Position: LEAD, PROGRAMS (ADMINISTRATION)
Grade: 4
Salary Range: $81,541 – 94,086
*Senior Lead salary range: $100,358– 106,630
About Delta
Delta Institute is a Midwest-focused, environmental nonprofit whose mission is to collaborate with communities to solve complex environmental challenges. Our work is organized into distinct initiatives that move our mission forward, clearly define our work, and articulate impact. The programs functional hive strives to successfully address the challenges and creatively assist in sustainable solutions. The program hive staff focuses on the implementation of projects in Delta’s three initiative areas: Resilient Agriculture, Nature-Based Climate Solutions, and Sustainability & Support Services.
To achieve our vision of a thriving region, we partner with communities, governmental organizations and agencies, businesses, nonprofits, and universities throughout the Great Lakes and Midwest. We are multi-disciplinary systems thinkers. We understand that the issues around food, water, air, energy, and waste are all connected. Further, we have multiple leadership-level projects that will be incepted in the year ahead. Now is an exciting time to join us, so that together we positively advance key outcomes in the Midwest.
Functional Hive – Programs
All Midwest communities and landscapes thrive through an integrated approach to environmental, economic, and social challenges. Our work is organized into distinct initiatives that move our mission forward, clearly define our work, and articulate impact. The programs functional hive strives to successfully address the challenges and creatively assist in sustainable solutions.
More information about our programmatic initiatives is included below this job posting. Please refer to our website for a list of current and previously completed projects: https://delta-institute.org/projects-roster/.
Position Specifics
A Lead provides strategic leadership and vision to Delta’s strategic initiatives with a focus on developing concepts and funding strategies to meet our impact objectives. Leads provide deep technical, analytical and project development leadership across Delta’s strategic priority areas. A Lead develops and helps implement methodological frameworks for projects, as well as related research and relationships. In this role, a Lead collaborates with project teams to implement tasks as assigned. They raise funds for implementing project work that creates impact on Delta’s strategic priority areas.
The Lead, Programs – Administration role will own, oversee, and evaluate all of Delta’s programmatic implementation processes and impact metrics methodologies. The Delta Programs Hive has a continuous improvement mindset and a suite of standardized implementation processes that the Lead, Programs – Administration will manage and keep staff accountable to high-quality deliverables and effective project implementation. Our infrastructure allows for multiple avenues for solving complex environmental challenges that align with our partner and community priorities.
This position will collaborate closely with the other Programs Leads as well as the CEO, and other organizational hives – Development & Communications, and Finance & Operations. The role will make sure that all of programmatic processes are implemented by Project Captains and their teams, that project budgets and workplans are managed and implemented effectively, that institutional knowledge is documented and share across the organization, and that Delta continues to examine effective ways to implement project tasks for optimal impact.
A Lead will also bring strong technical skills, and real world topic experience, to the team including an aptitude for communication, networking and collaboration. A Lead will continue to build expertise in the team’s focus areas. A Lead should be adept at tackling difficult environmental and social problems with often unclear paths to success, or take iterative approaches with a long-term goal of seeking solutions to larger social and environmental issues.
A Lead will also need to be comfortable working by themselves, among multiple types of personalities, on tight deadlines, in ambiguous and circuitous circumstances, and have an overall positive outlook on the change that happens in the world.
As part of a truly multidisciplinary organization, a Lead will also interface with and provide support for other projects that require unique skills and knowledge; and will have the ability to translate complex ideas to a variety of audiences both internally and externally.
What you’ll be doing:
- Work with the CEO and Programs Hive to ensure project implementation processes are implemented
- Own, evaluate and audit those processes, ensure Project Captains are keeping project budgets, workplans, and other documents up to date
- Collaborate with other Program Leads to further develop initiatives by engaging with external partners and funders in coordination with the Chief Development Officer and CEO.
- Collaborate with the Programs Hive staff and the CEO, to develop budgets and work plans for proposals
- Collaborate with programmatic staff on multiple projects to ensure high-quality, on-time, and on-budget deliverables
- Manage complex projects as well as staff, interns, and partners to plan and execute Program strategy.
- Collaborate on team planning and implementation meetings
- Where project structures require it, take a hands-on approach by developing work plans with tasks, timeframes, milestones, resources, and dependencies; or, when required, a hands-off approach by providing project teams with the resources they need to execute high-quality project deliverables
- Develop and maintain key professional affiliations in support of organizational and professional development goals
- Build networks and maintain relationships with academic, scientific, business, governmental and other partners; identify program partners and collaborate across boundaries to meet common objectives
- Identify and understand the primary users of products, services, and deliverables, and assist in review and creation.
- Maintain effective communication with clients and stakeholders managing and meeting project expectations
- Be adaptable in occasional ambiguity; and be willing to go the extra mile to get the job done
What you’ll have:
- Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in planning, program administration, engineering, sustainability, agriculture, environmental science, or related field with Master’s degree desirable or equivalent life and work experience (7-10 years of relevant experience);
- Proven track record of engaging foundations, government agencies, nonprofit organization, and businesses across multiple sectors
- Strategic and excellent organizational skills, be a self-starter and motivated and enjoy working in a team environment
- Ability to apply systems thinking to complex environmental issues
- Demonstrated success developing and evaluating program models, and selecting and successfully operationalizing innovative programs
- Proficient in using technology as a management reporting tool and experience working with information technology staff to develop and implement program evaluation systems
- Ability to organize, analyze and visualize data
- Proficient in analyzing data and technical documents to produce deliverables
- Strong project management skills managing complex, multi-faceted projects resulting in measurable successes and program growth
- Experience in managing and motivating people to meet high performance standards
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with exceptional attention to detail
- Be able to work in a fast-paced environment, manage multiple tasks and deadlines, and manage work in sometimes ambiguous situations
Core competencies are the values and defined behaviors that we believe are central to the ability of every employee to do the work of the Delta Institute. These core competencies are a combination of knowledge, skills and behaviors that are the mark of a good Delta employee. competencies are a distinguishing characteristic of Delta employees for our clients, customers and stakeholders. They are a visible demonstration of our shared values and are evident in how we work together. Individuals can be at different levels of ability on a specific core competency which is why we measure ability each year and provide feedback and development suggestions.
All Delta employees have these core competencies:
- Adaptive
- Cooperative
- Equitable
- Passionate
- Pragmatic
- Transparent
- Tenacious
Physical Demands and Work Environment
- Continually required to sit
- Continually required to utilize hand and finger dexterity
- Continually required to climb, balance, bend, stoop, kneel or crawl
- Continually required to talk or hear
- While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usually moderate
- The employee must occasionally lift and /or move up to 10 pounds
Delta offers its employees a competitive salary with a robust benefits package that includes generous paid time off, 401k, and medical, dental & vision insurance. Delta is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Please email application packet (one PDF) that includes the following:
- Cover Letter
- Resume
All as one PDF to: careers@delta-institute.org
Subject line: Lead, Programs Administration
Application submission deadline: July 4, 2025
No phone calls, please.
Delta Institute’s Strategic Initiatives Summary
Through our work, Delta Institute benefits more than five million Midwesterners by transitioning one million acres to conservation-focused practices, and by improving water quality and reducing flooding by capturing 100 million stormwater gallons. By 2025 we will achieve these goals through our agriculture, climate, water, and community development projects.
Delta currently organizes its work into three initiatives to meet our mission of collaborating with communities to solve complex environmental challenges:
Strategic Initiative: Nature-Based Climate Solutions
Impact Statement: By 2025, Delta will have assisted municipalities in integrating natural and green infrastructure – improving the environment, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and strengthening communities – reducing stormwater impacts by 100 million gallons and leveraging at least $100 million in investment.
Theory of Change: By standardizing green infrastructure, creating innovative financing mechanisms for municipalities, and using natural solutions to water management, Delta will help our community partners attain improved water quality, canopy cover, and address equity issues through the quality-of-life-improvements that healthier water and trees bring.
Goal 1: Increase adoption and integration of green infrastructure.
Objective 1: Create standards and educational products to increase efficiency and effectiveness of implementation activities; scale with dedicated marketing and communications.
Objective 2: Coordinate and scale implementation-focused projects across the region, with an emphasis on resource-limited communities.
Goal 2: Create an integrated administration program to scale up implementation of green infrastructure.
Objective 1: Expand and formalize Delta’s role in catalyzing and scaling up private investment and insurance markets to invest in GI.
Objective 2: Make it more streamlines for municipalities to access carbon and water markets.
Strategic Initiative: Resilient Agriculture
Impact Statement: By 2025, Delta will directly support 1,000 farmers as they transition to sustainable and regenerative practices, thus improving the environment, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and strengthening a farmer’s bottom line; 1M Midwestern acres will successfully transition.
Theory of Change: Delta is expanding conservation practices to farms—both independent and commodity—throughout the Midwest via practical, feasible implementation that are grounded in science and are proven to sequester carbon while mitigating financial risk to farmers.
Goal 1: Standardize soil health testing and increase its use as a metric for farm management
Objective 1: Create soil testing standard and integrate into normal farm planning.
Objective 2: Integrate soil health into rural land appraisal systems.
Objective 3: Integrate soil health as part of agricultural leases.
Goal 2: Create an integrated administration program to scale up implementation of conservation practices.
Objective 1: Take our watershed-based agricultural work and create a standard implementation methodology.
Objective 2: Formalize Delta’s role as a Greenhouse Gas market conduit.
Objective 3: Align and Leverage Agriculture Value Chain and Demand Channels.
Strategic Initiative: Sustainability and Support Services
Delta Institute prides itself on being responsive to the needs of its partners and responding to what they define as being the most important goal, activity, project, or taking a new approach to improving their local environmental and economic outcomes.
Our Sustainability and Support Services are designed to respond to invitations to participate in community-led plans, which include a wide array of sectors in which Delta Institute has sizable experience. We forecast that by 2025, Delta Institute will work with more than 250 partner communities while securing $40 million in external investment and creating 100 practical tools, resources, strategies, and municipal-, county-, and state-level plans.
Our partners span the public, nonprofit and for-profit sectors, and together we address core needs that span:
Resiliency and Community Planning
Agency Support and Capacity Assistance
Brownfields and Coal Plant Redevelopment
Deconstruction and Waste Reduction Business
Sustainability Planning & Certification Assistance
Where we work, and how we operate
Our work takes us to population centers like Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit; to mid-sized cities such as Gary and South Bend, Indiana; to Great Lakes coastal towns like Michigan City, Indiana and Muskegon, Michigan; and to rural communities and watersheds with tens of thousands of acres of farmland and waterways across our region. It’s quite likely that you—or someone you know—lives, works, or passes through a community that Delta Institute has helped since our founding in 1998. Delta Institute is proud to serve as the EPA’s Environmental Finance Center for Water Infrastructure for the next five years, which means that we may be supporting a community near you right now. We are a trusted 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid/GuideStar for five years’ running, a recognition received by fewer than 1% of all 1.5 million registered nonprofits in the United States.