Senior Director, Regional Disaster Programs

American Red Cross • Austin, TX

8d • $125,760 - $138,300 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Regional Disaster Officer (RDO) is a member of the Regional Leadership Team and serves as the senior disaster services executive for the Central & South Texas Region. This role is responsible for the strategic leadership, operational readiness, and effective delivery of disaster services across the region. The RDO works in close partnership with the Regional Chief Executive Officer and Regional Leadership Team, acting as a strategic thought partner to assess regional risks, establish priorities, develop strategies, and execute plans that strengthen disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and community resilience. The RDO oversees the implementation of disaster services through a team of directors, employees, and volunteers, ensuring regional programs are executed consistently, efficiently, and in alignment with organizational standards, performance metrics, and community needs. This includes developing and maintaining an effective account management approach to external partnerships with key emergency management officials, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, community partners, and corporations. During disasters, the RDO serves in a senior operational leadership role for events of any scale and may participate in or lead larger operations at the regional, divisional, or national level. The position is responsible for government partnerships, program management, measurement and evaluation, operational readiness, information management, preparedness, response management, and continuous improvement. The scope and complexity are influenced by factors such as the number of municipalities served, regional geography, population, disaster risk, frequency and scale of events, program activity, regional structure, and grant funding. The RDO provides leadership, guidance, development, and support to employees and volunteers, focusing on building leadership capacity, elevating team performance, empowering decision-making, and strengthening the volunteer workforce. All duties must be performed in compliance with American Red Cross standard operating procedures and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• A combination of education and relevant professional experience may satisfy the education and general experience requirements, provided that the combined years meet the minimum requirements for the position. Required management experience may not be substituted.
• Minimum of 10 years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Experience should include progressively responsible leadership in areas such as: Disaster services or emergency management, Complex program or portfolio management, Strategy development and implementation, Operational leadership, Government or community partnerships, Volunteer workforce leadership, Organizational change or performance improvement.
• Minimum of seven years of management experience.
• Experience leading through other leaders, including directors or senior managers, is strongly preferred.
• Strategic Thought Leadership: Ability to serve as a trusted, credible, and forward-looking thought partner to the Regional CEO and senior leadership. Ability to anticipate challenges, evaluate risks, identify opportunities, and develop informed recommendations.
• Strategic Mindset: Ability to see beyond immediate operational demands and connect daily work to long-term organizational objectives, community needs, and mission impact.
• Strategy Development and Execution: Demonstrated ability to create practical strategies and convert those strategies into measurable goals, coordinated work plans, clear accountability, and sustained results.
• Program Management: Proven experience managing complex programs, multiple workstreams, competing priorities, budgets, timelines, risks, stakeholders, and performance measures.
• People Leadership and Talent Development: Demonstrated ability to build strong teams, develop leaders, coach performance, create accountability, delegate effectively, and empower employees to make sound decisions.
• Volunteer Management: Demonstrated experience leading, developing, engaging, or supporting a substantial volunteer workforce. Ability to build an organizational culture that values volunteers as essential mission partners and leaders.
• Collaboration and Relationship Management: Proven ability to establish trust, facilitate collaboration, navigate differing viewpoints, and build productive relationships across functions, organizational levels, and external stakeholder groups.
• Executive Communication: Exceptional written, verbal, presentation, facilitation, and public speaking skills. Ability to communicate with clarity, confidence, diplomacy, transparency, and executive presence, particularly during complex or high-pressure situations.
• Operational Leadership: Ability to remain composed, decisive, adaptable, and solutions-oriented during emergencies, rapidly changing conditions, and periods of significant organizational demand.
• Accountability and Results Orientation: Demonstrated ability to set clear expectations, monitor performance, address gaps, make timely decisions, and achieve measurable results.
• Proven record of leadership, collaboration, facilitation, problem-solving, and partnership management
• Strong strategic planning and execution capabilities
• Advanced program and project management skills
• Ability to lead through subordinate directors and influence without direct authority
• Ability to develop, empower, and hold employees and volunteers accountable
• Strong analytical skills and demonstrated ability to use data to support decisions
• Experience with measurement, evaluation, reporting, and process improvement
• Strong technical and executive writing capabilities
• Effective public speaking, presentation, and meeting facilitation skills
• Ability to build relationships with senior government, corporate, nonprofit, and community leaders
• Sound judgment and the ability to make timely decisions in complex or ambiguous situations
• Customer- and client-focused orientation
• Ability to remain flexible, organized, responsive, and solutions-oriented
• Strong external focus and team orientation
• Familiarity with applicable disaster program guidance and standards
• Proficiency with standard office technology, including mobile devices, laptops, internet connectivity tools, Project Management Tools such as ASANA, Reporting Tools such as PowerBI, and Microsoft Office applications such as Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Ability to work effectively as a member of an executive leadership team

Nice To Haves

• Experience leading through other leaders, including directors or senior managers, is strongly preferred.
• Highly Desired: Spanish Bilingual

Responsibilities

• Serve as the region’s senior leader and thought leader in emergency services, disaster policy, disaster operations, preparedness, recovery, and community resilience.
• Act as a trusted strategic thought partner to the Regional CEO, providing informed counsel regarding disaster risk, operational readiness, community needs, emerging issues, program performance, and opportunities to strengthen the region’s impact.
• Collaborate with the Regional CEO and Regional Leadership Team to translate organizational priorities into a clear and actionable regional disaster services strategy.
• Bring forward data-driven insights, informed recommendations, constructive challenges, and innovative solutions that strengthen organizational performance and advance the mission.
• Lead the development, communication, and execution of a comprehensive regional disaster services strategy aligned with national, divisional, and regional priorities.
• Translate strategy into measurable goals, implementation plans, accountabilities, timelines, and performance indicators.
• Maintain a strong focus on disciplined execution by regularly evaluating progress, identifying barriers, managing risk, allocating resources, and adjusting plans when necessary.
• Ensure that regional strategies account for community vulnerability, population trends, geographic complexity, disaster risk, operational capacity, volunteer readiness, and the frequency and severity of disaster events.
• Provide executive oversight for the implementation of disaster services programs throughout the region.
• Apply strong program management practices to ensure that initiatives are appropriately scoped, resourced, coordinated, implemented, measured, and continuously improved.
• Establish clear priorities, project plans, milestones, ownership, and accountability across the disaster services portfolio.
• Ensure that regional disaster programs are delivered consistently and in alignment with organizational guidance, standards, policies, and established performance metrics.
• Use data, program evaluations, operational reviews, and stakeholder feedback to assess outcomes, identify trends, address performance gaps, and improve service delivery.
• Ensure that the region is prepared to execute a comprehensive and coordinated disaster response whenever required.
• Serve as the senior operational leader for the region during disasters of any scale, providing clear direction, sound judgment, timely decision-making, and effective coordination across functions and jurisdictions.
• Participate in leadership roles on larger disaster operations at the regional, divisional, or national level.
• Ensure that disaster services are delivered rapidly, equitably, consistently, and accessibly to meet the urgent and evolving needs of clients and impacted communities.
• Promote a culture of preparedness, readiness, accountability, learning, and continuous operational improvement.
• Lead a high-performing regional disaster services team through subordinate directors and other staff.
• Responsibilities may include hiring, assigning work, establishing priorities, coordinating activities, training, coaching, developing talent, evaluating performance, and addressing performance concerns.
• Set clear expectations and create an environment in which employees are trusted, empowered, supported, and held accountable for delivering results.
• Develop the strategic, operational, and leadership capabilities of direct reports and emerging leaders.
• Build appropriate bench strength and succession plans to ensure continuity of leadership and operational readiness.
• Encourage candid dialogue, cross-functional problem-solving, innovation, and thoughtful decision-making at the appropriate organizational level.
• Oversight may include Service to the Armed Forces and International Services programs, depending on the structure of the region.
• Develop, engage, and support disaster volunteers, who represent the primary workforce for disaster service delivery.
• Provide strategic leadership for volunteer recruitment, onboarding, training, engagement, development, deployment, recognition, retention, and succession planning.
• Ensure that employees create a positive and inclusive volunteer experience characterized by meaningful work, clear expectations, appropriate support, and opportunities for leadership.
• Drive the development of Disaster Leadership Volunteers capable of meeting the current and future needs of the region, state, division, and national organization.
• Ensure volunteers are appropriately trained, equipped, empowered, and integrated into operational planning and decision-making.
• Mobilize communities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies while meeting the needs and expectations of clients, volunteers, donors, partners, and other stakeholders.
• Build and sustain effective relationships with emergency management officials, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations, corporations, funders, and other organizations supporting disaster services.
• Ensure that employees and volunteers have clearly defined relationship management and account management responsibilities for key external partners.
• Represent the American Red Cross with credibility, professionalism, and executive presence in meetings, public forums, emergency management settings, and community engagements.
• Ensure strong coordination and communication with municipal, county, state, and federal government partners.
• Provide leadership for government partnerships, community preparedness, resilience initiatives, response planning, information sharing, and disaster recovery coordination.
• Serve as a trusted and credible representative of the American Red Cross with external leaders in emergency management, public safety, disaster policy, and community resilience.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen regional partnerships, close preparedness gaps, and build community capacity before disasters occur.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships across the Regional Leadership Team and with chapter, divisional, and national partners.
• Work across organizational functions to align disaster services with fundraising, communications, volunteer services, community engagement, finance, human resources, Service to the Armed Forces, International Services, and other mission areas.
• Demonstrate an enterprise mindset by balancing regional priorities with broader organizational needs and contributing to initiatives beyond the immediate scope of the region.
• Address competing priorities and organizational challenges with maturity, transparency, sound judgment, and a solutions-oriented approach.
• Communicate complex operational, strategic, and program information clearly and effectively to a wide range of audiences, including the Regional CEO, board members, employees, volunteers, government officials, community partners, donors, and national leadership.
• Provide timely, concise, and decision-oriented updates regarding disaster operations, program performance, risks, resource needs, emerging issues, and recommended actions.
• Demonstrate strong written communication, public speaking, facilitation, presentation, and executive briefing skills.
• Adapt communication style appropriately for operational, community, government, executive, and governance audiences.
• Oversee implementation of disaster services in alignment with established organizational metrics and performance expectations.
• Establish effective systems for program measurement, evaluation, reporting, information management, and accountability.
• Monitor operational and program performance, identify trends and gaps, and implement corrective or improvement plans when necessary.
• Use qualitative and quantitative data to inform strategy, improve decision-making, strengthen preparedness, and demonstrate regional impact.
• Promote learning from disaster operations, preparedness activities, exercises, stakeholder feedback, and after-action reviews.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental Vision plans
• Health Spending Accounts & Flexible Spending Accounts
• PTO: Starting at 19 days a year; based on FLSA status and tenure
• Holidays: 11 paid holidays comprised of six core holidays and five floating holidays
• 401K with 6% match
• Paid Family Leave
• Employee Assistance
• Disability and Insurance: Short + Long Term
• Service Awards and recognition

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive