Operations Manager,Natural Sciences Unit Job South Orange area,New Jersey USA,Administrative/Clerical

Overview

The Operations Manager, Natural Sciences Unit provides centralized operational management for the College of Arts and Sciences Natural Sciences departments and programs. Reporting to the Senior Director of College Operations, this role coordinates academic administration, procurement, budget tracking, course-scheduling logistics, HR and student employment processing, facilities, space, and equipment, and unit-level workflow management. The position serves as a primary operational liaison among department chairs, faculty, lab and technical services, the Dean’s Office, and central university offices to ensure consistent, compliant, and timely execution of academic and administrative processes.

The Operations Manager strengthens service delivery and accountability by maintaining clear procedures, reliable trackers, and data-informed operational reporting for the Natural Sciences Unit.

Duties and Responsibilities

Manage day-to-day academic and administrative operations for the Natural Sciences Unit, including intake and triage of requests, operational prioritization, calendar and deadline management, meeting support, records management, communications, and follow-through with chairs, faculty, staff, students, and Dean’s Office leadership. (25%)

Coordinate purchasing, vendor, payment, and budget-tracking activity for the unit, including requisitions, purchase orders, blanket orders, invoices, quotes, reimbursements, honoraria, service agreements, and spending/commitment monitoring in collaboration with Dean’s Office finance and Procurement. (20%)

Coordinate academic operations and course scheduling logistics, including schedule development support, room assignment coordination, enrollment monitoring, section/lab scheduling needs, teaching-support tracking, academic operations data, and Registrar-facing documentation in collaboration with department chairs and faculty. (15%)

Manage unit HR, staffing, and student employment workflows, including student worker planning and assignments, onboarding/offboarding coordination, adjunct and temporary hiring documentation, timekeeping follow-up, separation forms, office coverage planning, and related records retention. (15%)

Coordinate facilities, space, equipment, inventory, stockroom, and lab-adjacent administrative needs with Lab Services, Facilities, Environmental Health and Safety, IT, Procurement, and department leadership; maintain request trackers and follow issues through completion. (15%)

Develop reports, dashboards, trackers, SOPs, training materials, and process improvements that support Natural Sciences operations, compliance, resource planning, student/faculty service, and broader College operational priorities. (10%)

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Higher Education Administration, Business Administration, Public Administration, Natural Sciences, Science Administration, Operations Management, Project Management, or a related field; equivalent education and progressively responsible experience may be considered where appropriate.
Three to five years of progressively responsible experience in academic operations, department/unit administration, natural sciences or lab-adjacent administrative support, procurement, budget tracking, course scheduling support, HR/student employment coordination, facilities/space coordination, project/process management, or comparable operational work.
Demonstrated ability to coordinate multiple priorities, deadlines, stakeholders, and operational workflows in a high-volume academic or administrative environment.
Strong written and oral communication skills; ability to work diplomatically with faculty, staff, students, vendors, and central university offices.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office/Excel, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, forms, scheduling tools, and administrative tracking systems.

Desired Qualifications

Master’s degree in a lab science, business administration, public administration, science administration, operations management, project management, or a related field.
Experience with Banner, Cognos, Unimarket, Formstack, HR/procurement systems, student records systems, or comparable higher education…