University of Massachusetts Amherst · 1 week ago
Director of Operations - Department of Communication
Amherst, MA
Full-time
Hybrid
Lead/Staff, Director/Executive
3+ years expThe University of Massachusetts Amherst is seeking a Director of Operations for the Department of Communication. This role involves overseeing administrative and financial functions of the department, ensuring smooth operations, and supporting the Chair in strategic planning and staff management.
EducationHigher EducationUniversities
Responsibilities
Provides leadership and direct supervision for all administrative and financial functions of the department to ensure smooth departmental operations
Proactively addresses issues related to supporting a positive work environment for staff, such as workload, professional development and relationships with faculty and students
Works to effectively resolve staff conflict or performance issues
Provides overall management and supervision of department staff
Manages recruitment, selection, training, evaluation and performance management, and work assignments
Partners with the College of Social and Behavioral Science (SBS) central finance team to support to the Chair and counsel on current and projected status of overall financial operations in the department; including budgetary planning, forecasts of long- and short-range budget projections, revenue generating programs and forecasts, and financial status reports as requested
Supports post-award grant management, including coordination with state and federal agencies to ensure compliance
Coordinates with the SBS central finance team and the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) to track grant activity across the department
In collaboration with the Department Chair and Personnel Committee Chair, assists with the preparation of faculty tenure and mini-tenure, promotion, and PMYR cases
Plans for and ensures that all department personnel actions and related reporting are completed with timeliness and compliance
In collaboration with the Academic Programs Manager, develops effective and efficient online tracking systems and documentation to provide proactive and timely reports for departmental planning purposes, including paid and unpaid leaves and course buyouts
Collaborates with the Chair on a variety of special projects and events, including department strategic planning
Supports departmental planning, schedules, facilities projects, and space allocations
Plans and facilitates space use in the department; serves as department reporter for the annual space survey
Collaborates with the Chair, Undergraduate Program Director, Graduate Program Director, and Academic Programs Manager to plan resource allocations that meet curricular demands by managing teaching assignments and contracts for faculty, lecturers, and graduate teaching assistants
Advises graduate students on academic requirements and satisfactory progress toward degree, with special attention to program requirements and rules; proactively advises students who have not completed their requirements or are not in satisfactory progress
Updates student files with advising notes and progress documentation as appropriate
Alerts the Graduate Program Director with student progress concerns
Manages faculty and graduate student visa processes
Maintains records of USCIS documentation for international employees
Tracks immigration status expiry dates and notify employees of upcoming renewals
Maintains correspondence with the Office of Human Resources, International Programs Office, and private immigration law firms regarding pending visa applications and/or changes to existing visa statuses
Coordinates with Department Chair to maintain the department website, email listservs, and newsletters
Performs related duties as assigned or required to meet department, executive area/division, and university goals and objectives
Serves in a backup role to other staff as required, ensuring smooth administration of the department
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree with 5 (five) years of managerial and/or project management work experience, or Master's degree with three (3) years of managerial and/or project management work experience
Excellent managerial, leadership, negotiation, and project management skills and ability to manage crisis or changing situations effectively
Excellent initiative and problem-solving skills. Ability to make sound and mature decisions and to carry out assignments in an organized and timely manner, balancing the demands of concurrent and potentially competing projects
Excellent writing and editing skills. Superlative communication, interpersonal, and supervisory skills
Ability to motivate and lead a team to facilitate collaborative projects, and to work cooperatively with staff, faculty, department chairs, and administrators
Experience with financial administration including developing and managing budgets
Strong collaborative skills with the ability to work productively and diplomatically with faculty and staff within and beyond the department, as well as constituents from outside the university
Extensive knowledge of Microsoft Office (e.g., Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.), with the ability to learn quickly additional application software relevant to the position
Preferred
Experience working in a higher education environment
Experience working with university systems or of a similar nature
Experience with human resources and financial administration
Company
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research university offering undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
University of Massachusetts Amherst has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (69)
2024 (77)
2023 (56)
2022 (79)
2021 (19)
2020 (31)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$137.34MKey Investors
U.S. Department of DefenseU.S. Environmental Protection AgencyThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute
2024-09-18Grant· $7.9M
2024-07-16Grant· $6.37M
2023-11-16Grant· $2.5M
Leadership Team
Christopher Salthouse
Co-Founder Center for Personalized Health Monitoring
Alejandro Reuss
Instructor
Recent News
Research & Development World
2026-01-23
2025-12-17
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