Jobs - Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative

Jobs

IFAI’s job board is intended to be a resource for Native Americans and Alaska Natives interested in employment and internship opportunities that focus primarily on Indigenous food and agriculture policy and law. However, the job board is also open to other types of opportunities in the following:

US Federal / State Departments and Agencies
Federally Recognized Tribes and organizations
Educational Institutions

Submit to the job board: please include application submission deadlines

Federal | State | Tribal | Partners | Education | IFAI

State Jobs

Senior Attorney

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Location: Tallahassee, FL

Closing Date: May 5, 2026

Duties Include:

Responsible for all matters about agriculture except as otherwise provided by law.
Renders requested legal advice and counsel to the Commissioner, the Commissioner’s staff, and other employees of the department.
Handles complex cases on all levels of trial and appellate courts in the state and federal system as well as administrative proceedings under the Florida Administrative Procedures Act.

Agriculture Law Enforcement Chief

Arkansas Department of Agriculture

Location: Little Rock, AR

Closing Date: For a hire date of June 2026 or after

Duties Include:

Direct and manage agricultural law enforcement operations across the state. Supervise, train, and evaluate a team of law enforcement officers, investigators, and administrative personnel.
Develop and implement law enforcement policies, procedures, and strategic initiatives to ensure compliance with state law and agricultural rules.
Coordinate with local, state, and federal agencies to support agriculture-related law enforcement efforts.

Agriculture Animal Industry – Meat Inspector 1 or 2

Georgia Department of Agriculture

Location: Macon, GA (Plus 3 other locations)

Closing Date: Open Until Filled

Duties Include:

Under direct supervision, he learns to inspect red meat, products, and meat processing facilities to determine compliance with legal standards.
This includes antemortem and post-mortem inspections.
This position requires access to a personal vehicle or reliable transportation. Incumbents must work in adjoining areas as program requirements dictate, although travel outside of the assigned area is expected to be less than 15% of total travel.

Tribal Jobs

Intern I – WIC Public Health, Summer 2026

Cherokee Nation

Location: Tahlequah, OK

Closing Date: April 15, 2026

Duties Include:

Operate standard office equipment and computer software
Frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
Occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions.

Deputy Director of Natural Resources

Quileute Tribe

Location: LaPush, WA

Closing Date: Open Until Filled

Duties Include:

Assist in the management of personnel and their activities within the program.
Help to ensure that all activities within the program are in accordance with the Quileute Tribal laws, policies and ordinances.
Assists in the implementation and activation of several programs that are to perform as outlined under Article II Section 201 of the Scope of Bureau Programs to be performed under the P.L. 638 contract and codes.

Partners Jobs

Director, U.S. Agriculture

Wallace Center

Location: Remote (Midwest or Delta region preferred)

Closing Date: April 6, 2026

Duties Include:

Provide strategic direction for advancing U.S. agricultural and food systems programming, advancing Wallace Center’s mission to build regenerative, equitable, and resilient food systems.
Oversee financial planning, budgeting, and monitoring to ensure fiscal responsibility and sustainability.
Provide inclusive, inspiring leadership that aligns staff around the Center’s mission and strategic priorities.
Serve as the primary representative of the Wallace Center within Winrock International and across national networks, partnerships, and events.
Lead a robust, diversified fundraising and partnership strategy to sustain and grow U.S. agriculture work.

Communications Officer

Akiptan

Location: Eagle Butte, SD

Closing Date: Open Until Filled

Duties Include:

Provide information and answer questions to potential borrowers and current clients on programs with Akiptan.
Ensures completion and compliance of the content strategy. This includes collecting necessary information, inputting key performance indications, collaborating with departments and ensuring that data entry is complete, etc.
Managing the reporting of key performance indicators from all platforms.

Staff Attorney

Intertribal Agriculture Council

Location: WFH / Remote

Closing Date: Open Until Filled

Duties Include:

Draft, review, negotiate, and interpret contracts, including those related to grants, sponsorships, services, and vendor agreements
Assist in ensuring compliance with nonprofit regulations, including IRS requirements, charitable solicitation laws, and municipal procurement processes
Provide legal counsel on employment/HR matters, including policy development, wage/hour compliance, and benefit plan compliance, in coordination with HR
Provide legal support for fundraising initiatives, including gift agreements and donor restrictions

Principal Legal Counsel and Department Manager

Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC)

Location: Portland, OR

Closing Date: Open Until Filled

Duties Include:

Serve as CRITFC’s principal legal counsel on treaty rights, tribal sovereignty, environmental and natural resource law, and organizational compliance.
Lead a team of attorneys and legal staff, overseeing litigation support, policy development, and intergovernmental negotiations.
Build partnerships with tribal governments, federal and state agencies, and regional stakeholders to advance CRITFC’s mission and protect tribal treaty rights.
Guide CRITFC’s legal and policy strategies while supporting organizational systems, risk management, and compliance efforts.

Education Jobs

Land Grant Program Manager

Navajo Technical University

Location: Crownpoint, NM

Closing Date: Open Until Filled

Duties Include:

Research and review USDA and other federal, state, tribal and local agricultural program grant announcements for funding of land grant programming including community outreach projects, education projects, research projects, and for funding the LGP Manager position and other positions within the NTU Land Grant Department.
Develops new funding or grant streams of revenue.
Develop concepts and write grant proposals for possible funding under identified grant opportunities.

Federal Jobs

Executive Associate For Regulatory Operations

USDA: Food Safety and Inspection Service

Location: Various Locations

Closing Date: April 13, 2026

Duties Include:

Responsible for managing and administering the nation’s meat, poultry and egg products inspection and verification program.
Supervise one or more District Offices.
Provide overall planning, leadership, administration, and evaluation of assigned Districts.
Oversee recall management activities, food emergency incident responses, and outbreak investigations.

Deputy Assistant Administrator

USDA: Food Safety and Inspection Service

Location: Fort Collins, CO and Urvandale, IA

Closing Date: April 13, 2026

Duties Include:

Leads the development of Agency mission, goals, and policies by collecting and analyzing information, including economic data, to inform policy decisions develop regulations and guidance and improve program systems, standards, and methods.
Works with the Office of Public Health Science (OPHS) to ensure that policies, programs, standards, and methods developed have a sound scientific basis.
Works with the Office of Field Operations to develop procedures and methods for inspecting livestock, poultry, and processed meat, poultry, and egg products.

Assistant Administrator

USDA: Food Safety and Inspection Service

Location: Washington, DC

Closing Date: April 13, 2026

Duties Include:

Responsible for directing, reviewing, and evaluating long-range strategic plans, policies and programs; adjusts objective/plans to address anticipated and undefined issues, problems and situations.
Serves as the coordinator of the international activities of the Office of Field Operations (OFO), the Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit (OIEA) and the Office of Policy and Program Development (OPPD).
Works in concert with other USDA and Federal agencies concerning international food safety responsibilities. Ensures international and domestic policy development is coordinated with international trade agreements.

Attorney Advisor (Senior Counsel)

USDA: Office of the General Counsel

Location: Washington, DC

Closing Date: April 13, 2026

Duties Include:

Serves as a senior attorney providing authoritative legal advice, technical legal expertise and litigation support on complex, high-impact matters.
Develops and advises on litigation strategy for complex cases coordinating closely with the Department of Justice.
Advises senior leadership on litigation risk.

Associate General Counsel

USDA: Office of the General Counsel

Location: Washington, DC

Closing Date: April 8, 2026

Duties Include:

Provide comprehensive legal advice and services to high-level USDA officials, on legal problems, procedures, and practices related to policy development, day-to-day operations, and integration with other government programs.
Coordinate and manage litigation and appellate cases involving USDA, including those pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and State appellate courts.
Handle legal issues related to federal statutes and regulations, including the Federal Tort Claims Act, Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, Federal Advisory Committee Act, federal procurement laws, and fiscal laws.

Assistant Deputy Administrator for Field Operations

USDA: Farm Service Agency

Location: Washington, DC

Closing Date: April 8, 2026

Duties Include:

Coordinates the delivery of plans, procedures, and policies necessary for efficient and orderly service of all FSA programs to the field.
Facilitates the efficient and effective delivery of FSA programs and services from the national level to farmers, ranchers and the general public through State and county offices.
Ensures that State and county committees and their employees are trained consistent with established policies and procedures with regard to existing and new programs and administrative functions.

Deputy Chief of Management and Strategy

USDA: Natural Resources Conservation Service

Location: Washington, DC

Closing Date: March 30, 2026

Duties Include:

Coordinates operational and business services for all of NRCS national headquarters.
Oversees the provision of direction, coordination, and leadership for international activities that support the NRCS mission.
Oversees the provision of agency-wide soil, water, and natural resource conservation stewardship, including establishment of national policy, standards, and practices and procedures to manage fiduciary and civil rights requirements

National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) Assistant Manager

USDA: Forest Service

Location: Boise, ID

Closing Date: March 30, 2026

Duties Include:

Analyze fire situations, available resources, and negotiates with various Geographic Areas to establish priorities for nationally shared resources.
Responsible for the development and implementation of the International Mobilization Guide, Military Use Handbook, and Detailers Handbook for the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC).
Monitor fire management activities nationally for compliance with laws, regulations, policies and standards, providing advice to the National Interagency Coordinator Center (NICC) Manager.

IFAI Jobs

IFAI Law and Policy Fellowship

University of Arkansas – IFAI

Location: Fayetteville, AR

Closing Date: Open Until Filled

Overview:

The IFAI Law and Policy Fellowship is a program for a third-year law student or new lawyer interested in gaining practical experience working on a wide array of legal topics across Indian Country agriculture. A highly competitive candidate for this position will have a background or experience in agriculture, natural resources, economics, public policy or governance, and lived or professional experience in Indian Country.