Operations Manager

Department
 

DIV Divinity: Staff

About the Department
 

The University of Chicago Divinity School is a space and a community dedicated to some of the most important, most exhilarating, and most humbling questions of humanity. The School is animated by two impulses seldom found together: by the critical study of religious traditions, objects, and ideas, and by the implications of those traditions and ideas for how faith might be practiced, life might be lived, and community might be realized. The conjunction of these approaches in a Divinity School situated at the very center of one of the world’s great research universities has produced many scholars, teachers, leaders, and ideas that have had a profound effect upon the possibilities for thinking about religion, and thereby a profound effect upon the world. Read more at https://divinity.uchicago.edu/.

Job Summary
 

Reporting to the Senior Associate Dean for Finance and Administration, the Operations Manager is responsible for a wide variety of critical duties in support of the Divinity School’s operations. Responsibilities are in the areas of course scheduling, event planning and coordination, operations, finance, and HR support. The Operations Manager monitors the status of Divinity School operations across all departments and offices, manages budgets for events, building operations, and strategic initiatives, acts as a main point of contact for staff regarding troubleshooting and problem solving, and works holistically to further the School’s mission of research and teaching through interactions with faculty, students, and staff.

Responsibilities

Course Scheduling:

• Solicit course proposals from faculty.

• Update and maintain canon of courses and course numbers.

• Update course catalog as needed.

• Manage, review, and revise course data.

• Create and maintain time schedule for all courses taught within the division.

• Prepare and present reports on historical course data to leadership.

• Actively solicit strategic crosslists to grow the Religious Studies undergraduate program in the College.

• Guide Divinity School faculty Program Directors and Area Chairs to ensure the approaches in the functional areas align with the broader organizational goals and plans.

Event Planning and Coordination:

• Provide creative, appropriate, timely, and unique solutions for overall event plans.

• Develop timelines for planning and day-of-event activities.

• Oversees communications related to events.

• Execute a full spectrum of logistics (e.g., facility and vendor selection, menu planning, transportation arrangements, and audio/visual equipment) for organizational meetings and special events.

• Execute steps in planning and day-of-event activities.

• Work with other staff members to implement ideas for improvements as they are identified.

• Provide post-event feedback on turnout and vendor performance.

• Manage logistics for special projects related to classes and academic initiatives.

Operations:

• In collaboration with Facilities Services, manage and oversee the Swift Hall building, conference rooms, classrooms, daily planned maintenance, policies, and procedures.

• Maintain master list of office allocations throughout Swift Hall and allocate office and workspaces for visitors and other temporary faculty and staff.

• Submit and track work requests for issues.

• Collaborates directly with outside Project Managers for all building renovations.

• Ensures Custodial Services are at the level required for proper functioning.

• Plans, develops, analyzes and manages budget, including developing multi-year budget forecasts. May oversee the preparation and management of grant and contract proposals, ensuring compliance with all University, federal and private foundation guidelines and regulations. Develops financial reports and assists with seeking funding for grants.

• Works with minimal guidance in space, facilities, and equipment, including renovations, moves, maintenance and ongoing facilities operations.

• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

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Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

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Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Advanced degree.

Experience:

• Experience work