Director, Operations and Strategic Engagement

University of Chicago•Chicago, IL

1d•$110,000 - $120,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Director serves as a primary liaison among CQE, Economic Development Administration (EDA), University, industry, and state government stakeholders. The Director reports to and provides comprehensive operational support to the Regional Innovation Officer (RIO) and coordinates daily administrative workflows for the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE). The Director collaborates in fiscal and budgetary activities with the RIO and CEO, manages non-disclosure agreements and memorandums of understanding, and supports the creation and monitoring of procedures for research security and risk assessment. This role proactively identifies operational issues and implements process improvements, allocates resources across regional hub sites, and designs standardized operational tools and procedures. The role oversees federal grant budgets, ensures regulatory compliance, and synthesizes financial and operational data for mandatory reporting. The Director acts as the primary operational contact for principal investigators, corporate partners, and government agencies, organizing governance meetings and aligning cross-functional teams. Additional responsibilities involve monitoring sub-recipient financial workflows, assisting with grant proposal preparation, and supporting outreach and engagement activities.

Requirements

College or university degree in related field.
5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree in business administration, operations management, public administration, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience coordinating multiple stakeholders, including university, industry, and state government.
Demonstrated experience managing large-scale federal awards, such as EDA, DOE, and NSF.
Demonstrated experience managing multiple projects, competing deadlines, and budgets.
Background handling coordination of large initiatives, including logistics and adhering to timelines.
Proficiency in data analysis tools and financial systems to track performance metrics and budget variances.
Expert knowledge of project management software, such as Asana, Jira, and Smartsheet.
Strong capability to translate complex technical milestones into clear, straightforward operational updates for diverse stakeholders.
Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-tech, and evolving innovation ecosystem.
Commitment to providing a high level of professionalism, service and working in a team environment.
Attention to detail.
Handle confidential information with utmost discretion.
Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
Strong analytical and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

Provides comprehensive operational support to the Regional Innovation Officer (RIO) and directs daily administrative workflows.
Facilitates and supports the collaboration between CQE, EDA, and University, industry and state government stakeholders.
Proactively identifies issues and implements process improvements.
Coordinates fiscal and budgetary activities in collaboration with the RIO and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CQE.
Coordinates and tracks non-disclosure agreements and memorandums of understanding in collaboration with the RIO and the CEO of the CQE.
Supports the creation and monitoring of procedures for research security and risk assessment by stakeholders in coordination with RIO, other CQE staff, and partnering government institutions.
Monitors multi-institutional project timelines to ensure EDA grant milestone compliance.
Manages physical space, equipment deployment, and scheduling across diverse regional hub sites.
Designs and implements standardized operational tools, communications protocols, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Manages complex federal grant budgets, tracking expenditures against projected allocations.
Ensures adherence to EDA, federal, University, and state regulatory and procurement protocols.
Synthesizes financial data and operational metrics to generate mandatory quarterly and annual federal performance reports.
Audits financial workflows, invoicing, and contract compliance for University and corporate partners.
May provide input for the preparation of grant proposals, ensuring compliance with all University, federal and private foundation guidelines and regulations.
Serves as the primary operational point of contact for principal investigators, corporate partners, and state agencies. Organizes and schedules governance board meetings and assure proceedings.
Partners closely with CQE and partner institution leadership.
Facilitates operational alignment across workforce development programs, partner institutions, and corporate sponsors. Executes and supervises outreach events in collaboration with CQE staff.
Assists Bloch PME Regional Innovation Officer in developing Bloch data collection and tracking processes, leveraging the CQE’s Salesforce system, to track growth, measure impact, inform course-corrections, and communicate Bloch impact to a wide variety of audiences, maximizing engagement, fundraising, and overall impact.
Acts as a researcher and planner for a wide array of efforts led by the department/division.
Develops and maintains a database of peer and competitor profiles. Helps establish and maintain a database of faculty (international) research topics and international inter-institutional collaborations.
Performs other related work as needed.