WA Turf IDO - Position Description & Selection Criteria February 2012 - POSITION DESCRIPTION SUMMARY SELECTION CRITERIA ROLES and ...

WA Turf IDO – Position Description & Selection Criteria
                                       February 2012

      POSITION DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

      ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES

      SELECTION CRITERIA

WESTERN AUSTRALIA TURF INDUSTRY PARTNERS
 TURF GROWERS ASSOCIATION OF WA & TURF GRASS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA (WA)

POSITION:       WA TURF INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
REPORTS TO:      WA PROJECT REFERENCE GROUP (PRG) & HORTICULTURE AUSTRALIA LTD
CONTACTS:           TGAA(WA)     Tony Guy             0417 977 734 (tony.guy@allsaints.wa.edu.au),
                    TGA WA       Adrian Pitsikas      0427 003 540 (adrian@greenacresturffrarm.com.au)
TERMS: (0.8) FTE approx. 3 year contract to 31.07.2014 with 3month probation period.
SALARY: $61K – $65K per annum, with 9% superannuation and 4 weeks annual leave

SUMMARY OF THE BROAD PURPOSE & RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION

        The Western Australian Turf Industry consists of a production sector, represented by the Turf
Producers Association of Western Australia (TGA WA), a sports turf maintenance sector, represented by the
Turf Grass Association of Australia WA (TGAA WA), a golf maintenance sector, represented by the Golf
Course Superintendents of Western Australia (GCSAWA), a lawn bowls maintenance sector, represented by
the WA Bowling Greenkeepers Association (WABGA), a domestic lawn maintenance sector, represented by
the Lawn Mowing Contractors Association of Western Australia (LMCA WA) and various other smaller
groups.

        Of these groups, the TGA WA has the greatest level of interaction with each sector of the industry,
and the closest ties with TGAA(WA). Through its’ association with Turf Producers Australia (TPA), the
National Peak Industry Body, TGA WA has the ability to bring issues of national significance to the WA turf
production industry. Likewise, TGAA(WA), as part of the Sports Turf Association, is able to bring information
from other areas of Australia to their industry sector.

        Both TGA WA and TGAA(WA) are associations run by volunteers, but for some time these two
associations have employed the casual services of an administration and development assistant to aid in
holding meetings, production of newsletters and correspondence and interaction with industry stakeholders.
Over time the responsibilities have grown from a role of administration to one more of advocacy and
development, and although no formal plan has been created for such a role, both associations recognise the
role could provide benefit not only to association members but other industry stakeholders.

         To that end, TGA WA and TGAA(WA) together recognised the need to begin a capacity building
project. Paramount in this process is the employment of an Industry Development Officer (IDO) to increase
awareness of the turf industry from both a production and maintenance perspective, co-ordinate education
experiences for members of this sector, and keep abreast of new developments from eastern states.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

          This person’s role, responsibilities and outcomes are to be directly related to planned
activities/projects and funding sourced directly from industry.

         The project will consist of five activity areas, each related but with separate outputs. The TGA WA
and TGAA (WA) executive committees and members will contribute their expertise as required, and a
Project Reference Group (PRG) consisting of the IDO and the two associations committee chairs will give
direction and set priorities to ensure industry relevance and a commercial focus. However, for this project
the IDO will be undertaking the majority of tasks. The first meeting of the PRG (scheduled for August 2011)
will determine a detailed annual operating plan describing timelines, KPIs, expected outputs schedule etc.

This will be reviewed each six months and revised each year. Towards the end of the project (six months
before completion) there will be an in depth evaluation process to assess the benefit to industry of the
project and consider options for more work in this general area.

1. Seminar and Conference Development:

                The TGAA (WA) holds up to 4 industry seminar days per year and the TGA WA 1 industry
                seminar/forum per year in combination with their AGM. In both cases, these seminars will
                cover industry relevant topics like climate change, business development, pest
                management, new growing techniques, reports on completed projects etc. While these are
                aimed directly at turf maintainers or growers of turf, other sectors of the industry will find the
                information relevant and useful. As such the seminars would be open to all (excluding TGA
                WA AGM component, which is only open to members). Seminar development includes the
                preparation of learning guides.

             In addition, every 2 years the UWA Turf Industries Research Steering Committee presents a
             turf seminar to all industry sectors. The IDO position will be instrumental in organising this
             event.
2. Communication and Administration Management:

                The TGAA (WA) and TGA WA both hold monthly consultation meetings, where the IDO will
                undertake preparation and distribution of correspondence to members and outside
                stakeholders.
                Both associations maintain a website to aid in dissemination of information to members and
                stakeholders. The IDO will be responsible for keeping relevant topics available on the
                websites.
                In addition, TGAA (WA) currently produces a newsletter on a quarterly basis, the preparation
                and distribution of which will be the responsibility of the IDO. This will include time to
                research stories and print the newsletter. It is envisaged that this newsletter will be
                combined with articles from TGA WA to become an across industry newsletter. The two
                associations also produce a yearly industry contacts booklet which is distributed to members
                and industry stakeholders, which will also be the responsibility of the IDO to collate.

3. Researcher Engagement:

                The Turf Industry research community have indicated that they would like to better
                understand the needs and priorities of the growers specifically and the whole of industry
                generally. Working closely with researchers is seen as imperative to cost effectiveness of
                any R&D spending as well as gathering information for grower fact sheets. The IDO will
                maintain a presence within the turf research community as a member of the UWA Turf
                Industries Research Steering Committee.

4. Turf Sector Engagement:

                Turf is a somewhat unique industry with many sectors recognised as being included (by
                Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) such as school grounds, sports fields,
                golf courses, roadside verges, household lawn contractors etc. Previously there has been no
                process in place for input into industry directions from all sectors or to disseminate
                information effectively to all sectors. This activity will commence engagement and over time
                build better relationships and processes.

Part of this process will involve attendance and participation in meetings, forums, workshops
                and steering committees with Government agencies and Industry partners such as;
                1. Water Corporation - Garden Industry Reference Group
                2. UWA Turf Industries Research Steering Committee
                3. Perth Natural Resource Management - Rural Land Use Reference Group
                4. Dept. of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) - Horticultural Industry Biosecurity Committee
                5. DAFWA – Hortguard committee
                6. Primary Industries Training Council
                7. Dept. of Water – Turf & Garden Industry committee
                8. DAFWA Fertiliser Action Plan – Horticulture Working Group
The IDO will be responsible for liaising and building industry relationships with other Industry Development
Officers, Business Development Officers, and Executive Officers from allied industry associations.

5. Education of Industry Stakeholders:
               The IDO will be responsible for preparation and collation of information for submissions to
               Government, UWA and private enterprise. This will involve monitoring State Government
               news and media and policy and action on issues as required, and then disseminating this
               information to industry.
               This may involve public speaking at industry and government seminars and functions, as
               well as trade shows and expos and possibly radio and TV.

Summary.

The TGA WA Turf Industry Development project essentially funds an Industry Development Officer for the
WA Turf Industry. The activities of the IDO will consist of five related but distinct activity areas. To assist in
planning and to align the work program with outcomes as described, the project will include a requirement for
a detailed annual operating plan. This will closely define the task areas and allow the IDO and the members
of TGA WA and TGAA WA (as the two contributing associations and main beneficiaries of the project) to
better understand industry requirements and priorities.

Activities involved in this project include the development of seminars, communications and administration to
members and industry, researcher and turf sector engagement and education of industry and related
stakeholders. Evaluation of the project will be continuous (the PRG meeting twice a year) with an intensive
examination in the six months leading to the project finalisation. This will be useful in determining further
work in capacity building in the WA turf industry.

Adjustments to priorities and specific outputs will take place annually to ensure industry relevance and
commercial reality prevails.

Industry adoption and empowerment process.

Central and pivotal to the project is to have the industry empowered. This will be a multi-pronged approach
with growers and maintenance managers able to access much information from the TGA WA and TGAA
(WA) websites, and by attending seminars, field days and other activities.

Information gathered will in the main reside on the website. By regular updates the content will evolve and
build to become more relevant over time. The overall aim of this project is to have growers able to access
the latest information from a single location at any time. This project concentrates on having the best
information available and also to have processes in place to bring all the industry sectors together. Being
able to access relevant and trustworthy information quickly allows for better decision-making

SELECTION CRITERIA
The successful candidate will have following skills and experience:
    Proven high level of self-motivation and determination.
    Capacity to work autonomously and in a team environment.
    Proven ability to plan and prioritise a high workload and juggle competing demands in a busy and
       sometimes pressurised environment.
    Proven high level written, oral communication, networking, negotiation and presentation skills.
    Demonstrated experience writing articles and production of digital publications for print and email.
    Proven capacity in the successful design and coordination of corporate seminar and conference
       events.
    Understanding of digital and social media.
    Demonstrated report-writing skills within set timeframes.
    Marketing experience preferable.
    Creative and innovative thinker.
    Experience liaising with all levels of industry employment, from farm gate to board room.
    A current drivers license is required

In considering your application we encourage you to focus on the selection criteria to demonstrate
that you have the necessary skills, experience, qualifications (including formal) and capabilities to
be considered. A one page (maximum two pages) expression of interest letter together with a
current resume is required. Examples of demonstrated performance will be highly regarded.
Applications in writing addressing selection criteria are required by the closing deadline of 5pm
Wednesday 29th February 2012.
Address:
WA Turf IDO
PO Box 8492
Perth BC, WA 6849

                    WA Turf IDO – Position Description & Selection Criteria     February 2012