Job Description

Campus/College Information:
Founded in 1856, University of Maryland, College Park is the state’s flagship institution. Our 1,250-acre College Park campus is just minutes away from Washington, D.C., and the nexus of the nation’s legislative, executive, and judicial centers of power. This unique proximity to business and technology leaders, federal departments and agencies, and a myriad of research entities, embassies, think tanks, cultural centers, and non-profit organizations is simply unparalleled. Synergistic opportunities for our faculty and students abound and are virtually limitless in the nation’s capital and surrounding areas. The University is committed to attracting and retaining outstanding and diverse faculty and staff that will enhance our stature of preeminence in our three missions of teaching, scholarship, and full engagement in our community, the state of Maryland, and in the world.
Background Checks
Offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check. Information reported by the background check will not automatically disqualify you from employment.

Position Summary/Purpose of Position:
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) invites applications for this 12-month, renewable, Web Services Developer, to work in the SARE National Reporting, Coordinating and Communications Office (NRCCO) located in College Park, Md. SARE is a program of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and operates under a cooperative agreement with the University of Maryland (UMD) in its College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The NRCCO is SARE’s main outlet for providing support to national sustainable agriculture grant and outreach programs. SARE’s main Information Technology (IT) platforms include the Grant Management System [(GMS) (projects.sare.org)] and the SARE Websites (sare.org). The SARE Websites are built on Wordpress using custom plugins and themes. The NRCCO maintains approximately 30 separate annual SARE grant programs across four national regions on the GMS, which supports project application processes, grant review scoring platforms, and grant reporting while providing project data metrics. Additionally, the NRCCO maintains web communications, print/broadcast media programs, contact platforms and other online resources in partnership with all of SARE’s national partners, including addressing IT system security and accessibility requirements.

Through the activities described below, the Web Services Developer will help develop, manage and maintain the IT systems for national SARE programs.

The Web Services Developer will assist the national SARE program to maintain web-based IT systems that support online content management and the creation of modern educational resources for SARE grantees, grant managers, communication specialists and outside stakeholders by enhancing the functionality and usability of online content and maintaining system security. The position will be employed through UMD’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, at College Park, Md. They will report to the SARE Associate Director and work under the guidance of SARE’s IT Director to collaboratively support all NRCCO colleagues and SARE’s national partners. The Web Services Developer will also be responsible for providing IT support to SARE’s Food Loss and Waste National Grant and Training and Technical Assistance (FLW) program. This is a new, temporary program that requires similar IT support and focus to all SARE grant and outreach programs, but with specific needs required by the USDA NIFA to uphold its FLW program priorities.

Overall, the Web Services Developer will improve SARE’s ability to advance our digital outreach capacity, efficiency and effectiveness to SARE regional partners, national stakeholders and the public.
Benefits Summary Top Benefits and Perks:
Contingent II Benefits Summary

Minimum Qualifications:
Education:
A Bachelor’s degree.

Experience:
5-7 years experience.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Experience developing complex WordPress plugins, themes and blocks.
Advanced programming knowledge of OOP PHP8+, JavaScript, React, SCSS, CSS.
Experience managing and restoring MySQL /MariaDB databases and file storage systems.
Firm understanding of WordPress REST API.
Comfortable using NPM to install, configure and upgrade dependencies used in the development and deployment process.
Experience using and maintaining GIT code version control repositories.
Excellent understanding of security.
Ability to work in a remote, collaborative, team-based environment.
Strong desire to learn new skills.
Preferences:
Preferences:
Linux Systems Administration experience.
Docker/Container management experience.
Basic knowledge of configuring a NGINX web server.
Working with WordPress multisite environments.
Additional Certifications:
none required
Additional Information:
Job Risks Not Applicable to This Position
Physical Demands
Sedentary work. Repetitive motion. Substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform activities such as preparing and analyzing data and figures, viewing a computer terminal and extensive reading.