General Manager / Chief Executive Officer

Trinity River Authority of Texas•Arlington, TX

5h•Onsite

About The Position

The Trinity River Authority of Texas (TRA) is seeking a General Manager / Chief Executive Officer to provide overall leadership, strategic direction, administration, financial stewardship, and operational performance of the organization. The TRA is the largest river authority in Texas and a major provider of wastewater treatment services, managing water resources, operating facilities, and serving numerous wholesale customers across a large basin. This self-supporting agency operates with a significant annual budget and substantial assets, overseen by a 25-member Board of Directors. The General Manager is responsible for implementing Board policies, providing information to the Board, and ensuring the Authority's statutory mission is carried out.

Requirements

Ten (10) or more years of progressive leadership in water resources, drinking-water or wastewater utility management, a river authority or comparable special-purpose district, or a public infrastructure enterprise of similar technical and regulatory complexity.
At least seven (7) years as a chief executive, general manager, executive director, deputy or assistant general manager, or as the senior manager of a large operating division.
Demonstrated executive responsibility for an organization comparable in scale to TRA: a multi-facility utility or authority, an annual budget in the hundreds of millions of dollars, a workforce of several hundred, and a multi-jurisdictional customer or member base.
Working knowledge of regulatory compliance in drinking water, wastewater, water rights, or dam and reservoir operations, including permit compliance, enforcement response, and interaction with state or federal regulators.
Executive responsibility for public-sector financial stewardship: enterprise or proprietary fund accounting, annual budget adoption, debt management, reserves, and audited financial reporting.
Hands-on executive leadership of a multi-year capital improvement program in the hundreds of millions of dollars, including board-approved construction budgets, revenue-bond or comparable financing, engineering and construction procurement, and contract oversight through completion.
A record of working effectively with an appointed or elected governing body: preparing policy recommendations, respecting the board–executive boundary, managing recusals and conflicts, and communicating bad news early.
Working knowledge of crisis leadership — flood, drought, treatment failure, dam or reservoir incident, security event, or comparable public-health or environmental emergency — with after-action accountability to a board.
Demonstrated ability of effectively communicating with federal, state and local officials and their staff, with track record of success in accomplishing organizational objectives.
Working knowledge of the Texas legislative process and of TCEQ, the Texas Water Development Board, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sponsorship or contracting.
A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in civil or environmental engineering, public administration, business administration, environmental science, finance, or a closely related discipline.
Working knowledge of water resources, environmental management, and drinking-water and wastewater utility operations, including treatment, collection and distribution, residuals, and reuse.
Federal and Texas environmental and water regulatory frameworks, and the practical difference between compliance, enforcement, and legislative change.
Working knowledge of the Texas Open Meetings Act and of the General Manager’s role in supporting the Board’s compliance, including notice, agendas, quorums, executive session, and the record of Board actions required.
Strategic planning tied to measurable operating, financial, and capital outcomes, not a planning document that sits on a shelf.
Financial management at enterprise scale, including the ability to explain rate and debt choices to a board and to wholesale customers.
Regulatory judgment: knowing when to settle, when to contest, and when to brief the Board before a position is taken.
Stakeholder engagement across customers, member counties, legislators, and regulators, with a single consistent account of the Authority’s position.
Crisis management and calm public communication under pressure.
Contract and capital-program discipline. The Board should expect the General Manager to own oversight, not merely to receive contractor reports.
Talent judgment: hiring, evaluating, and if necessary, replacing members of the executive team, and building internal successors.
Written and oral communication suitable for Board books, legislative testimony, customer briefings, and public explanation of technical decisions.
On-site executive role. Residence in the Trinity River basin or one of its defined counties, or relocation within a period set by the Board, is required.
Frequent travel within the basin, regular evening Board and customer meetings, and availability for dam, flood, treatment, and security incidents outside business hours.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States and able to pass a background check appropriate to a chief executive with fiduciary and critical-infrastructure responsibility.

Nice To Haves

Executive experience inside a Texas river authority, municipal utility district, regional water or wastewater provider, or state water agency.
A documented record of wholesale or regional utility leadership, including customer contracts, cost-of-service or rate recommendations, and service-level accountability to cities, districts, or member agencies.
Experience in a self-supporting agency that does not levy a tax is strongly preferred.
Experience with nutrient limits, water reuse, emerging contaminants (including PFAS treatment strategy), biosolids, or dam-safety programs.
Experience leading an organization through a Sunset review, comparable legislative oversight, or a major bond-financed expansion.
Experience operating both a metroplex-scale system and a more rural or reservoir-based system, or an equivalent north–south regional span.
Professional licensure is preferred, not required, and does not replace the experience requirements.
Public finance for a self-supporting enterprise: revenue bonds, rate covenants, reserves, wholesale cost recovery, and project-level accounting.
Dam and reservoir operations, flood and drought management, and the Authority’s role as local sponsor of federal projects.
A master’s degree in a relevant field, or a professional certification used in executive practice (PE, CPA, or an equivalent credential).

Responsibilities

Direct all operations, programs, services, and resources of the Authority, including water treatment, wastewater treatment and reclamation, reservoir and dam operations, water sales, recreation, basin planning, and the general office.
Lead development and execution of the Authority’s strategic plan, and report progress against Board-adopted goals, including support for basin communities, future water supply and reclamation, flood-risk reduction, and workforce continuity.
Prepare and recommend the annual operating budget and multi-year capital improvement program; manage enterprise-fund finances, debt service, reserves, and rate recommendations to wholesale customers; and maintain the independent financial integrity of each operating project.
Oversee a large, bond-financed capital program driven by population growth, aging infrastructure, capacity thresholds, nutrient and emerging-contaminant requirements, and resiliency. Ensure planning begins before plants reach capacity limits, and that design, procurement, construction, and commissioning stay on scope, schedule, and budget.
Establish and enforce contracting, procurement, and contract-monitoring controls appropriate to high-dollar critical infrastructure, including consultant and construction oversight, change-order discipline, and documented enforcement of contract terms.
Ensure compliance with federal and state environmental, drinking-water, dam-safety, and financial requirements, including TCEQ permits and the Authority’s role with the Texas Water Development Board, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other agencies.
Serve as the Authority’s chief representative before the Legislature, state and federal agencies, elected officials, industry organizations, and intergovernmental bodies. Protect the Authority’s statutory role and long-term interests without committing the Board.
Maintain effective relationships with more than 50 wholesale customers.
Lead the Executive Management Team. Set expectations for coordination between the Northern Region (Arlington) and Southern Region (Huntsville) offices and territories, and across finance, engineering, operations, legal, human resources, information technology, and external affairs.
Build and sustain an organizational culture consistent with Integrity, Accountability, and Service. Plan for succession as long-tenured employees retire, and compete for licensed operators, engineers, and technical staff in a tight labor market.
Direct emergency preparedness and incident command for flood, drought, dam and reservoir events, treatment upsets, security incidents, and other crises affecting public health, the river, or wholesale service.
Recommend Board action on special studies, contracts, rates, capital projects, policies, and litigation posture. Attend Board and committee meetings, and ensure members receive materials in time to exercise oversight.
Provide strategic direction of the Authority’s security governance requirements for the management of cybersecurity, technology and physical program.
Lead public communications, media relations and community outreach.