Chief Program Officer

About the Role

Responsible for leading and integrating the Institute’s programmatic execution across research, ranch operations, producer guidance, and partnerships to ensure the organization’s work functions as a cohesive system that advances the mission. The CPO aligns priorities, resolves tradeoffs, and ensures that programmatic work is focused, coordinated, and sequenced to deliver meaningful outcomes for producers and partners. This role is accountable for how programmatic work is designed, integrated, and executed across the Institute.

Responsibilities

• Leading the organization
  • Serving as a member of the Executive Team, work with fellow members to advance the mission and strategy.
  • Establishing and executing strategy, connecting strategy to results, and fostering collaboration across teams and departments.
  • Define and set short- and long-term goals. Inspire and align teams around shared goals and values.
  • Contribute to policy development, processes, business process mapping, budget cycles, and collaborative negotiation for and allocation of resources.
  • Ensure efficient and effective business operations. Implement systems and processes that support scalability and quality.
  • Drive continuous improvement and innovation.
  • Lead and drive change initiatives effectively by setting clear goals, developing and executing plans, and monitoring progress. Guide teams through communicating the vision and value, addressing concerns, and promoting a culture of agility and resilience.
  • Build strong relationships with key stakeholders. Represent the organization externally. Provide communication to the governing body as requested by the President.
• Leading Others
  • Plan for budgeting and staffing to ensure effective resource management.
  • Model and ensure compliance with organizational policies, procedures, and workplace safety.
  • Guide and support individual and team performance and development. Define clear expectations to support and align individual, team, and organizational goals.
  • Build trust among team members through effective communication and relationships.
  • Cultivate a culture of productivity and efficiency through intentional practices that foster growth, accountability, and execution.
• Serving as corporate officer
  • Advance the Institute’s mission, vision, and values with a comprehensive understanding of programmatic work and outcomes.
  • Support the President and Board by providing clarity on programmatic priorities, progress, and impact.
  • Represent the organization in matters related to research, producer engagement, partnerships, and programmatic work with internal and external stakeholders.
• Leading programmatic execution
  • Provide leadership and oversight for programmatic functions, including research, ranch operations, producer guidance, and partnerships and outreach.
  • Lead the Programmatic Leadership Team to ensure alignment of priorities, coordination of work, and consistent execution across programmatic areas.
  • Ensure that programmatic work operates as an integrated system with shared priorities and coordinated execution.
  • Ensure that programmatic leaders engage with Development and Policy to support funding opportunities, external positioning, and long-term impact.
• Driving programmatic integration and sequencing
  • Integrate research, ranch operations, and producer guidance into a coordinated model that reinforces learning, adoption, and impact.
  • Establish clear programmatic priorities and sequence work so that effort and resources are directed toward the highest-impact activities.
  • Identify and resolve duplication, gaps, or misalignment across programmatic areas.
  • Ensure that partnerships and external relationships align with programmatic priorities and contribute to advancing organizational outcomes.
• Ensuring programmatic quality and impact
  • Maintain standards of scientific integrity, relevance, and credibility across all programmatic work.
  • Ensure that research is connected to practical applications and that outputs are meaningful to producers and partners.
  • Oversee the translation of programmatic work into accessible, actionable outcomes.
  • Strengthen the Institute’s credibility across scientific, producer, and partner communities.
• Managing programmatic priorities and tradeoffs
  • Make clear decisions about programmatic focus, scope, and sequencing.
  • Resolve conflicts across programmatic areas directly, without unnecessary escalation.
  • Balance long-term scientific credibility with near-term relevance and application.
  • Establish expectations for how partnerships are prioritized, developed, and maintained to ensure alignment with programmatic priorities and long-term impact.
• Partnering across the Executive Team
  • Work closely with the Chief Operating Officer to align programmatic needs with enterprise capacity and support.
  • Collaborate with the Chief Financial Officer to ensure programmatic priorities align with financial planning and constraints.
  • Contribute to Executive Team discussions with a focus on programmatic outcomes, tradeoffs, and impact.
  • Ensure that programmatic considerations are clearly represented in enterprise-level decisions.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in agriculture, science, education, or related field required. Doctoral degree or equivalent experience in a relevant discipline preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience across research, program development, or applied agricultural systems, including experience overseeing multiple functional areas.
• Demonstrated experience integrating research, operations, and education into a cohesive programmatic model.
• Experience working with producers, partners, and applied agricultural systems required.
• Experience within a nonprofit, research, or mission-driven organization preferred.

Requirements

• Build a “we-not-me” culture by actively considering the needs, objectives, and impact on others in daily responsibilities and team collaboration. Value collective success, build effective relationships, and show appreciation for the efforts of others.
• Demonstrate the ability to lead and integrate multiple programmatic functions into a cohesive and effective system.
• Be able to make clear, disciplined decisions about priorities, sequencing, and resource allocation.
• Demonstrate sound judgment in balancing scientific rigor with practical application.
• Be able to identify and resolve conflicts across programmatic areas.
• Communicate clearly and directly, ensuring priorities, decisions, and expectations are understood across teams.
• Build credibility with scientific, producer, and partner communities through judgment and consistency.
• Be able to operate effectively in environments where outcomes take time and information may be incomplete.
• Demonstrate strong organizational skills and the ability to manage complexity across multiple program areas.
• Make decisions thoughtfully by defining the issue, gathering information, considering options, and evaluating consequences.
• Build and maintain positive working relationships by communicating consistently, adapting as needed, and establishing rapport to collaborate effectively and achieve shared goals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading or overseeing a research program, agricultural operation, or education-based program at scale.
• Demonstrated ability to translate research into practical, real-world applications.
• Experience working across scientific, producer, and partner communities.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize work and focus resources on the highest-impact opportunities.
• Experience contributing to organizational strategy and enterprise-level decision-making.