Introduction
Career progression ensures professional and personal development, ensuring great job satisfaction and productivity. Making the right decision on the appropriate career path requires in-depth research to inform decision based on skills, passion, knowledge and qualifications (Pshembayeva et al., 2022); this paper conducts in-depth research to identify three job descriptions related and relevant to my aspirations of becoming county extension coordinator in Georgia, analyze the descriptions and prepare a brief to help understand the role in regards to the qualifications, the skills needed, specific knowledge and the direction that should be taken to achieve the dream(Pshembayeva et al., 2022).
Job Descriptions
The three job descriptions found include County Coordinator based in Texas and advertised by Texas A&M Agrilife (C:\Users\LocAd\Desktop\CoCoorJobDescription.wpd (agrilife.org), the second job is Assistant Director County Offices advertised by Auburn University (ca37.pdf (auburn.edu), and the last one is County Program Coordinator by Lowa State University(Audubon program_coordinator_jd 2023_0.pdf (iastate.edu)). All three jobs are related to professional progression and would be important in providing appropriate information to inform career progression.
Primary Areas of Responsibilities
While there is a different manner in which each organization has drafted its job description, the thematic areas regarding the responsibilities include management and provision of leadership for the program and employees, liaising with external partners in running affairs of their respective organizations, and managing the extension offices they are responsible for. Further, there is an aspect of education and training, building the capacity of either the employees or the stakeholders. There is also an aspect for planning services to meet the goals, and finally, there is also an aspect of human resource management, either recruitment or management of employee skills. This collection of roles and responsibilities offers guidance on areas I need to enhance my knowledge and skills.
Critical Skills and Capabilities
Skills are essential in performing a job; across the job descriptions, there is a need for the office holder to have practical leadership and management skills. The roles demand the ability to manage teams at some points and offer direction. Partnership skills are also necessary because the positions revolve around identifying stakeholders and establishing a long-lasting relationship necessary to implement the activities of the various organizations. There is also an expected generation of revenue streams to help fund the extension activities. Knowledge of human resource regulations, effective communication skills, computer, planning, and Programme implementation skills, and management of office operations are core skills that one must have. Realizing a career goal involves doing a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats assessment (Kidner, 2022); doing this helps identify the skills and knowledge one has, the gap, and what needs to be done to bridge that gap. Using the skill requirements across the three jobs offers a checklist of the skills needed.
Special Qualifications
A Bachelor’s Degree is accepted in one of the job description by the County State Coordinator at Lowa State University; however, that is subject to experience accumulated over the years. The other two jobs require a master’s Degree in education and relevant fields. There is a need to have prior experience in the area. Also to note is the requirement to offer services full-time. I think I am in the right direction with my master’s Degree; I need to accumulate more skills through volunteer work or another avenue to put me on the right track toward landing my dream job.
The situation of the positions
The positions in the job description are either managerial, where other employees will be required to report to them; this means that one should have excellent management skills and be a leader, as many people operating below the position would look up to the office holder, further one need to be a good planner and ready to set an appropriate strategy to meet the job requirements. There is one position of Assistant Director of County Operations at Auburn that reports to other senior managers.
Opinions about where the roles fit
The roles examined perfectly fit the education profession; all of them are based on the institution of learning and revolve around the programming of educational services. They also relate to other fields like human resource management, where the position is required to manage employees, fundraise and manage contracts, conflict resolution, budgeting, and team building.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the three positions are similar; they share several primary responsibilities, academic requirements, and situations in the organizational chart. Differences are noted in some areas, for example, specific job duties based on organizational needs. With this kind of analysis and information regarding the three positions related to my career dream, it is possible to make an informed decision regarding where I am as a professional, regarding skills, knowledge, and qualifications, and this can be done through self-assessment. Using this brief, it is easier to know the areas I need to improve based on the information collected: the duties and responsibilities, the skills needed, and the qualifications.
References
Kidner, M. (2022). Understanding Self: A Personal Guide for Successful Role Transition. 151–198. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53002-0_6
Pshembayeva, E., Pfeyfer, N., Uaikhanova, M., & Bubenchikova, A. (2022). Career success: Analysis and development of career opportunities in students. Frontiers in Education, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/FEDUC.2022.999541
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