Director of Extension Operations & Department Head of Extension Evaluation & Staff Development: UTIA
About The Position
Reporting to the Extension Dean, the Director of Extension Operations serves as the strategic leader guiding statewide operational excellence and alignment with UT Extension’s long-term vision. This position provides decisive leadership and direction for Extension operations across 95 counties, three 4-H Youth Development Centers, Lone Oaks Farm, and three regions, ensuring cohesive execution of strategic priorities. The Director shapes and drives operational strategies, fosters organizational effectiveness, and advances workforce and program development to strengthen statewide impact. In collaboration with centralized university functions (e.g., HR, ITS, Facilities, Communications, Finance), this role establishes unified systems, policies, and decision frameworks that translate strategic vision into measurable results and sustained institutional success. Direct reports include 10 EESD staff members and 3 Regional Directors. Screening of applicants’ credentials will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has shaped leaders, changemakers, and innovative thinkers since its founding in 1794. The university is home to more than 38,000 students and 10,000 statewide employees—the Volunteers—who uphold the university’s tradition of lighting the way for others through leadership and service. UT Knoxville offers over 900 programs of study across 14 degree-granting colleges and schools. As Tennessee’s flagship land-grant university, its footprint spans the entire state. The university holds the highest Carnegie classification for research activity and has deep partnerships with industry leaders and the US Department of Energy’s largest multidisciplinary laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The Knoxville campus serves and recruits for UT Knoxville, including the Institute of Agriculture and the Space Institute, as well as the UT Institute of Public Service. UT Knoxville considers its employees its number one asset. With values that focus on work-life balance, compensation, and innovation leadership, all Vols are supported to advance professionally. Employees have access to career development and coaching, continued education, and an extensive list of development and training possibilities. The Volunteer employee experience implements structures and practices to attract and retain top-tier talent, fostering a strong staff community and supporting a culture of involvement and engagement for everyone. The university holds a strong commitment to its land-grant mission of learning and engagement, with a tradition of service and leadership that carries that Volunteer spirit throughout the state and around the world. It has been ranked nationally as “Best Employer for New Graduates,” “One of America’s Best Large Employers,” and “Best Workplace for Women,” and has been designated as “Best Place for Working Parents” by Forbes Magazine.
Responsibilities
- strategic leader guiding statewide operational excellence and alignment with UT Extension’s long-term vision
- provides decisive leadership and direction for Extension operations across 95 counties, three 4-H Youth Development Centers, Lone Oaks Farm, and three regions, ensuring cohesive execution of strategic priorities
- shapes and drives operational strategies
- fosters organizational effectiveness
- advances workforce and program development to strengthen statewide impact
- establishes unified systems, policies, and decision frameworks that translate strategic vision into measurable results and sustained institutional success
Benefits
- Employees have access to career development and coaching
- continued education
- an extensive list of development and training possibilities
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Education Level
No Education Listed
