Director, Maricopa County Cooperative Extension (Phoenix, AZ)

The Maricopa County Cooperative Extension Director position provides key leadership and oversight of urban Extension programs, faculty, and staff. The primary focus of this position is to facilitate innovative and impactful strategic directions and guide planning and actions to meet county-wide needs, develop the capacity of MCCE through internal and external partnerships, seek and oversee external funding, hire, and mentor faculty, and communicate impacts through reports using a variety of means. The director will utilize a strengths-based approach that meets the county's and its people's unique needs. The position requires excellent written and verbal communication skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence and work with decision-makers and stakeholders on many levels. The County Extension Director will spend most of their time in the office setting as the key administrator to provide leadership and direction.

Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!

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Administrative and Supervisory Duties
This position includes administrative
responsibility as County Extension Director and will represent the University
of Arizona Cooperative Extension at county, state, and national levels. This
includes attending university, division, and county-level department head
meetings, negotiating county budgets, interfacing with the County Board of
Supervisors, Extension Advisory Board management and development, and engagement
with other community groups, assuming responsibilities of vacant county positions, and resolving issues of concern with volunteers and community partners.
Supervisory duties include direct supervision of administrative staff and
county-based faculty and indirect supervision of 60-70 employees. The director
works collaboratively with the Manager of Finance and Administration to oversee
and make budgetary and human resources decisions. Additional responsibilities
may be deemed necessary and will be assigned by the Division and/or Extension
administrators.

County Program Development and Implementation

• Oversees development of a broad-based Extension program that serves the overall Cooperative Extension mission and strategic plan.
• Facilitates county-level assessments, evaluation, and strategic planning.
• Identifies financial resources and opportunities (grants, contracts, in-kind contributions, gifts, etc.) to support unit goals and strategic directions.
• Provides leadership, guidance, and direction in implementing the strategic plan of the county unit and the University of Arizona.
• Promotes communication and teamwork with county and state extension and other faculty, staff, and volunteers.
• Provides direction in developing a marketing plan and related marketing materials, websites, and newsletters using a variety of mass media methods.
• Promotes Cooperative Extension as the outreach arm of the state land-grant university.

Program Evaluation and Results

• Provides oversight for program and personnel evaluation and ensures documentation of results and impacts of educational programs.
• Oversees communication of program results to
  both professional peers and clientele through periodic reports, scholarly
  works, and various types of publications (e.g., bulletins/fact sheets, popular
  articles, state publications, scientific articles, social media, video, and
  computer programs and applications, etc.).

Professionalism and
Service

• Maintains professional competence through study, participation in professional activities, and the application of knowledge and skills attained on the job.
• Maintains high ethical and professional standards.
• Promotes public understanding and support Cooperative Extension and University programs and policies.
• Performs as a collegial member of the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.
• Serves in leadership service roles on internal and external committees, boards, working groups, etc.
• Collaborates with peers to achieve goals and
  objectives.

Knowledge, Skills, and
Abilities (KSAs)

• Demonstrated skills in written form including any or all the following: reports, fact sheets, briefs, journal articles, scholarly works, or other publications for public distribution.
• Knowledge of group dynamics and skills in team building.
• Evidence of ability to supervise and evaluate employees.
• Demonstrated skills in addressing and resolving complex problems, sometimes without clear precedent.
• Knowledge of group dynamics and human relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to develop coalitions, collaborate, and create a shared vision.
• Knowledge of and familiarity with the variety of topics and issues relevant to current Maricopa County Cooperative Extension projects, programs, and activities.
• Evidence of ability to
  build a team of faculty and staff using the Extension program model.
• Evidence of skill and proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), and digital communication tools such as Teams and Zoom.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and capacity to engage with the types of local economic, social, and governance challenges and opportunities in Maricopa County's context.
• Evidence of leadership, teamwork, collaboration, excellence in human relationship skills, and excellent written and oral communication skills.

• Requires at least a master's degree to perform job duties in an area related to the needs and efforts of the County Extension Programs.
• Minimum of seven years of related work experience, including five years of managerial and/or leadership experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• Experience building and managing relationships
  with a wide range of community stakeholders and audiences.
• The applicant must have the academic record to be approved as a continuing rank faculty member in UA Cooperative Extension.
• Ability to drive according to the University Fleet Safety Policy.

• Earned Doctorate Degree in a relevant field.
• Outstanding record of research-based Cooperative Extension/community-engaged programming.
• Demonstrated leadership experience, preferably land-grant systems, or comparable organizations with significant recognition within a field of specialization.
• Five or more years of experience as a high-level administrator or executive director.
• Demonstrated direct supervisory experience for 10 or more employees.
• Evidence of successful grant and contract acquisition and management for interdisciplinary approaches.
• Evidence of experience with interdisciplinary approaches to programming.
• Experience managing budgets, public funding streams, grants, contracts, and with public and private fund development.