Senior​/Principal Faculty Specialist OR Associate Professor​/Professor OR Senior

Job Description Summary

Organization's Summary Statement:

The Hughes Center, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization affiliated with the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, serves as a national model highlighting Maryland’s agriculture, forestry, and environmental communities. Using a collaborative research and outreach model to form science-based solutions for managing and conserving natural resources in Maryland and the Chesapeake Watershed, the Center’s mission is to provide leadership to promote environmentally sound and economically viable agriculture and forestry as Maryland’s preferred land use.

The Center’s work utilizes a three-pronged approach to address its mission. First, all the Center’s efforts are based on unbiased research needs identified by Maryland stakeholders, state agencies, and organizations. The Center funds and participates in these research projects. The second major component of the Center’s work focuses on outreach, including all aspects of the Center’s communications, to distribute research findings through videos, social media, newsletters, webinars, and other venues.

Collaboration and working with the Hughes Center Board and Maryland’s agricultural and environmental communities is the third cornerstone of the Center’s work. The Center’s board is a diverse body comprising individuals from the agriculture, forestry, conservation, environmental, and legislative communities. The board’s diversity provides the foundation for the Center’s ability to engage with a broad range of stakeholders to discuss difficult issues and identify solutions.

The Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology seeks a visionary leader to serve as the Center’s next Director. Building on the Center’s twenty-five-year legacy of providing leadership to address the complex issues facing Maryland’s agriculture and forestry communities through research, outreach, and collaborative partnerships, the new Director has a unique opportunity to expand the Center’s growth, visibility, and impact.

Reporting to the Associate Dean for Research and Associate Director of the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) and the Hughes Center Board, the Director is the outward face of the Hughes Center and the leader of the Center’s team serving as the primary contact with the Board, external stakeholders, leadership at the University of Maryland, and the Center’s team.

The Director will maintain existing relationships while seeking new partnerships and opportunities to broaden the Center’s reach and impact.

The next Director of the Hughes Center joins the Center at an exciting time. The successful candidate for this position will possess the leadership skills to build on the Center’s past while leading boldly. We seek a director who is an organized and detail-oriented self-starter with demonstrated ability to set and manage multiple priorities while simultaneously working independently and leading a team.

To maximize the opportunities, the Center seeks a director who can:

• Bring a bold vision to enhance and elevate the Center’s visibility in the state and region.
• Steward current relationships while engaging new audiences and perhaps new models of working through exceptional communication and interaction.
• Build understanding with state and federal policy makers and government officials about the work of the Center.
• Support and facilitate the effective functioning of the Center’s board of directors.
• Engage with UMD and AGNR to fully leverage the relationship, including student engagement.

The successful candidate will be an innovative leader and administrator who can work independently and collaboratively to develop and execute a clear and strategic vision to expand the Center’s impact. The selected candidate will possess the following professional qualifications and characteristics:

• A master’s degree in agriculture, environmental science, public policy, or a closely related field.
• At least five years of experience in leading and managing an organization or team of comparable size, preferably within…