Executive Operations Manager, Bentonville Institute of Technology

Art and Wellness Enterprises•Bentonville, AR

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Operations Manager serves as a senior operational resource within Finance and Administration at Bentonville Institute of Technology (BIT), a new higher education institution being developed in Bentonville, Arkansas. BIT aims to advance STEM education and workforce development through experiential learning, stackable credentials, flexible pathways, and strong industry engagement. The institution plans to enroll its first undergraduate class in 2029. During its founding and growth phase, BIT staff will be employed by Art and Wellness Enterprises and will have access to shared operational services and expertise on the Crystal Bridges Campus for Art and Wellness. This high-trust, high-visibility position supports multiple senior leaders, performs routine accounting and financial reporting tasks, and manages projects across concurrent workstreams. The role requires significant autonomy, exceptional organization, financial literacy, sound judgment, adaptability, discretion, and follow-through in a fast-moving, developing institutional environment. The position is expected to use AI tools fluently and responsibly in daily work and help model AI-forward operations. The position is based on-site in Bentonville, Arkansas, with regular hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Some travel, including occasional overnight trips, is required. A flexible schedule may be needed to accommodate business needs, including occasional evening and weekend work. The work takes place in a professional, climate-controlled office, in an open setting near colleagues, with regular interaction with internal team members and the public. Standard office equipment is used. Physical requirements include prolonged computer and telephone use, hand-eye coordination, bending and stretching, lifting and transporting at least 10 pounds, and visual acuity to review written materials. Reasonable accommodations may be made. Art and Wellness Enterprises is an equal opportunity employer. Offers are contingent on successful completion, where permitted by state law, of a confidentiality agreement and background check. Employees must provide proper identification verifying eligibility to work in the United States.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, management, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered for exceptional candidates.
5–7 years of experience managing complex projects, with demonstrated success delivering projects on time, within scope, and on budget, including multi-stakeholder institutional projects and concurrent workstreams.
Demonstrated experience providing executive support to senior leaders in dynamic environments requiring discretion, adaptability, independent judgment, and proactive management of competing priorities.
Exceptional organizational, judgment, written communication, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to manage competing demands across stakeholders while maintaining quality and follow-through.
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Excel for financial reporting and data analysis, and ability to learn enterprise systems quickly.
Basic accounting competency, including familiarity with bookkeeping, reconciliations, expense management, and financial reporting, and the ability to prepare clear financial summaries from source data.
Project management skills, including ownership and advancement of workstreams, maintenance of project plans, and accountability for stakeholder timelines.
Demonstrated discretion with confidential information.
Demonstrated proficiency using AI tools in daily professional work for drafting, summarizing, researching, and organizing information.
Professionalism, trustworthiness, service orientation, initiative, adaptability, attention to detail, and ability to communicate professionally with different audiences.
Ability to work on-site Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; accommodate occasional evening and weekend work and travel, including occasional overnight trips.
Ability to meet the stated physical demands, including prolonged computer and telephone use and lifting and transporting at least 10 pounds, with reasonable accommodations where applicable.

Nice To Haves

Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), or equivalent project management certification.
Prior experience in complex organizations such as higher education institutions, nonprofits, startups, or multi-entity organizations.
Experience supporting finance, human resources, or administrative leadership.
Experience supporting executive operations, board activities, recurring workflows, process improvement initiatives, and coordination of multiple priorities.
Experience with accounting software such as QuickBooks or Sage Intacct, or exposure to university ERP financial modules.
Familiarity with Workday, expense and procurement systems, and document-design standards.
Experience with AI tools such as Claude, Microsoft Copilot, or ChatGPT.

Responsibilities

Provide calendar and scheduling support across multiple senior leaders, balancing competing demands and protecting time for strategic work.
Coordinate complex scheduling involving executives, board members, external partners, and consultants, serving as a gatekeeper for senior leaders’ time and access.
Prepare agendas, materials, and logistics for leadership, board, and committee meetings; capture and track follow-ups.
Coordinate cross-institutional meetings and events with executive offices.
Produce and format polished, board-ready documents, presentations, and correspondence to institutional brand standards, exercising judgment on content organization and presentation.
Assemble, format, and quality-check financial, human resources, and administrative reporting packages for senior leadership and board review.
Draft, proofread, and manage correspondence on behalf of senior leadership; serve as a first point of contact and route inquiries to appropriate internal and external partners, including AWE shared services.
Handle sensitive personnel, financial, and institutional information with discretion.
Perform routine bookkeeping and basic accounting, including coding transactions, reconciling accounts, and processing expense reports in coordination with finance leadership and staff.
Prepare and distribute standard financial reports and budget-to-actual summaries, flagging variances for finance leadership review.
Support month-end and fiscal-year-end close activities and maintain organized, audit-ready documentation.
Support procurement, purchasing, and expense processes with division staff and shared services partners.
Establish and maintain office systems, files, and administrative routines for a new division.
Arrange complex travel itineraries and manage expense reporting for multiple senior leaders; maintain vendor relationships for institutional travel.
Manage assigned project workstreams by developing and maintaining plans, tracking milestones and action items, facilitating status updates, coordinating stakeholders, surfacing risks, and driving deliverables to completion.
Define project scope, objectives, and deliverables with stakeholders and develop plans covering timelines, milestones, tasks, and resource requirements.
Monitor project performance against goals, timelines, and budgets, and proactively identify and address deviations, risks, or issues.
Prepare project status reporting on progress, risks, issues, and recommendations for stakeholders and senior leadership.
Maintain project documentation, including plans, schedules, budgets, status reports, and related materials.
Identify process gaps, propose workflow improvements, and implement administrative systems that scale as the institution grows.
Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, templates, and best practices for consistent, scalable operations.
Use AI tools responsibly to draft, summarize, research, and organize information in line with institutional guidelines; help adopt AI-forward routines and identify tasks where AI can improve speed and quality.
Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned to support evolving organizational needs.