Associate Director, Institute

Texas A&M AgriLife is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive agriculture program, bringing together a college and four state agencies focused on agriculture and life sciences within The Texas A&M University System. With over 5,000 employees and a presence in every Texas county, Texas A&M AgriLife improves lives, environments, and the Texas economy through education, research, extension, and service.

About the role

The Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) is searching for an Associate Director to provide senior-level operational leadership focused on translating institutional strategy into effective execution across all programs and initiatives. This position advances TWRI’s mission by operationalizing leadership priorities, strengthening coordination systems, driving organizational efficiency, and ensuring consistent progress toward Institute goals. The Associate Director serves as a central point of TWRI operations, maintaining execution integrity across programs, thematic labs, partnerships, and internal processes.

Responsibilities

• Drive Institute-wide strategy into coordinated implementation plans across programs and initiatives.
• Translate strategic priorities into structured workflows, timelines, roles, and deliverables to ensure consistent execution across the Institute.
• Develop and maintain Institute-level systems that ensure follow-through on priorities, alignment across programs, and clear reporting of outcomes and impact.
• Oversee Institute-wide project management systems to ensure initiatives are properly coordinated, on schedule, and effectively integrated across units.
• Identify operational inefficiencies, gaps, and opportunities to improve coordination, execution effectiveness, and overall institutional performance.
• Develop standardized reporting and performance tracking frameworks to support leadership decision-making and external accountability.
• Monitor and support the performance of programs in achieving research outcomes, engagement goals, and external funding growth.
• Support TWRI leadership in the development, coordination, and dissemination of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) aligned with Institute priorities.
• Ensure funding processes are effectively managed from proposal development through selection, implementation, and reporting.
• Track program-level outcomes related to research productivity, funding performance, and strategic impact.
• Sustain relationships with key stakeholders, including state, federal, academic, industry, and community partners.
• Maintain coordination with the Texas A&M Foundation and other external funding and development partners.
• Support continuity and consistency in stakeholder engagement across programs and leadership priorities.
• Assist in the coordination of international partnerships and global engagement activities aligned with Institute's strategy.
• Oversee internal operational infrastructure such as TWRI’s website, communication teams, and workflow tools.
• Improve internal processes to enhance efficiency, transparency, and coordination across teams.
• Support implementation of standardized systems for documentation, communication, and information flow.
• Support the TWRI leadership in leading institute-wide reporting including internal leadership updates, external stakeholder reports, and program performance summaries.
• Develop systems to track key outputs, outcomes, and performance metrics across Institute activities.
• Ensure reporting is consistent, timely, and aligned with funding and institutional requirements.
• Translate program activity into clear evidence of institutional impact and performance.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Eight years of related experience in management.
• Work beyond normal office hours and/or on weekends.
• Travel required.

Skills

• Knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications.
• Knowledge of management development programs and implementation, and strategic planning.
• Ability to multitask and work cooperatively with others.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Effective analytical, interpersonal, and organizational skills.

Benefits

• Health, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums.
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays.
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month.
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife.

Reporting directly to the TWRI Director, the Associate Director is a member of the Institute's leadership team and is responsible for advancing the Institute's strategic priorities through effective operational management.