Administrative Services Director 1

Who We Are
The Tennessee Division of Forestry (TDF) celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2014. One of the Division’s first missions was to plant trees on eroded and abandoned farmland in the western part of the state. Over the decades, TDF has grown to protect, conserve, and enhance Tennessee’s 14 million acres of forestland through forest health protection, rural and urban forest management, wildfire and prescribed fire management, water quality protection, forest business services, state forest management and conservation education. Today, TDF employs over 400 personnel statewide and is well known as the wildfire and forest health experts. The Division resides within the Tennessee Department of Agriculture whose mission is to promote wise uses of Tennessee’s agricultural and forest resources, to develop economic opportunities, and to ensure safe and dependable food, fuel, and fiber for all citizens.

What you will bring to this role:
Overseeing several administrative functions of the TN Department of Agriculture, Division of Forestry. The functions include budgets, facility maintenance and capital projects, workforce development and the USDA Forest Service Forest Legacy Program. This position reports to the Assistant State Forester – Forest Management and works closely with the Assistant State Forester – Forest Protection, the State Forester, and other division and department administrators.

Key Responsibilities:
BUDGET

1. Manages the division’s budgets that include operational, facilities, and capital projects.
2. Prepares budget expansion/savings requests for upcoming fiscal year, develops current year spend plan, and works with department administrators to close recent fiscal year.
3. Oversees federal grant procurement, spending, and closeout. Works with Unit Leaders on a monthly basis to ensure contracts are current, grantees adhere to Title VI policies, and sub-recipients are appropriately monitored.
4. Identifies and reports budgetary trend analyses, operational deficiencies, and administrative improvements to the Assistant State Forester – Forest Management and division leadership.
5. Provides presentations and reports to the Tennessee Forestry Commission and department leadership.

REAL PROPERTY

1. Oversees the division’s real property portfolio that includes facilities, work centers, forested property, radio towers, fire towers, a nursery, and all associated deeds, leases and agreements.
   
2. Collaborates with the State’s real estate agency (STREAM) to manage capital maintenance and improvement projects.
   
3. Manages the division’s real property strategic plan and annual work plans for facility maintenance projects.
   
4. Supervises 1 Facilities Construction Specialist and several contractors to execute and manage projects.

USDA FOREST SERVICE FOREST LEGACY PROGRAM

1. Serves as the Forest Legacy Program (FLP) coordinator for the state.
2. Supervises associated contractors to implement the program.
3. Partners with STREAM liaisons to ensure requisite land transaction documentation is created, accurate, and filed.
4. Collaborates with program specialists in other units to ensure the forest management aspects of the program are implemented.
5. Directly manages the FLP grant procurement, management, and closeout.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

1. Serves as the division’s human resource liaison.
2. Works with the Executive Administrative Assistant and Outreach and Education Unit Leader to recruit and hire employees in the forester series. Approves hiring salary requests from the districts for Forestry Aides and Forestry Technicians.
3. Oversees contracted Training Coordinator to develop, implement, and maintain the division’s comprehensive recruitment, retention, and growth program.
4. Ensures alignment of annual performance documents to division and department strategic plans.
5. Informs division leadership and Tennessee Forestry Commission of workforce trends such as hiring successes, challenges, and vacancies.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION

1. Directly supervises 1 Facilities Construction Specialist 1 and several contractors who have responsibilities pertaining to accounting, facilities maintenance, Forest Legacy Program, and workforce development.
2. Serves as the division’s Chief of Staff and schedules and facilitates monthly staff meetings and three administrative meetings per year.

Experience:
Minimum Qualifications:
Education and Experience: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree AND experience equivalent to five or more years of full-time professional staff administrative services experience including three years of supervisory experience.
OR

Five or more years of increasingly responsible professional administrative services experience with the State of Tennessee including, at least, one year of supervisory experience.

Applicants may be required to possess a valid driver’s license.