Manager, Division Operations

Emerson College • Boston, MA

3d • $82,150 - $102,650 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager, Division Operations serves as the Vice President’s operating partner for the Technology, Media & Facilities division, which includes Information Technology, Facilities, Media Technologies & Productions, Institutional Research, Web & Digital Services, and Business Services. The Manager runs executive operations, anticipates operational problems, provides confidential personnel and labor-relations support to the Vice President and division AVPs and Directors, serves as the division’s liaison to Finance and Human Resources, and stewards contract, purchasing, and verification processes.

The role coordinates executive and division operations, including leadership communications, action tracking, strategic reporting, calendars, events, expenses, and travel. It owns divisional contract administration and purchasing-policy conformance, monitors renewals and notices, and conducts quarterly sampled invoice audits. The Manager also supports division systems and onboarding, serves as a first point of contact for Workday, budget, and contract-system questions, uses AI-assisted tools while verifying their outputs, identifies system improvements, orients new leaders to divisional practices, and contributes to operating procedures.

This is primarily a hybrid role, with expected in-office days each week. The arrangement is made upon hire and requires residence within a reasonable commuting distance of the Boston campus; it must be approved under the Remote Work Policy. The position is scheduled for 36.25 hours per week. Compensation is $82,150–$102,650 annually, commensurate with experience.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in executive operations or business operations, or at least 8 years of equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated experience handling confidential personnel matters with discretion.
• Experience with contract administration and/or institutional purchasing and procurement compliance.
• Experience managing executive calendars and meeting logistics for multiple senior leaders.
• Demonstrated use of AI-assisted tools in professional work and ability to explain what was checked before using the output.
• Sound judgment and ability to hold confidential information without exception.
• Ability to read contracts and accurately identify financial and operational terms, and to verify that systems have captured those terms correctly.
• Working knowledge of purchasing and procurement practices and employment documentation standards.
• Strong writing skills.
• Ability to influence senior leaders who do not report to the position and give direct, constructive feedback tactfully.
• Ability to track many parallel deadlines and commitments reliably.
• Fluency with AI-assisted tools for writing, analysis, and document review, with judgment to verify their output; interest in improving divisional systems.
• Proficiency with Google Workspace and Excel.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively and adapt to shifting priorities.
• Ability to lift and move light objects and move materials occasionally.
• Must reside within a reasonable commuting distance of the Boston campus; the hybrid arrangement must be approved under the Remote Work Policy.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a higher education or nonprofit setting.
• Experience supporting managers in a unionized environment.
• Experience with Workday Finance and/or HCM.
• Experience training or coaching managers.
• Familiarity with Zoom and Slack.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the division’s primary liaison to Finance, convey questions, corrections, and requests between Finance and divisional leaders, and ensure operations align with institutional financial policy.
• Serve as the principal point of contact for the Vice President’s office, interacting with College leadership, faculty, staff, students, vendors, and external partners with discretion and professionalism.
• Monitor and track AVPs’ completion of important divisional actions on behalf of the Vice President to ensure operational compliance.
• Prepare leadership meeting agendas and materials; review and correct AI-generated minutes; distribute decisions and action items; and track follow-through to completion.
• Track progress on divisional strategic goals and deadlines, and assemble data and narrative for the division’s Annual Report and recurring institutional reports.
• Manage the calendars of the Vice President and division AVPs, coordinate meetings, resolve conflicts proactively, and protect time for divisional priorities.
• Plan and execute logistics for divisional all-staff meetings, workshops, and special events across departments.
• Complete the Vice President’s expense reports and spend authorizations, and arrange travel as needed.
• Own divisional contracts, ensure contracts, amendments, and renewals are loaded into the system, verify AI-extracted terms, and coordinate validation of business terms before Vice President review.
• Review new and modified contracts through the contract system and give responsible AVPs or Directors specific feedback on nonstandard terms so they can seek necessary vendor changes.
• Check purchasing-policy conformance before requisitions are submitted, including spend categories, worktags, contracts on file, competitive quotes or sole-source justifications where required, and reviewed contracts for renewals; work with department leads to correct nonconforming submissions.
• Monitor contract renewal and notice dates and ensure decisions are made before deadlines.
• Conduct a quarterly sampled audit of invoices against items or services received and still in use.
• Serve as the division’s first point of contact for Workday Finance and HR process questions and budget and contract systems; resolve issues where possible and route others to the appropriate central office or system owner.
• Provide Finance and HR with feedback about issues or process concerns.
• Use AI-assisted tools for drafting, summarization, meeting minutes, contract-term extraction, and analysis, while verifying every figure, function, and result before relying on it.
• Act as operational owner of the division’s contract, scheduling, and budget systems; identify recurring friction and gaps, specify actionable improvements for developers, and test changes with AI-assisted development tools.
• Orient new AVPs, Directors, and managers to the division’s financial framework, purchasing standards, personnel documentation practices, and systems.
• Contribute to the design of and adherence to divisional operating procedures.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Competitive salary.
• Health plans with limited out-of-pocket expenses.
• Dental plans.
• Generous time-off programs.
• 403(b) retirement benefit with a 9% employer contribution once eligible.
• Life and disability coverage.
• Commuter offerings.
• Benefits package available to regular staff scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week, subject to eligibility requirements.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager