Program Director, Native Nations Institute (UPDATED)

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The Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management and Policy (NNI) was co-founded in 2001 by the University of Arizona and the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, an independent Federal agency. NNI is a self-determination, governance, and development resource for Indigenous Peoples. As a core program of the university's Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, NNI works with Indigenous Peoples and organizations, as well as other governments and organizations/institutions, to support Indigenous self-determination, strengthen Indigenous governance capacities, and achieve community and economic development objectives. NNI is a program of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy (Udall Center), a university-wide Research Center that reports to the Senior Vice President's Office in Research, Innovation & Impact (RII), the intellectual home for interdisciplinary, stakeholder-based policy research and outreach at the University.

NNI accomplishes its mission through practical research, education, and hands-on collaboration designed to assist Indigenous peoples in (re)building their nations according to their own designs. The three strategic pillars of NNI include: (1) Research, which is supported by a diverse team of Senior Researchers focused on extensions and applications of Native Nation building theory; (2) Tribal and Direct Services, which provides customized services to Native Nations, Native organizations, and non-Indigenous entities, including the University of Arizona, in support of tribal sovereignty, governance, and economic development; and (3) Education, highlighted by the Indigenous Governance Program, a joint program with the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, focused on building an educational pipeline for tribal professionals and allies engaged in Native Nation building, and Digital Resources, which provides online Native Nation building learning tools to audiences within and beyond the university.

The Program Director position has an anticipated start date of January 1, 2026.

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!

The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs. For more information about working at the University of Arizona and relocations services, please visit talent.arizona.edu.

NNI is a program of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy (Udall Center), a university-wide Research Center that reports to the Senior Vice President's Office in Research, Innovation & Impact (RII), the intellectual home for interdisciplinary, stakeholder-based policy research and outreach at the University. Founded in 1987, the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy is a collective of researchers, educators, and outreach professionals that explores how different levels of governance - from neighborhoods to nations - influence behavior through laws, regulations, agreements, investments and more. The Udall Center's work is motivated by the legacy of Arizona's Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall, who as public servants worked on behalf of the Southwest and U.S.-Mexico border region and nationally and internationally as well as with Indigenous Peoples on issues including governance, the environment, public health, public lands, and energy resources. To achieve its aims, the Udall Center builds bridges across disciplines, viewpoints, and geographies to link research with decision-making and to co-produce and distribute policy-relevant knowledge. It does so by identifying problems, methods of inquiry, and solutions together with partners, constituents, and other collaborators within and beyond the university, including other universities, Native nations, Federal and State agencies, private foundations, corporations, and businesses, and nongovernmental organizations.

The Udall Center enjoys a statutory relationship with the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall Foundation), an independent Federal agency established by Congress in 1992 and headquartered in Tucson, Arizona . As part of its Congressionally authorized mission, the Udall Foundation provides annual funding to the Udall Center to sponsor policy-relevant, interdisciplinary research and forums that link scholarship and education to decision-making, with primary emphases on environmental and Native Nations policy. Since 2001, the Udall Foundation has also set aside a portion of its annual appropriation specifically for the activities of NNI; Congress further strengthened this relationship in 2019 by making NNI an authorized program of the Udall Foundation. The Udall Foundation's enabling legislation provides that the purposes of the Foundation include: "[to] develop resources at the Native Nations Institute to properly train Native American and Alaska Native professionals in health care and public policy, by providing education to and conducting management and leadership training of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and others involved in tribal leadership, providing assistance and resources for policy analysis, and carrying out other appropriate activities." The Udall Center and Udall Foundation enjoy strong partnerships in both education and environmental programming, the latter via the Udall Foundation's John S. McCain III National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution (NCECR).

The Udall Center employs approximately 20 staff including university faculty members (most of whom maintain joint appointments in other academic units), other academic professionals, support personnel, graduate research assistants, and undergraduate students. In addition to annual funding from the Udall Foundation and the University of Arizona, the Udall Center is supported by a diverse portfolio of funding streams including grants, contracts, private donations, and program revenue.

Program Director, Native Nations Institute

The Program Director of the Native Nations Institute (NNI) reports to the Director of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, and is responsible for fulfilling NNI's mission and leading NNI within the Udall Center.

The ideal candidate will have significant administrative and leadership experience and can articulate a clear, strategic, and compelling vision for how NNI can sustain and grow its impact on and beyond the University of Arizona campus. The Program Director will oversee the three strategic pillars of NNI -- research, Tribal and direct services, and education. The NNI Program Director should further the Udall Center's vision by expanding extramural funding of its activities, engaging researchers across campus in synergistic and thoughtful ways, strengthening its partnership with the Udall Foundation, and increasing the visibility of the Center to external entities.

Specifically, the NNI Program Director will:

• Work closely with the Udall Center Director and other staff on issues of strategic and financial planning, human resources and staffing, and program evaluation, and provide input on NNI needs for Udall Center budgeting;
• Maintain a collaborative approach to leadership and management that fosters common goals and teamwork;
• Articulate an engagement strategy for NNI within the broader university;
• Pursue strategic funding opportunities and play a lead role in fundraising for NNI;
• Work closely with the Udall Foundation on matters of mutual interest, and provide budgetary, performance, and other data and information as required to receive Udall Foundation funding allocations;
• Deliver NNI programs and services to Tribal Nations, other Indigenous Peoples and organizations, and non-Tribal governments and institutions in accordance with annual goals and budgets;
• Coordinate relations with Indigenous Peoples and organizations in the U.S. and internationally;
• Serve as faculty member and/or facilitator for NNI's diverse array of educational offerings that serve Native Nations, leaders, senior administrators, youth, and other citizens, as well as non-Tribal organizations and their employees.

Knowledge, skills & abilities

• Record of collaborative leadership and project, program, or administrative management to foster common goals within a program and broader community, particularly with Native communities
• Demonstrated success in identifying, cultivating, and forming relationships to increase targeted activities and advance success in outcome metrics
• History of productive collaboration with external organizations and constituencies, particularly with Native communities
• Demonstrated success in securing extramural funding to advance the goals and objectives of projects, programs, and initiatives
• Extensive knowledge of issues and relations in tribal communities and experience working with tribal communities
• Strong ability to manage and prioritize diverse and complex workload and supporting program members in doing the same
• Working knowledge of financial management systems and strategies, funding proposal processes, and various data management tools

• Master's degree in related field and a minimum of 7 years of related work experience, including 5 years of managerial experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience. Experience leading a team, project, program, or function is typically required.

• 9 years of related work experience.
• Demonstrated experience developing, implementing, and evaluating strategic plans