Operations Manager

Western Governors University•Salt Lake City, UT

3d•$68,300 - $102,500•Onsite

About The Position

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career. Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families. As an Operations Manager, you'll oversee and lead established operational functions across multiple business units. You'll partner with leaders across the university to figure out what needs fixing, prioritize the initiatives that will move the needle, and drive them from idea to execution. This role is a good mix of big-picture thinking and hands-on delivery — you'll help set standards based on best practices, dig into data to see what's working and what isn't, and lead the cross-functional work needed to actually make improvements stick. Everything comes back to one goal: making things run better for our learners and our employees.

Requirements

Ability to plan, organize, coordinate, and lead projects in a way that ties back to bigger strategic goals
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
Clear, effective communication skills, both written and verbal
Strong organizational skills and a genuine attention to detail
Ability to build consensus and keep people motivated
Comfort creating and tracking data tied to project impact
A track record of coaching others and giving useful feedback
Strong listening skills and the ability to adapt well when things change
Ability to look at business operations and processes and identify where things can improve
Broad management know-how, with deep expertise in your own area and an understanding of how your work affects the rest of the university
Bachelor's degree in a related field of study
Two or more years of related work experience, including experience with project management and change management

Nice To Haves

PMP or CMP certification
Change Practitioner certification
Six Sigma certification
Master's degree in a related field of study
Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this role may substitute for education requirements. Generally, one year of relevant experience may be considered in place of one year of education, at the discretion of the hiring manager.

Responsibilities

Partner with initiative leaders — business partners, project managers, business owners, and others — to deliver operational services, programs, and initiatives
Work with leadership to define process improvement strategies, both short- and long-term, that are scalable and support continuous improvement
Analyze current business operations, processes, and systems to spot opportunities for improvement
Establish key operational metrics, analyze the data, and use it to shape improvement initiatives
Develop functional and department standards and policies in partnership with leaders and stakeholders
Identify and implement solutions that improve operations and support functional and department goals
Lead cross-functional teams to put new standards and business models into practice across the department
Determine the best use of available resources and build efficient partnerships across functional operations
Build and lead communication and training plans for anyone impacted by process changes or operational improvements
Keep an eye on new trends and technologies that could support current or future operational needs
Set up audits and reporting to keep data accurate and reliable
Take on other related duties as they come up