Administrative Director of Operations, CSSI & NII

Department: Kellogg Ctr for Sci & Innov
Salary/Grade: EXS/11

Job Summary:

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is a pioneer in the science of science and innovation and is home to the first academic hub of its kind that brings together the world's foremost experts in this area. The Administrative Director of Operations is the senior administrative position in two administrative units, the Center for Science of Science & Innovation (CSSI) and the Northwestern Innovation Institute (NII), and has administrative oversight of operations and finance, and provides thought leadership to develop strategic administrative initiatives in service of these organization's missions. The Director supports the Faculty Director in the growth and positioning of the Institute and CSSI as a world-class research organization and a central hub for innovation at Northwestern.

The Director oversees the effective, compliant, and efficient daily management of all operational, financial, and administrative functions across CSSI and NII's activities and in coordination with central offices such as HR, Budget, Facilities, IT, Research, & Provost. The Director creates and supports coherent operational processes at CSSI and NII and strengthens their partnerships with the Ryan Institute on Complexity (RIC) to ensure these entities remain interconnected as research activities expand, and programs emerge. They represent CSSI and NII on internal & external business affairs and are viewed as an expert resource and thought partner to the Faculty Director.

Please note:

• Supervisor provides overall objectives. Work is reviewed for fulfillment of objectives & adherence to policy &/or financial &/or legal requirements. EE completes activities without direction & with a great deal of job autonomy, recommending actions to supervisor in regard to major or far-reaching new or unusual circumstances.
• Will be required to work some evenings and weekends regularly for events.

A well-qualified candidate within this department or unit has been identified and will be considered for the position alongside other qualified candidates identified through a competitive recruitment process. The University reserves its right to give priority consideration to internal qualified candidates

Specific Responsibilities:

Work Complexity:

• Uses judgment & an extensive amount of experience to adapt an advanced knowledge of skills, methods, practices, policies & procedures, sometimes without clear precedents, & a considerable degree of innovation, analysis & reasoning to independently plan & prioritize work that is almost all project oriented & involves many extremely difficult problems &/or decisions.
• Recommends changes to policy to better meet objectives.

Operational Planning:

• Serves as lead administrator, collaborating directly with the Faculty Director and senior leaders as a strategic thought partner to prioritize, manage, and implement key projects within CSSI and NII.
• Identifies operational priorities and creates and supports coherent operational processes at CSSI and NII, and partners with the Ryan Institute on Complexity (RIC), and other closely related organizations across the University, to ensure research activities expand and programs emerge.
• Implements the organization's priorities and fulfills CSSI and NII vision and goals to improve overall performance. Ensures priorities and strategies are aligned with the RIC.
• In partnership with the Faculty Director and staff senior directors, creates, implements, & manages strategic plans to best utilize resources for staff, program development, research expansion, space planning. etc.
• Evaluates & prepares plans to maximize opportunities & minimize threats.
• Oversight of programs, including but not limited to the Symposium, Board Meetings, and Tech Bridge to ensure they are appropriately resourced, administered, and meet established timelines.

Budget & Financial:

• Plans & implements annual budgets across CSSI and NII, including fiscal resource allocation of appropriated, discretionary, endowment &/or gift revenues
• Manages budgets for sponsored accounts from a large variety of funders.
• Oversees vendor and contract management.
• Delegates payroll, purchasing, travel & entertainment (T&E) transactions & serves as Level II NU Financials approver.
• Serves as school level approver in FASIS and primary contact for Kellogg Financial Administration.
• Oversees and reconciles routine budget reconciliation & analyzes budget position.
• Approves funds reallocation within budget & payroll information ensuring that appropriate sponsored accounts are charged as necessary & appropriate.
• Responsible to resolve expenses that are inappropriate or against deficit chart strings.

Communications & Outreach:

• Delegates or completes maintenance of partner distribution lists or databases; production, edit &/or distribution of newsletter; &/or management of website, & special events.
• Works closely with the Office of Alumni Relations to develop and execute communications strategy to advance the Institute's and center's strategic plans and goals among all audiences, including the academic community, alumni and donors, prospective researchers and students, press and media, and the business community.
• Responsible for identifying and developing opportunities for media outreach around institute research, faculty, student, alumni, and activities; creates effective pitches and coordinates internal resources to realize these opportunities.
• Determines and reviews final content for the CSSI and NII news announcements, press releases, newsletters, profiles, program descriptions, and social media posts that highlight faculty, students, alumni, research, and activities.
• Oversees major events, conferences, and convenings hosted or sponsored by the NII or CSSI to leverage professional relationships to expand activities and programming.
• Build and strengthen relationships with other universities and/or partner institutions to secure data sets and support site visits for on-going and future research projects.

Faculty and Research Staff Support:

• In partnership with Faculty Director and staff senior directors, supports the development and execution of new academic programs and initiatives.
• Manages and executes emergent projects for the Faculty Director.
• Collaborates with the Faculty Director to interview, hire, onboard, and support ~25 researchers and visiting scholars across CSSI and NII.

Grants & Contracts:

• Responsible for pre- & post-award administration completed by research administrators.
• Builds relationships with Principal Investigators (PIs) & NU research associated offices; transfers knowledge & advises on research policy & procedure.
• Prepares grants for smaller-scale foundations and maintains relationships with sponsors to ensure continued support.
• Prepares reports for funders and donors.

Human Resources and Staff Management

• In partnership with Faculty Director and staff senior director, builds & implements organizational structures to align with strategic mission. Scale up staff and team to support emerging initiatives and programs.
• Promotes a positive work environment for all staff through implementation of human resource programs, policies, procedures & talent management lifecycle & related mentoring & training.
• Supports recruitment & selection processes; Performance Excellence plan for employees; & merit increase process for CSSI and NII staff.

IT Services:

• Collaborates with the Research Support team to ensure data integrity and security.
• Liaise directly with IT to ensure technology systems are available to meet objectives of strategic plan.
• Ensures necessary hardware, software & network infrastructure technology services are appropriated from central or internal IT.
• Issues work order requests directly or delegates through support staff.
• Participates in developing IT strategy to meet the mission & needs of the organization.

Regulatory Compliance:

• Manages implementation of all safety, security & compliance programs & ensures compliance with all applicable federal, state, local & NU laws, regulations, policies & procedures.
• Develops innovative methods to assist faculty & staff with adherence to grant or compliance programs.
• Partners with the Office for Research, including the Export Compliance & International Compliance (ECIC) team, as needed.

Supervisory:

• Supervises 3 or more administrative staff &/or provides work direction to others.
• Onboards and supports ~25 research staff and ~3 visiting scholars, ensuring their needs as researchers are met
• Provides direction to, or coordinates administrative effort of, staff within or outside of immediate dept.

Miscellaneous

Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major such as business, accounting or related; OR appropriate combination of education and experience.
• 8 years' administrative experience including budgets, finance, grants, facilities, &/or human resources; or other relevant experience.

Target hiring range for this position will be between $110,000 - $125,000 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Benefits:
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the COVID-19 and Campus Updates webpage.

The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Click for information on EEO is the Law.

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