Directorate Operations Officer

Directorate Overview

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory, Argonne is committed to delivering substantive impacts to U.S. prosperity, competitiveness, and security through transformative science and technology from discovery to technology development to application. Argonne's long‑standing, world‑leading expertise in nuclear energy coupled with our unique, first‑in‑class capabilities in nonproliferation and infrastructure science enable us to tackle emerging energy and security challenges.

The Nuclear Technologies and National Security (NTNS) directorate seeks to advance nuclear energy and deliver innovative, objective science‑ and engineering‑based solutions and inform decisions for a secure and resilient global society. We focus on enduring and emerging challenges in nuclear reactors and fuel cycles; nonproliferation; infrastructure science (risk and resilience analysis); intelligence and vulnerability analysis; and emergency and disaster preparedness. NTNS encompasses a diverse team of scientists, engineers, and technical support staff, all of whom are committed to developing and delivering innovative solutions to address our country’s most pressing energy and security challenges.

The NTNS Directorate Operations Officer (NTNS DOO) will serve as an integral member of the NTNS leadership team (LT), assisting the NTNS Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) to achieve directorate science and technology impact through leading directorate operations delivery and performance excellence. The DOO is responsible for long and short‑range strategic and tactical operations supportive of the NTNS Directorate and programmatic missions.

• Assist the ALD by providing management and oversight of directorate operations to support directorate goals and priorities. Act on behalf of the ALD and NTNS for operational matters both internally and externally as needed. Advise the ALD on operational performance.
• Partner with the NTNS Deputy ALD, Strategy Innovation Director, and Division Directors to develop and implement the directorate infrastructure strategic roadmap aligned with the NTNS S&T strategy. Identify investments in infrastructure to enable S&T strategy and mission delivery.
• Lead development and execution of directorate operational initiatives and encourage innovations and continuous improvement. Contribute to strategic planning for the execution of major research initiatives.
• Partner with Directorate and Laboratory Operations leaders to improve and maintain consistent operations, enhance operations performance, prioritize initiatives/projects, and enable the mission while managing/mitigating risk. Assist in determining and shaping the quality of operations programs and personnel.
• Provide guidance on the local implementation of Laboratory policies including those directed by the Department of Energy (DOE) and contractual requirements in a manner that mitigates institutional risk yet provides flexibility to achieve the Lab’s scientific mission.
• Actively model Argonne’s Core Values:
  Impact, Safety, Respect, Integrity, and Teamwork.
• Directly supervise staff and lead teams.
• Demonstrate high level competency in strategic agility, team building, clear communication, trust‑building, and accountability.

• Minimum of ten (10) years of progressive experience in operational/administrative management with demonstrated accomplishments in facility operations leadership and management.
• Advanced degree in a scientific, engineering, technical or business‑related field coupled with extensive knowledge of the R&D environment and functional knowledge of fiscal management, infrastructure, and space planning.
• Ability to function as a member of a senior executive management team, work effectively at all levels of personnel, and gain consensus, build teams, and resolve conflicts.
• Successful track record managing and leading people; experience scaling up organizations; capacity to enforce accountability and develop top‑notch leaders.
• Experience in communicating and presenting technical and operational concepts, strategies, and performance to technical, non‑technical, and…