Community Development Specialist

Company: Government jobs
Location: Somerton
Posted on: January 15, 2023

Job Description:

Summary

Under the general supervision and direction of the Tribal Administration. The Community Development Specialist assist rural community leaders and members to access federal programs and funding. Expand rural prosperity through targeted staffing, tools, and resources and leverage federal and non-federal financial and technical resources to grow local community economic development.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Serves as the Cocopah Tribe's primary contact with the National Office on RD's CED efforts and issues.

Develops strategic partnerships and relationships with organizations whose resources can support the community's priority projects.

Works closely with Planning department, Council and Administration to develop a community-based strategic vision and plan.

Supports the development of peer-to-peer community networking for that can facilitate learning, empowerment, and equitable collaborations.

Identifies, analyzes data and make recommendations of procedural nature regarding rural community economic development issues in the Cocopah Tribe.

Encourages and participates in CED planning with other Tribal communities, municipalities and regions.

Trains staff and partners on CED principles and practices.

Promotes innovative and collaborative strategies for delivering RD's technical and financial assistance programs.

Identifying opportunities to leverage USDA funding. The Community Development Specialist is expected to coordinate his/her efforts with the Cocopah Tribe and National RD staff to develop strategic partnerships with other state agencies and organizations, local communities.

Develops and implements tools for identifying policy issues; gathering and analyzing data; evaluating possible impacts; and, prioritizing issues, program policies, and legislative opportunities.

Reviews Cocopah Tribe efforts to assess effectiveness in overall management and achieving outcomes; summarizes findings and offers suggestions for improvements based upon findings; and presents recommendations to agency leaders and staff.

Develops budget projections to obtain necessary funding to support CED efforts, in collaboration with the state's RD staff.

Monitors Cocopah Tribe's program allocations and recommends funding priorities.

Works closely with Administration and Finance department to prioritize funding requests and obtains additional resources, as necessary.

Works with various sources of alternative or supplemental funding, such as federal resources

Promotes the use of CED practices for rural communities and rural economic diversification through written and oral presentations. Meets with various councils, authorities, boards, etc.

Considers socioeconomic and cultural diversification factors within the Tribe in order to target education, technical assistance, and financial programs to underserved rural areas, and promote flexible solutions using new approaches.

Participates in planning, developing, implementing, and delivering training and outreach to various interests' groups, such as tribal and community or economic development planners, and tribal employees.

USDA and RD regulations, policies and guidance on rural development, RD goals and objectives, as well as laws and regulations of the Tribe, local ordinances, socioeconomic factors, etc

Helps Cocopah staff to search, apply and write grants.

Tracks outreach activities, civil rights data, and other information, as assigned, to document program delivery successes.

Tracks and reports data elements associated with the services provided so that the data can be entered into appropriate databases to track accomplishments.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Knowledge of rural development programs, public policy issues, and procedures sufficient to

serve as a technical representative for rural development coordination and implementation efforts within the assigned state.

Knowledge of community economic development and strategic planning concepts, principles,

and techniques in order to coordinate collaborative efforts.

Knowledge of CED principles, strategies, and, practices, to provide technical assistance to rural

communities and regions.

Knowledge of relevant local industries and concepts of business development in order to assist

rural areas with attracting and growing business entities.

Knowledge of RD loan and grant programs and ability to combine multiple forms of financing

from a variety of public and private entities in order to best meet the needs of a particular area.

Knowledge of other USDA programs and partner organizations in order to maximize the

success of rural CED efforts.

Knowledge of socioeconomic and cultural diversification factors within the assigned state to

target rural development efforts.

Ability to prepare, apply and evaluate grants/agreements/contracts with local, state and federal agencies.

Ability to analyze and synthesize data from various sources in order to develop creative

information resources and approaches to rural development concerns for use by RD and

partner organizations.

Ability to provide technical advice, assist with project planning, and problem solving with

representatives of other agencies, state and local officials or with colleagues in other RD offices.

Work requires a high degree of analytical and interpersonal skills to identify problems,

determine cause and effect relationships, draw conclusions, and recommend solutions.

Qualifications

Must have reliable transportation and be able to travel for training and business-related purposes.

Must possess a current valid Arizona Driver's License.

Must be able to pass DPS/FBI fingerprint background investigation.

Education and/or Experience

Bachelor's degree in Community & Economic Development or related field, Master's degree in Community Development is preferred.

2-year specialized work experience, 4- years in related field, management or director position

NATIVE AMERICAN AND CURRENT EMPLOYEE EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCES POLICIES ARE APPLICABLE TO ALL POSITIONS MUST BE ABLE TO PASS PRE-EMPLOYMENT AND ON-GOING RANDOM DRUG /ALCOHOL TESTS

Great Fringe Benefits !!

(Full-time Positions)

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life/AD&D Insurance, Employee Assistance Program,

401K Plan with Employer Match, Ancillary Benefits (AFLAC, VTL)

Keywords: Government jobs, Yuma , Community Development Specialist, Other , Somerton, Arizona