The Project Lead for the Early Warning System of Farm Financial Stress (EWS) coordinates and supports Rural & Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF's ) EWS activities in selected states by facilitating stakeholder engagement, organizing project activities, documenting stakeholder input, and developing consensus reports and stakeholder-facing materials. In collaboration with internal teams and external partners, the position supports planning, policy analysis, communication, and decision-support activities by collecting, interpreting, and communicating information from RaFF-provided analytical outputs through presentations, reports, and other written products for agricultural and rural finance audiences.
The Project Lead is also expected to regularly contribute to RaFF outputs such as state-level Farm Income Outlooks and the Missouri Agricultural Outlook, using data, analysis, and guidance provided by designated RaFF research team members. Designated RaFF research team members will lead the technical research, modeling, and analytical design underlying the EWS and related RaFF outputs. The EWS Project Lead will coordinate the implementation of assigned EWS activities, working within RaFF’s established operational, communication, and reporting processes.
Responsibilities
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Coordinate the implementation of the Early Warning System of Farm Financial Stress (EWS) project in selected states.
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Engage with producers, lenders, extension professionals, researchers, public-sector partners, and other agricultural and rural finance stakeholders to monitor local conditions affecting farm financial stress.
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Collaborate with internal and external partners to plan and coordinate EWS stakeholder meetings, manage project timelines, facilitate discussions, document key findings, and support publication of EWS Consensus Reports.
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Synthesize stakeholder input and RaFF-provided analytical outputs from multiple sources of information into meeting summaries, presentations, reports, recommendations, and other stakeholder-facing materials that support informed decision-making
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Support the development and dissemination of final EWS Consensus Reports in coordination with designated RaFF research team members and external collaborators.
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Regularly contribute to state-level Farm Income Outlooks, the Missouri Agricultural Outlook, presentations, and other RaFF stakeholder-facing outputs using data, analysis, and guidance provided by RaFF.
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Develop presentations for EWS and related RaFF outputs and present them in plain language through synchronous and asynchronous methods.
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Support related RaFF outreach and policy analysis initiatives as needed, without leading the technical research, modeling, or analytical design of those initiatives.
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Coordinate assigned EWS activities with RaFF’s Director and the Director of Program Operations, exercising independent judgment within established guidelines to support timely implementation, effective communication, and achievement of project objectives
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Occasional in-state and out-of-state travel may be required for stakeholder meetings, presentations, and collaborator engagement.
