year of satisfactory work performance.

Employee Benefits:

• 13 days paid vacation each year during the first 3 years
• 20 days paid vacation each year during years 4-15
• 26 days vacation each year after the 15th year
• 13 days of sick leave each year
• 10 paid Federal holidays each year
• Life and health insurance
• Long Term Care insurance
• Flexible Spending Account
• Thrift Savings Plan (401-K Plan)
• Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).

To apply for this position, please email your resume and transcript to Debra.Schmidt@kcc.usda.gov.

USDA Risk Management Agency - STATISTICIAN

The USDA Risk Management Agency, Kansas City, MO, is actively recruiting Statisticians for positions under the Career Intern Program.

Job Description: Statisticians perform professional statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying statistical techniques such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance.

Educational Requirements: Successful completion of a DEGREE: that included 15 semester hours in statistics (or in mathematics and statistics, provided at least 6 semester hours were in statistics), and 9 additional semester hours in one or more of the following: physical or biological sciences, medicine, education, or engineering; or in the social sciences including demography, history, economics, social welfare, geography, international relations, social or cultural anthropology, health sociology, political science, public administration, psychology, etc. Credit is given for meeting statistical course requirements if 50 percent of more of the course content appears to be statistical methods.

Career Intern Program: The Career Intern Program is a two-year program designed to provide valuable on-the-job experience as well as formal classroom training. After successful completion of the program, employees are eligible for conversion to permanent positions.

Advancement: Employees are provided a meaningful blend of formalized training and on-the-job work assignments to prepare them for advancement. Employees are eligible for promotion to the next higher grade after completing one year of satisfactory work performance.

Employee Benefits:

• 13 days paid vacation each year during the first 3 years
• 20 days paid vacation each year during years 4-15
• 26 days vacation each year after the 15th year
• 13 days of sick leave each year
• 10 paid Federal holidays each year
• Life and health insurance
• Long Term Care insurance
• Flexible Spending Account
• Thrift Savings Plan (401-K Plan)
• Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).

To apply for this position, please email your resume and transcript to Debra.Schmidt@kcc.usda.gov.

• Utilize business intelligence tools to identify key drivers of customer repurchase intent and implement solutions to address the drivers through new product development and quality improvement projects.
• Collect feedback on products in market to drive increase customer repurchase rate and product quality.
• Provide technical assistance to John Deere Dealer and customer assistance centers providing diagnostic and troubleshooting support for current products.
• Utilize common Customer Support tools for implementing customer support process throughout the product delivery process.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business/Management or an Engineering / Technology discipline or equivalent work experience.

Required Skills and Experience

• Demonstrated analytical, interpersonal, and problem solving skills.
• 2+ years work experience in a team environment.
• Self motivated, possess initiative to seek out additional responsibility.
• 1 – 3 years demonstrated experience in the ability to gather, interpret and execute customer needs.
• Familiarity with agricultural, consumer or heavy equipment markets.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Prior work experience, including any educational experience in the agricultural, consumer or heavy equipment markets.
• Understanding of new product development processes
• 1 – 3 years experience working with distribution/dealer channels.
• Experience in a technology product user interface research, development, or requirements.

To apply for this position, please visit our website at www.johndeere.jobs and search for Requisition 35399.

 
John Deere - PRODUCT PLANNER

• Manage information required to translate regional market and factory requirements into future products.
• Define projects by incorporating market and industry data; work with Program Management, Marketing, and Customer Support to develop project initiation documents.
• Participate in the development of the product portfolio, and communicate changes and direction.
• Gather, interpret, and integrate data from regional markets for use in future product definition.
• Develop Project Initiation Documents and facilitate the review of each document with sponsors.
• Prioritize and submit recommendations for new projects for review to the Product Line Management Team (PLMT).
• Coordinate meetings to support the development of the division's product portfolio.
• Participate in product/project ranking process with all necessary functional areas.
• Track products/projects to ensure they are meeting schedule requirements, and report back changes.
• Interface with factories, regional sales branches regarding product requirements.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in a Business, Engineering/Technology or Marketing discipline preferred or equivalent experience.

Required Skills and Experience

• Knowledge of dealers/distribution channels.
• Understanding of a Product Delivery process (PDP).
• Strong analytical skills.
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize and adapt to work direction shifts.
• Excellent interpersonal communications, negotiation and problem solving skills.
• Prior project management experience, including any educational experience in leading projects.

Desired Skills and Experience

• 1-3 years marketing experience.
• 1-3 years Customer Support experience; ability to gather, interpret and execute customer needs. .
• Familiarity/knowledge of agricultural, consumer or heavy equipment markets.

The information contained herein is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and qualifications required of individuals performing the job. The qualifications detailed in this job description are not considered the minimum requirements necessary to perform the job, but rather as guidelines. They may vary from position to position.

To apply for this position, please visit our website at www.johndeere.jobs and search for Requisition 38412.