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ADMINISTRATOR III

LEAD MALPF ADMINISTRATOR

Recruitment #22-002588-0088

Introduction


The Maryland Department of Agriculture is a department under Maryland's Executive Branch.  Formed in 1972 by the Maryland General Assembly to address the agriculture needs for the State of Maryland, the Department oversees and serves as a regulatory body for animal health, consumer services to include marketing and lab services, plant and pest management and resource conservation.  As the number one industry in Maryland, the diversity of agriculture programs in the State continue to expand and grow.

 

The Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) was created by the General Assembly in 1977 and operates subject primarily to Maryland Annotated Code 2-501 et al.  As of January 2021, MALPF has acquired approximately 2,500 easements at a cost of approximately $811 million in public funds. The Maryland General Assembly has set a goal to preserve 1,030,000 acres of farmland by 2030, of which MALPF easements will be the largest proportion. 

GRADE

18

LOCATION OF POSITION

50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Main Purpose of Job

This position serves as the lead Administrator, in a team of three Administrators, who plan, administer, implement, analyze, and make recommendations concerning the policies, procedures, and program decisions of the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF), as established by the Maryland General Assembly and the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. This position has responsibility for coordinating the workload for soliciting, acquiring, managing, and monitoring agricultural preservation easements on prime farmland in cooperation with the Foundation’s county partners to meet its statutory objectives:  to preserve the land resource base for Maryland’s agricultural economy, limit sprawl development, and protect agricultural land and woodland as open space.  In addition to providing a leadership role with the other two Administrators, this position will be responsible for administering the Program in 7-8 counties in partnership with county Program Administrators.  This distribution of responsibilities among Administrators is subject to change at the discretion of the Executive Director. 

POSITION DUTIES

Manages the application and acquisition process of new easement applicants, providing oversight and guidance to county Program Administrators, as well as leadership and director to other MALPF administrators, and processes new easement applications.

·       Directs, communicates with, and trains county Program Administrators in the acquisition process and related policies to ensure effective, efficient, and timely processing and settlement.

·       Provides leadership and guidance to the other MALPF Administrators regarding the easement application process to work through issues that arise during a current application cycle.

·       Determines if properties proposed for easement application meet MALPF eligibility requirements.

·       Provides a complete and accurate easement application package, easement application file for Foundation records, and related data creation and entry for the permanent data base.

·       Coordinates the establishment of easement values and ranking of easement applications.

·       Prepares and presents agenda items to obtain approval from the MALPF Board of Trustees of the eligible easement applications, drafting and extending option contracts incorporating all Board conditions into the offer that is extended.

·       Coordinates with the Office of the Attorney General to ensure compliance with legal sufficiency requirements, helping address specific issues or problems that may arise, facilitating where is needed in order for the project to reach settlement.

·       Prepares baseline documentation reports at the end of the easement transaction process, to be incorporated as an exhibit into the deed of easement.

·       Reviews appraisals supplied by the landowner and decides if the appraisals are adequate for the purpose of signing IRS tax form for charitable donations.

Manages and coordinates any existing easement owner’s request to exercise reserved rights, amend easements, or other subsequent requests, as well as coordinating with other MALPF and county staff of possible enforcement actions.  With each new easement acquisition completed, the stewardship responsibilities and workload increase.

·       Initiates and completes easement amendments and other requests (such as overlay easements and permitted usage issues) to present to the MALPF Board of Trustees as an agenda item for review.

·       Follows-up on Board decisions on easement amendments with landowner response letters and, if appropriate, create a legally binding release document or amended easement agreement to be circulated for signatures and recorded among the county land records. 

·       Identify easement violations and work to resolve them in cooperation with the county and the landowners, and, if resolution is not possible, follow-up in cooperation with the Office of the Attorney General.

·       Coordinate with MALPF Monitoring and Enforcement Coordinator, Assistant Attorneys General, MALPF Executive Director, and county administrators when a violation has been confirmed to devise options to bring the easement back into compliance.

·       Provide insight and direction to other MALPF administrators regarding eligibility of landowner requests, structure, and methodology to bring requests to the Board, and help interpret and administer current MALPF rules when presented with potential easement violation situations.

Responsibilities associated with the need for Program policy and process review and analysis to ensure an efficient and effective, forward-looking Program that facilitates strategic thinking, including recommendations of changes for programmatic improvement.

·       Provides expertise and recommendations, conduct analyses and studies, and provides information concerning the Foundation’s program as requested by the Executive Director, the Board if Trustees, the General Assembly, the Department of Agriculture (MDA), the Governor’s Office, communities, and other agencies with an interest in MALPF, and at the initiative of the person occupying this position based on needs or problems that they identify.

·       Independently and at the request of the Executive Director, identifies policy and process issues that create problems or are anticipated to create problems in the future for the Program and brings them to the attention to the Executive Director, with considered recommendations for potential solutions or the process by which solutions could be pursued, including legislative solutions, regulatory solutions, revising existing template forms and applications, etc.

·       At the request of the Board and/or the Executive Director, organizes, facilitates, and provides direction and staffing for policy committees drawing, as appropriate, on members of the Board of Trustees, program administrators, State agency personnel, and interested parties in the private sector, to evaluation, analyze, and develop policy and policy recommendations to the MALPF Board of Trustees, Department of Agriculture, the General Assembly, Task Force (when active), and the Office of the Governor.

·       At the request of the Department of Agriculture, the Executive Director, or others, participates in departmental and interagency committees to represent the Department’s or MALPF’s interest; provide information, expertise, analysis, and recommendations; and act as liaison between the Department or MALPF and others.  This may be done independently or in conjunction with the Executive Director.

Trains new Foundation staff and provides continuous leadership and direction to other MALPF administrators on the interpretation, application, and implementation of statue, regulations, and policies.  On procedures to ensure accurate and correct processing easements and easements amendments.

The lead to plan, prepare, and conduct workshops to train new county program administrators on MALPF policies and procedures and ongoing program administrators on changes in policies and procedures.  Facilitates the orientation of new members of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

Participates in appropriate professional development opportunities, such as conferences and formal training that contribute to work performance and/or keep the employee abreast of new information in the field.

Administers in coordination with the Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) the certification of county agricultural land preservation programs under COMAR Title 34, Subtitle 03, Chapter 03, “Certification of County Agricultural Lan Preservation Programs.”

Tracks and reports on actions taken by county governments that may either interfere with or support and encourage normal agricultural activities on easement and non-easement farming properties and incorporates this information into the certification report and recommendations. 

Reviews and evaluates county certification applications and, with MDP, makes staff recommendations for certification to the Board of Trustees.  

Researches and responds directly to fiscal note requests on behalf of MALPF for the Department of Legislative Services (DLS) and provides information for the use of the Executive Director in responding to fiscal notes requests from DLS.

Prepares and presents written and verbal testimony independently on proposed legislation before the appropriate committees of the General Assembly and provides information for the use of the Executive Director to prepare and present written and verbal testimony on proposed legislation before General Assembly committees.

Represent the Foundation to the public, as well as interagency committees, which can include formal events as well as fielding phone calls, emails, and any other inquiries.  Responds to and assists the Executive Director in preparing responses to requests for State Clearinghouse reviews.  Management of database records and hard files to ensure all relevant information and documentation is properly tracked.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:   Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.  

Experience: Six years of administrative staff or professional work.

Notes:

1. Candidates may substitute 30 college credit hours from an accredited college or university for each year up to four years of the required experience.

2. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and two years of experience in administrative staff or professional work for the required experience. 

3. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Master's degree from an accredited college or university for five years of the required experience.

4. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer involving staff work related to the administration of rules, regulations, policy, procedures and processes, or overseeing or coordinating unit operations or functioning as a staff assistant to a higher ranking commissioned officer on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

DESIRED OR PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience working in the land conservation field, specifically regarding the acquisition and stewardship of conservation easements.

Experience in processing real estate transactions.

LIMITATIONS ON SELECTION

This position is limited to current MDA employees working in the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) only.

LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS

Employees in this classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle. Employees assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator's license valid in the State of Maryland.

SELECTION PROCESS

Applicants who meet the minimum (and selective) qualifications will be included in further evaluation. The evaluation may be a rating of your application based on your education, training, and experience as they relate to the requirements of the position. Therefore, it is essential that you provide complete and accurate information on your application. Please report all related education, experience, dates, and hours of work. Clearly indicate your college degree and major on your application, if applicable. For education obtained outside the U.S., any job offer will be contingent on the candidate providing an evaluation for equivalency by a foreign credential evaluation service prior to starting employment (and may be requested prior to interview). 

Complete applications must be submitted by the closing date. Information submitted after this date will not be added. 

Incorrect application forms will not be accepted. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed application.

The resulting certified eligible list for this recruitment may be used for similar positions in this or other State agencies.

Please make sure that you provide sufficient information on your application to show that you meet the qualifications for this recruitment. All information concerning your qualifications must be submitted by the closing date. We will not consider information submitted after this date. Successful candidates will be ranked as Best Qualified, Better Qualified, or Qualified and placed on the eligible (employment) list for at least one year.

BENEFITS

FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS

The online application process is STRONGLY preferred. If you are unable to apply online, you may mail a paper application to: Maryland Department of Agriculture, Human Resource Office - Room 304, 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Annapolis, MD  21401. All paper applications must be received by 4:30 PM on the closing date, no exceptions. (Postmarks not accepted.) Resumes will NOT be accepted in lieu of completing the online or paper application.

If you are submitting additional information, such as diplomas or transcripts, the preferred method is to upload them online with your application.  If you are unable to upload, you may mail, hand-deliver or fax (HR Fax # 443-602-9831).

For questions concerning this recruitment, please contact: Stacey Summers 410-841-5842 or stacey.summers@maryland.gov.  TTY Users: call via Maryland Relay

As an equal opportunity employer, Maryland is committed to recruiting, retaining, and promoting employees who are reflective of the State’s diversity. People with disabilities and bilingual candidates are encouraged to apply. We thank our Veterans for their service to our country.




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