Salary: $69,756.00 – $93,840.00 Annually
Location: Thurston County – Olympia, WA
Job Type: Full Time – Permanent
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number: 2023-07098
Department: Dept. of Agriculture
Division: Administrative Services
Opening Date: 05/26/2023
Closing Date: Continuous

Administrative Regulations Program is responsible for directing and coordinating the development, delivery, and results of agency-wide administrative functions which include the adjudicative proceedings process, rulemaking, administrative policies, public disclosure and discovery, records management, and form development and management. The program also oversees allocation of funding to the state’s agricultural fairs, complex litigation, data breach response, and bankruptcies; and co-manages limited English proficiency and privacy issues; and overseeing agricultural fairs and the Washington State Fairs Commission.

The Fairs Program Administrator serves as the agency expert on agricultural fairs and administers and provides oversight for the Washington State Agricultural Fairs program. This position acts as chair and administrator for the Washington State Fairs Commission, supervises seven fairs’ commissioners, provides expert advice, consultation, and recommendations regarding complex issues impacting fairs statewide. This position works closely with the state’s 68 agricultural fairs, evaluates fairs, and oversees annual budgets.

Position and Salary Information
WSDA is recruiting for a full-time permanent Fairs Program Administrator position within the Administrative Services Division. This position is approved for a flexible/hybrid schedule and will report to the WSDA regional office located in Olympia, Washington. This is a non-represented position.

The base pay offered will take into account internal equity and may vary depending on the preferred candidate’s job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The typical starting salary range for this position is: $ 69,756.00 – $ 91,524.00 annually. 

In addition to the salary range listed above, general wage increases will be applied for all employees on the following dates:

  • 4% on July 1, 2023
  • 3% on July 1, 2024

In addition to the salary listed above, incumbents assigned to our Seattle office location receive an additional 5% King County Location Pay stipend. If a position is designated as requiring dual language skills, incumbents will also receive a 5% Dual Language Requirement Pay stipend.

Employees who voluntarily provide proof of up-to-date COVID-19 booster vaccination, which must include any recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) at the time proof is provided to the employer, between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, will receive a one-time lump sum payment of $1,000 to be paid no earlier than July 25, 2023.

Duties
Some of what you’ll do, include:

  • Provides expert advice, consultation, and recommendations regarding complex and/or unprecedented issues with significant impact to agricultural fairs statewide. Often, this involves how to implement legislation that impacts all the fairs.
  • Provides expert advice, consultation, and recommendations to the director, agency policy staff, communications staff, associate deputy director, and program manager regarding agricultural fairs, including consultation on the state fair fund.
  • Represents the director as chair of the Fairs Commission. This includes overseeing the operation of the state Fairs Commission, directing funds, providing oversight of the fairs commissioners, and maintaining a positive relationship with agricultural fairs and the Washington State Fairs Association.
  • Oversees the appointment of fairs commissioners. This includes drafting recruitment announcements, conducting interviews, making recommendations to the director for final selection, drafting appointment letters, and conducting new commissioner orientation.
  • Provides training to commissioners on how to conduct evaluations of fairs, how to complete paperwork, including travel vouchers, the process for distributing funds to fairs, Open Public Meetings Act, and records management.
  • Provides oversight to the fairs commissioners including assignment of on-site evaluations of 68 fairs statewide, monitors and approves fairs commissioners travel and expenses, ensures commissioners adhere to defined processes, addresses commissioner misconduct, and conducts commissioner evaluations each year.
  • Develops and prepares commissioner visitation packets in preparation for fair evaluation.
  • Oversees the distribution of two to eight million in capital improvement grants to agricultural fairs each biennium. This includes developing and reviewing the department’s award process, developing scoring criteria, updating forms, communicating with fairs that funds are available, coordinating the application review process, recommending award amounts to the director, drafting contracts, executing contracts, entering contracts into ECMS, communicating with grantees, ensuring grantees follow requirements of the Department of Historic and Archaeological Preservation, ensuring deliverables are met, closing out contracts, and redirecting unspent funds to other fairs.
  • Oversees the distribution of four million in funding from the state fair fund to agricultural fairs each biennium. This includes developing and reviewing the department’s award process, potentially conducting rulemaking to amend the WAC, updating forms, communicating with fairs that funds are available, communicating with fairs regarding insufficient application packets, coordinating the application review process, recommending award amounts to the Fairs Commission and agency director, communicating to fairs the amount of their award, and ensuring our fiscal office processes the payment. Overseeing the budget also includes ensuring the fund is not overspent between awards to fairs and administrative oversight costs. Annually working with Fairs Commission to determine recommended allocation amounts for general funding for the state’s agricultural fairs.
  • Researches, analyzes, and determines eligibility for fair funding under state law in response to requests from new applicants for funding.
  • Monitors the Fairs Program budget to ensure all funds are allocated appropriately and not overspent.
  • Researches additional funding opportunities that fairs may leverage to bring their facilities up to code and establish them as county emergency management and response sites.
  • Conducts at least two Fairs Commission meetings annually to discuss fair evaluation, funding allocations, and capital improvement project funding. This includes organizing each meeting, researching, and selecting relevant agenda topics, and facilitating the actual meetings. Files Fairs Commission meeting schedules with the Office of the Code Reviser to comply with the Open Public Meetings Act.
  • Completes assigned legislative bill analyses and fiscal notes for legislation affecting agricultural fairs to analyze impact.
  • Communicates with fairs by presenting at the yearly Washington State Fairs Association’s Super School and at the annual convention; attends fair board meetings; disseminate animal health requirements for fairs; and provide guidance, training, and other material.
  • Organizes the department’s presence at the Evergreen State Fair, the Washington State Fair, the Central Washington State Fair, and any other fair the department chooses to attend.
  • Develops and implements program strategic and operational plan.
  • Maintains and archives all program records, including historical files for each fair.
  • Oversees/updates the agency’s agricultural fairs website.
  • Maintains program desk manual.

Qualifications
Professionals with:
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in public administration, business administration, communications, writing, English, or related field.  
AND
Five (5) years of professional, supervisory, or consultative experience in community, trade or economic development which must include budget management, contracts management, or program coordination. 

OR
An equivalent combination of education and/or experience.

Preferred/Desired:

  • Excellent writing skills.
  • Experience with the agricultural fairs industry.

How to Apply
You must complete your careers.wa.gov profile and answer the supplemental questions. In addition to completing the online application, and supplemental questions applicants must attach the following documents to their profile to be considered for this position:

· Current resume detailing experience and education

· A cover letter describing how you meet the specific qualifications for this position

· Three professional references 

For more information and to apply: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington/jobs/4059006/fairs-program-administrator

 

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