Deputy Executive Director

Salary: Depends on Qualifications
Location : Houston, TX
Job Type: Regular Full-time
Job Number: 17035
Department: Flood Control District
Opening Date: 07/28/2026
Closing Date: 8/27/2026 11:59 PM Central
Max Number of Applicants: 100


Position Description
The Flood Control District's mission is to reduce the risk of flooding in Harris County, the third most populous county in the United States, with a population exceeding 4.7 million, including the City of Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city. The Flood Control District has jurisdiction over the primary stormwater facilities in the county, which consist of approximately 1,500 channels totaling nearly 2,500 miles in length, as well as more than 60 regional stormwater detention basins totaling more than 10,000 acres, and several wetlands mitigation banks, including Greens Bayou.
The Deputy Executive Director is responsible for executing the Executive Director's short and long range operational plans and policies including directing and prioritizing goals and objectives of the District to ensure that the most effective and efficient methods are achieved to accomplish the mission of providing flood damage reduction projects that work, with regard for the community and natural values. Role also oversees the delivery of projects and manages the operations of the Flood Control District. The Deputy Director works under the direct supervision of the Executive Director.
Essential Functions and Duties:

Project & Operations Oversight

• Manages and oversees engineering and flood control projects to ensure they are delivered on time, within budget, and to required quality standards.
• Directs, coordinates, and manages District initiatives and operations through subordinate division directors.
• Reviews and analyzes reports, records, and directives and confers with division directors to ensure effective District operations.

Strategic Planning & Innovation

• Partners with the Executive Director and senior leadership to develop and execute strategic plans aligned with District goals.
• Analyzes trends, identifies opportunities for growth and improvement, and leads innovative initiatives addressing emerging challenges.

Leadership & Team Development

• Leads, mentors, and guides division directors and engineering teams, promoting a collaborative, high performance culture.
• Assigns or delegates responsibility for assigning work and communicates policies to division leadership.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensures all engineering and operational activities comply with applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards.
• Identifies potential risks and implements mitigation strategies.

Budget & Financial Management

• Oversees the District's financial resources, including preparation and management of budgets for operations, maintenance, and the capital improvement program.
• Analyzes costs, monitors expenditures, and implements cost control measures to maintain financial efficiency.
• Presents the District budget to the Commissioners Court for approval.

Stakeholder Engagement & Public Representation

• Represents the District in meetings with elected officials, regulatory agencies, professional organizations, community groups, and the public.
• Makes presentations on District activities and interfaces with high level officials and external partners to foster strong working relationships and enhance the District's public image.
• Reports to Commissioners' Court on District operations and initiatives.

Problem Resolution

• Analyzes and resolves issues brought forward by the public, internal staff, elected officials, and other government agencies.

Technical Expertise

• Applies strong engineering knowledge to support technical decision making and problem solving for complex engineering and flood control projects.

Additional Responsibilities and Duties:

• Attend/conduct District staff meetings
• Attend/conduct meetings with vendors, agencies, officials, etc.
• Perform other duties that may be added or changed as the course and scope of the job directs.

Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer


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This position is subject to a criminal history check. Only relevant convictions will be considered and, even when considered, may not automatically disqualify the candidate.

Requirements
Education:

• Requires a bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in civil engineering or a similar curriculum.

Experience:

• Requires at least fifteen (15) years progressively responsible, verifiable experience in managing engineers and engineering design and maintenance construction projects and/or field operations related to public works, hydrology, flood control, and/or urban development.
• Requires experience working with government agencies and their governing bodies.
• Requires prior experience in community affairs and professional organizations.
• Requires significant managerial experience over large groups of professional, technical, field, and administrative employees.
• Requires experience with federal, state, and local permitting and regulations, including environmental and floodplain issues.

Licenses and Certifications:

• Valid Class "C" Texas Driver's License required.
• Requires a Professional Engineer Registration (State of Texas).
• Certified Floodplain Manager preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong skills using Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel), preferably MS Office and Windows.
• Requires solid knowledge/understanding of Federal, State, and local rules, regulations, and standards related to engineering, environment, and construction management and ability to read, comprehend, interpret and communicate technical details and changes, as needed.
• Requires excellent communication skills, including presentation, grammar, and writing skills.
• Requires excellent analytical skills in applying guidelines, policies, and precedents and adapting standard methods to fit facts and conditions.
• Requires excellent organizational and managerial skills.

Demonstrate ability to:

• Work independently with long periods of relative autonomy and general review.
• Works well with the public, interest groups, government agency personnel, and external organizations.
• Build and maintain cooperative and effective working relationships with others.
• Work well under pressure and public scrutiny.
• Effectively prioritize, identify and solve problems.
• Make independent judgments that significantly impact employees and/or the organization.
• Manage a large multi-division team of professional, technical, field, and administrative employees.
• Be successful in a time and deadline-driven environment.
• Utilize good time management skills and effectively prioritize and manage multiple tasks/initiatives.

NOTE : Qualifying education, experience, knowledge and skills must be documented in your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications.

Preferences

• Certified Floodplain Manager preferred.

General Information
Position Type:

• Regular Full Time

Hours:

• 40 hours per week

Location:

• Brookhollow - 9900 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77092

Physical Demands:

• Frequent driving of a vehicle with automatic controls.
• Occasional walking up and down steep slopes of ditches or on rough and uneven surfaces or ground such as sloping terrain, plowed or furrowed areas, or construction sites.
• Prolonged sitting.
• Occasional ascending/descending stairs.
• Occasional stooping, bending, reaching, lifting, and carrying items up to 15 pounds.
• Occasional sorting, filing, shelving, and handling documents, books, files, file drawers, and related materials and equipment are required for clerical operations.

Environmental Exposure:

• Work is generally performed indoors in a normal office environment with acceptable lighting, temperature, air conditioning, and noise levels.
• Extensive use of a video display terminal (computer monitor).
• May be exposed to fluids, compounds, or chemicals used in cleaning offices and/or work areas.
• May be exposed to fluids, compounds, or chemicals used for photographic or photocopier development or reproduction.
• When at field locations, may be exposed to significant levels of heat, cold, moisture, air pollution, wind and dust, wildlife, and flying/walking insects.
• When at field locations, may be exposed to vibration and/or noise in excess of 85 decibels.

Employment may be contingent on passing a drug screen and meeting other standards.

Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department.

HARRIS COUNTY EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Harris County offers a highly competitive benefits program, featuring a comprehensive group health plan and defined benefit retirement plan.
The following benefits are offered only to Harris County employees in regular (full-time) positions:
Health & Wellness Benefits

• Medical Coverage
• Dental Coverage
• Vision Coverage
• Wellness Plan
• Life Insurance
• Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account

Paid Time Off (PTO)

• Ten (10) days of vacation leave per year (accrual rate increases after 5 years of service)
• Eleven (11) County-observed holidays
• One (1) floating holiday per year
• Paid Parental Leave*
• Sick Leave

Retirement Savings Benefit

• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan

The following benefits are available to Harris County employees in full-time and select part-time positions:

• Professional learning & development opportunities
• Retirement pension (TCDRS defined benefit plan)
• Flexible work schedule*
• METRO RideSponsor Program*

* Participation may vary by County department. The employee benefits plans of Harris County are extended to all eligible participants across various departments with the exception of the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, for which the cited Health & Wellness Benefits are administered through the State of Texas.
In accordance with the Harris County Personnel Regulations, group health and related benefits are subject to amendment or discontinuance at any time. Harris County Commissioners Court reserves the right to make benefit modifications on the County's behalf as needed.
For plan details, visit the Harris County Benefits & Wellness website:
01


Which of the following best describes your highest level of education completed as it relates to this position?Qualifying information must be documented in the Education section of your application.

• High School or GED diploma
• Associate Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree or higher
• None of the above

02


If you selected a college degree in response to the previous question, which of the following best describes your major?

• Civil Engineering
• Other Related Field
• Unrelated Field
• N/A; No Degree

03


Please describe your educational background including level of education completed, area of study and completed major and minor programs.
04


Do you have at least fifteen years progressively responsible, verifiable experience in managing engineers and engineering design and maintenance construction projects and/or field operations related to public works, hydrology, flood control, and/or urban development?

• Yes
• No

05


Please provide the dates of employment during which you obtained experience working in managing engineers and engineering design and maintenance construction projects and/or field operations related to public works, hydrology, flood control, and/or urban development. Provide the month and year that began and ended the experience ( Example: "January 2020 - December 2025" ) If this experience is not clearly documented in the Work Experience section, your application will be disqualified. If you do not have this experience, type "N/A" in the space provided.
06


Please provide details about your verifiable experience in previous roles in related fields. Do not use "Please see Resume" or "See Resume"(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)Please include your (a) role(s), (b) types of organizations, (c) scope of duties and responsibilitiesIf you do not have this experience, please type "None" in the space provided.
07


Which of the following do you have knowledge and/or experience with?Select all that apply:

• Experience working with government agencies and their governing bodies.
• Prior experience in community affairs and professional organizations.
• Significant managerial experience over large groups of professional, technical, field, and administrative employees.
• Experience with federal, state, and local permitting and regulations, including environmental and floodplain issues.
• N/A; None of the above

08


Do you have a Professional Engineer Registration (State of Texas)?

• Yes
• No

09


Are you a Certified Flood Plain Manager?

• Yes
• No

10


Which of the following describes your level of proficiency using a personal computer and common office software such as MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook). Please select your level of proficiency based on the following descriptions:

Advanced:
A person with this level of skills is able to produce very large, complex formal documents that require a table of contents, footnotes, endnotes, bookmarks, and other special elements; a wide range of graphic effects, and use advanced techniques for analyzing and manipulating data. Has full mastery of Macro commands and skills to tie the objects together into a cohesive system by using Macros and Visual Basic for Applications code. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.

Intermediate:
A person with this level of skills is able to customize toolbars, import and insert graphs, embed Excel data, and elaborate reports. Understands the concepts of databases and is able to work with charts and to use the list management capabilities of Excel. Able to use complex query techniques, create efficient forms and reports, and create Macros to automate these forms. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.

Basic:
A person with this level of skills is able to use basic formatting, editing, printing functions, and understands the document page setup. Has the ability to enter and correct data, modify a workbook, format a worksheet, and use printing functions. Understands the different database concepts and structures and is familiar with data validation and is able to create a simple presentation in PowerPoint, run it, and print it.

Entry Level:
A person with this level of skills has the ability to open, create, save and modify documents in Word, send and receive email in Outlook and create spreadsheets in Excel. Format documents for printing, comfortable using the printer menu to preview documents. Has ability to change the font, the margins, insert or delete pages and use the built-in spellchecker and grammar check.

• Advanced
• Intermediate
• Basic
• Entry Level
• Not proficient

11


This role requires a Valid Driver's License (Texas upon hire)Do you have a Valid Driver's License?

• Yes, I have a Valid Texas Driver's License
• Yes, I have a Valid Driver's License but understand I must obtain a Valid Texas Driver's License prior to start date
• No, I do not have a Valid Driver's License

Required Question