Executive Operations Manager, Bentonville Institute of Technology

Art and Wellness Enterprises•Bentonville, AR

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Operations Manager serves as a senior operational resource within Finance and Administration during Bentonville Institute of Technology’s founding and growth phase. The position supports multiple senior leaders, handles basic accounting and financial report preparation, and manages concurrent project workstreams in a fast-moving, build-from-scratch institutional environment. It operates with significant autonomy and requires strong judgment, initiative, adaptability, discretion, financial literacy, and follow-through. The role provides executive support across leaders, board members, external partners, and consultants; prepares polished, board-ready materials and reporting packages; and handles sensitive information. It also performs routine bookkeeping and accounting, prepares standard financial reports, supports close activities and procurement, and helps establish administrative systems for a new division. The Executive Operations Manager owns assigned project workstreams from planning through delivery, monitors milestones, budgets, and risks, coordinates stakeholders, and develops processes and documentation that can scale as the institution grows. The position is expected to use AI tools fluently and responsibly in daily work and help model AI-forward operations. Bentonville Institute of Technology is a new higher education institution being developed in Bentonville, Arkansas, to advance STEM education and workforce development through experiential learning, stackable credentials, flexible pathways, and industry engagement. Its initial faculty and staff will be employed by Art and Wellness Enterprises and work within the broader Crystal Bridges Campus for Art and Wellness ecosystem. The institution plans to enroll its first undergraduate class in 2029. This is an on-site position in Bentonville, Arkansas, with a Monday–Friday schedule of 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Some travel, including occasional overnight trips, is required. A flexible schedule may be necessary for business needs, including occasional evening and weekend work. The work takes place in a professional, climate-controlled office with standard office equipment and regular interaction with colleagues, the public, and internal teams.

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 organization, judgment, and written and verbal communication; ability to prioritize complex 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; ability to prepare clear financial summaries from source data.
Demonstrated project management skills, including ownership of workstreams, maintenance of project plans, and accountability for stakeholder timelines.
Demonstrated discretion in handling confidential information.
Demonstrated proficiency using AI tools such as Claude, Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, or equivalent for professional drafting, summarizing, researching, and organizing.
Ability to use good judgment, take initiative, adapt to shifting priorities, communicate professionally, and work effectively across multiple priorities.

Nice To Haves

Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), or equivalent project management certification.
Prior experience in a complex organization such as a higher education institution, nonprofit, startup, or multi-entity organization.
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.

Responsibilities

Provide calendar and scheduling support across multiple senior leaders, prioritize competing demands, and protect time for strategic work.
Coordinate complex scheduling involving executives, board members, external partners, and consultants; manage access to senior leaders.
Prepare agendas, meeting 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 board-ready documents, presentations, and correspondence to institutional brand standards, using independent judgment on organization and presentation.
Assemble, format, and quality-check financial, human resources, and administrative reporting packages for leadership and board review.
Draft, proofread, and manage correspondence for senior leadership; serve as a first point of contact and route inquiries to appropriate internal or external partners.
Handle sensitive personnel, financial, and institutional information with discretion.
Perform routine bookkeeping and basic accounting, including transaction coding, account reconciliations, and expense report processing in coordination with finance leadership and staff.
Prepare and distribute standard financial reports and budget-to-actual summaries; flag 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, manage expense reporting for multiple senior leaders, and maintain institutional travel vendor relationships.
Own assigned project workstreams by developing project 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; develop plans that set out timelines, milestones, tasks, and resource requirements.
Monitor project performance against goals, schedules, and budgets; identify and address deviations, risks, and issues proactively.
Prepare project status reporting on progress, risks, issues, and recommendations for stakeholders and senior leadership.
Manage project documentation, including plans, schedules, budgets, and status reports.
Identify process gaps, propose workflow improvements, and implement administrative systems that scale with the institution.
Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, templates, and best practices for consistent and scalable operations.
Use AI tools responsibly for drafting, summarizing, researching, and organizing information in accordance 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.