Remote Contract Workforce Development Appraiser

Contract Position

Pay Range: Total development cost for proposals must come in under $80,000 for 6 months.

The Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) is seeking a Workforce Development Needs Assessment for the organic industry within the United States, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The primary objective of this project is to deliver an informative, engaging, optimized report that will serve as a guide for identifying the career journey of inspectors, reviewers, and other organic certification jobs. This will serve as a road map for future workforce development in the area of Organic Inspection and other related professions for the TOPP program and for the National Organic Program more broadly. The findings will be public and will be shared amongst the six TOPP regions and with the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, National Organic Program; the Accredited Certifiers Association, and the International Organic Inspectors Association, among others. Please view our RFP in its entirety here: https://cms.organictransition.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/RFP_Workforce-Development-Needs-Assessment-for-the-Organic-Industry.pdf

Phase One:

• Information gather - study goals, target audience(s), market analysis, engage community, determine scope of work and data collection tools, and establish priorities;
• Survey and outreach plan development - survey tool, pilot testing, survey administration, general scoping exercise of the current organic sector for careers, inspector professionals and their career paths
• Additional data collection - possible focus groups and/or one-on-one interviews, university outreach, consult institutions such as the USDA, universities, IOIA, and the ACA, CBO’s (more as needed).
• Attend monthly meeting with Workforce Development Committee - to discuss progressPosition: Contract

Phase Two:

• Analyze - results, findings, and recommendations. Please provide a description of how you propose to analyze the results and findings as well as provide recommendations.
• Attend monthly meeting with Workforce Development Committee - to discuss progress

Phase Three:

• Report - complete and present findings. Please provide a description of how you
• Attend monthly meeting with Workforce Development Committee - to discuss progress

Minimum Experience:

• 5 years engaged in workforce development, needs assessments, career journeys, or similar topics.

Degree Level:

• College degree, master’s degree preferred for lead applicant.

The Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) is a new program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), overseen by the National Organic Program. To meet the continued and increased consumer demand for organic products in the marketplace, the entire domestic supply chain must expand. A larger and more diverse organic sector workforce is necessary for this growth. The primary objective of this needs assessment, evaluation, and summary report is to isolate measurable gaps in training opportunities for future inspectors and reviewers. This should include university programs, the Organic Integrity Learning Center, International Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA) and offerings by both certification agencies and the Accredited Certifiers Association (ACA) as well as other training opportunities. This will build on the extensive work the ACA, IOIA, and OILC have accomplished including but not limited to the 2022 Inspector Retention Working Group Report and a Job Task Analysis of the organic industry.