TDIS Associate Program Director

Texas A&M • Houston, TX

12d

About The Position

The Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas (IDRT) at Texas A&M University is seeking an Associate Program Director to guide the Texas Disaster Information System (TDIS), IDRT’s statewide platform for disaster-related data, analytics, and decision-support tools. TDIS serves state agencies, local governments, and the public, and is transitioning from initial development toward sustained operations, broader adoption, and long-term growth. This is a management and strategic leadership role, rather than a technical or software development position.

Under general direction, the Associate Program Director assists with the overall management, strategic direction, and long-term sustainability of TDIS. The role oversees deliverables and project management across TDIS applications; leads and participates in business development to sustain the program beyond current grant funding; and serves as a primary contact for stakeholder engagement, user feedback, and awareness-building. The position coordinates program staff, application owners, and contracted support, and assists with budget, contract, and grant administration. The role is grant-funded, and future employment may depend on future funding. Travel may be required.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Eight years of related experience, such as program management or project management.
• Demonstrated program and project management skills, including planning, scheduling, and tracking deliverables across concurrent workstreams and contracts.
• Ability to develop and articulate a program sustainability strategy, including pricing or licensing approaches, diversified funding, and long-range financial planning.
• Strong financial acumen, including budget development, contract and grant administration, and expenditure monitoring across a multi-award portfolio.
• Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to engage state agency partners, executive leadership, technical teams, and end users.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain platform capabilities and technical concepts to non-technical audiences in writing, presentations, and public engagements.
• Ability to gather, synthesize, and act on stakeholder and user feedback to inform product and program priorities.
• Experience supervising or coordinating staff, application owners, and outside consultants, including setting priorities and monitoring performance.
• Strong organizational skills and sound judgment; ability to multitask, manage competing priorities, and make independent decisions with limited direction.
• Working knowledge of disaster resilience or emergency management and the public-sector funding environment in Texas.
• Business-development experience identifying funding sources, cultivating partnerships, and building revenue or cost-recovery models to sustain a program beyond initial grant funding.
• Ability to travel independently to other or remote locations by driving and/or flying on commercial airlines.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in public administration, business administration, planning, or a related field.
• Experience in program management, business development, or public-sector or agency-facing roles.

Responsibilities

• Plan, organize, direct, and manage day-to-day TDIS operations, coordinating across applications and development and operations teams.
• Establish performance goals and metrics to evaluate areas of responsibility.
• Assist in developing and implementing TDIS program-management procedures, workflows, and reporting standards.
• Coordinate with technical leads and application owners to ensure deliverables meet contractual and grant obligations.
• Assist in developing strategic plans and goals for the continued growth of TDIS.
• Serve as a point of contact for TDIS stakeholders, partner agencies, and end users.
• Gather, synthesize, and channel user feedback across applications to inform prioritization and roadmap decisions.
• Plan and lead stakeholder briefings, demonstrations, workshops, and outreach to build awareness and adoption; represent TDIS at conferences and partner engagements.
• Lead business-development efforts to identify and pursue funding sources, partnerships, and revenue opportunities beyond current grant cycles.
• Develop and maintain a sustainability strategy with IDRT leadership, including pricing or licensing models, cost recovery, and diversified funding streams.
• Coordinate and provide direction to program staff, application owners, and contracted or consultant support; support staff development and performance planning for TDIS-dedicated personnel.
• Assist with annual budgetary and contract processes, coordinating with accounting and grants personnel on invoicing, budget tracking, and expenditure monitoring across the TDIS award portfolio.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life and AD&D, flexible spending accounts, and long-term disability insurance; Texas A&M contributes 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.
• Free exercise programs and release time.
• Access to free LinkedIn Learning training and webinars, and limited financial support for conferences, workshops, and other professional development.
• Educational release time and tuition assistance for completing a degree while employed at Texas A&M.
• Living Well employee wellness program.

What This Job Offers

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