Director, NASS Program

Job Description

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) is seeking two Directors to join its National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Program team. These leadership roles will oversee teams across up to four regions and are ideal for individuals who are passionate about American agriculture, team development, and advancing the collection of critical agricultural data. This position provides strategic leadership for human resources and agricultural survey data collection operations across assigned regions, supervising four Associate Directors and a regional workforce of approximately 1,200 part-time employees. The Director will champion innovation, operational excellence, and accountability while driving continuous improvements in survey performance and data quality. This role reports to NASDA's Senior Director of the NASS Program and is ideal for a collaborative leader with experience managing large, geographically dispersed teams. This is a fully remote position. 

ABOUT NASDA

NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association representing the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the state departments of agriculture. NASDA enhances American food and agriculture communities through policy, partnerships, and public engagement.

We recognize that to achieve our goals, we need employees who are as passionate about agriculture as we are. We strive to create a positive work environment that our employees can be proud of and where they can build their careers.

NASDA employees earn a competitive salary and enjoy an excellent work culture at an organization with exceptional perks, including a flexible schedule and an incredible mission.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The essential functions include but are not limited to:

Human Resources Leadership (40%)

• Provide leadership, coaching, and guidance to team of Associate Directors.
• Oversee the work of the regional leadership team who will manage the daily operations of part-time, intermittent enumerators providing guidance and support to ensure high performance and adherence to organizational policies and standards.
• Manage regional human resource functions including payroll processing, employee evaluations and personnel actions.
• Work with Associate Directors and human resource team to ensure adequate staffing and training for designated regions, including hiring, onboarding, and addressing any personnel issues.

Survey Management (40%)

• Serve as a liaison with NASS (USDA) teams, facilitate communication and collaboration to ensure alignment with organizational goals and requirements.
• Ensure training for surveys meets the needs of employees collecting data and/or training enumerators. Attend virtual and in-person trainings as needed.
• Manage the financial aspects of regions ensuring adherence to budgets and timelines.
• Collaborate with NASS program team to share best practices and maintain consistency in operations across all regions

Program Leadership (20%)

• Work closely with Senior Director to ensure that human resources and data collection issues are addressed in a timely manner.
• Provide leadership and guidance to the NASS program team to ensure alignment and continuous growth on work within cooperative agreement.

QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent years of relevant, full-time work experience
• 7+ years' progressive leadership experience leading teams, preferably in a field operations or survey environment within a large organization or state or federal agency.
• 7+ years experience leading agricultural operations or projects with demonstrated expertise in communication, planning, critical thinking and budgeting areas
• Superior interpersonal and relationship-building skills. Demonstrated ability to leading effectively across all levels of an organization.
• Experience with developing and implementing workshops, conferences, and off-site educational experiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work well in a fast-paced and deadline-oriented work environment
• Adept working with Microsoft Suite applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or similar applications), cloud-based accounting and/or human resource systems and remote work technology (Zoom, Teams).
• Ability to travel several times a year nationally

Consideration will be given to candidates who explicitly address how their experience meets the minimum qualifications in their cover letter and resume.

All applicants will be reviewed. Applications without a cover letter and/or resume will not be considered.

Applications accepted through 6/24/26

Anticipated start date – 8/3/26

SALARY

$100,000 - $155,000.00/yr based on experience

WORK SCHEDULE

This is a full-time (40hrs/week), exempt remote position. Working hours are generally Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm local time.

BENEFITS:

• PTO for vacation, sick leave, and volunteer hours
• 401k - 100% match up to 4%
• Tuition reimbursement
• Professional development
• Employer-paid: Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance

NASDA does not discriminate in employment practices or programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

- If you have issues attaching your cover letter to the application, please email it to careers@nasda.org.

Location: 22203

You will have to pass a background check