Assistant Project Manager

Job Description

This employee will work closely with Dr. Jane Ann Boles, meat scientist, to maintain the meat laboratory and collaborate in the development of training materials for small regional processors. The employee will interact with meat processors, faculty, and NSARE personnel.

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Participate in day-to-day meat lab activities including but not limited to the cutting of Institutional Meat Purchasing Specification cuts, retail cuts and manufacture of further processed meat products from beef, pork, and lamb. Cleaning and maintenance of the meat lab is also an important duty of the successful candidate.
• Participate in and develop new training information for small meat processors this could include video training, targeted short courses or development of YouTube videos of simple everyday tasks that may be needed for retraining of personnel.
• Collaborate in the presentation of HACCP training course and other food safety outreach activities. This would include development of instructional material, presentation of information necessary for processors to be approved for HACCP plan maintenance and development.
• Develop network with meat and poultry processors at other universities in the region. Networking will promote instruction of meat processing short courses needed in Western regions.
• Participate in annual progress reporting to SARE.
• Assist in promoting the Mountain Meat Summit (local/regional meat supply chain conference) in 2024 and another 2025 or 2026 (TBD)

Required Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

• Master’s degree in Meat Science.
• Completed a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points food safety class.
• Demonstrated experience managing meat facilities and running basic meat processing equipment.
• Demonstrated experience with creating retail cuts from beef, pork and lamb carcasses.
• Demonstrated experience with identification of muscles, wholesale and retail cuts of the different livestock species.

Preferred Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

• Experience with advanced and further meat processing equipment including bandsaws, grinders, slicers, mixers and smokehouses
• Previous experience in developing or managing fiscal accounts.
• Experience in collaborating with meat processors.
• Experience and understanding of university purchasing guidelines for awards and grants.

The Successful Candidate Will

• Have outstanding communication skills both written and oral to develop training materials.
• Have excellent record keeping skills and will be detailed oriented; skills required for SARE progress reports
• Be self-directed; and be able to make appropriate decisions in the absence of other leadership.

This position is critical to Montana State Universities role in a National USDA/SARE program for the education of more regional meat processors. The individual hired for this position will have demonstrated the ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with co-workers and the learning public and will have demonstrated the ability to represent MSU in a productive, professional, and courteous manner. This person will have daily contact with regional university faculty and frequent contact with local meat processors. The position requires the successful candidate to keep the meat lab running and teach existing meat classes if the principal investigator needs to be present at a training associated with the grant.

Position Special Requirements/Additional Information

Continued employment is contingent upon funding availability

• This position often requires work in the evenings and/or weekends.
• This job will require some travel in the region.

This job description should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements, but a general description of the job. Nothing contained herein restricts Montana State University’s rights to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Physical Demands

• Move carcasses, carry meat cuts, carry meat totes and enter meat processing facilities.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

This position has supervisory duties?

No

Posting Detail Information

Number of Vacancies

1

Desired Start Date

Upon completion of a successful search

Position End Date (if temporary)

Open Date

Close Date

Applications will be:

Screening of applications will begin on November 20, 2023; however, applications will continue to be accepted until an adequate applicant pool has been established.

Special Instructions

Diversity Statement

Montana State University values diverse perspectives and is committed to continually supporting, promoting and building an inclusive and culturally diverse campus environment. MSU recognizes the importance of work-life integration and strives to be responsive to the needs of dual career couples.

In compliance with the Montana Veteran’s Employment Preference Act, MSU provides preference in employment to veterans, disabled veterans, and certain eligible relatives of veterans. To claim veteran’s preference please complete the veteran’s preference information located in the Demographics section of your profile.

MSU’s Non-Discrimination Policy and Discrimination Grievance Procedures can be located on the MSU Website: https://www.montana.edu/hr/recruitment/dualcareer.html