Assistant Dean of Operations

Who We Are:

National Louis is a 135+ year old university that has been grounded in the values of innovation, access, excellence, and equity from its inception. As an institution, we believe in providing access to educational opportunity and that education is our greatest lever for social and economic mobility. We are a student-focused community that is committed to continuous improvement and superior student service. We believe that through education we are able to empower change and build healthy communities. Our hard-working community is based on collaboration and respect for all team members and students.

What You Will Do:

Oversees the day-to-day administrative operations and financial components of the Undergraduate College (UGC), managing the daily functions of the college which includes evaluating and/or improving the administrative systems/processes that support the teaching and learning, and student retention, efforts within the College. Maintain and monitor the college budget, supervising and facilitating the evaluation of all staff members, representing the college to the external community where appropriate and assuming the duties of the Vice President and Dean when necessary. The Assistant Dean, Operations also works in collaboration with, and provides support to, all members of the Undergraduate College Executive Team.

Provides leadership to the Vice President and Dean, and UGC Executive Leadership, operationalizing the UGC's mission, vision, and strategic initiatives to support teaching, learning, research, and service. Lead UGC wide projects and initiatives, as delegated by the Vice President and Dean including planning of Executive Committee meetings, retreats, all-college end of term meetings, and faculty and staff engagement efforts. Management of all direct reports within the operations team, supporting departments in the onboarding of staff, and the development and engagement of staff to reach UGC strategic goals. Oversee the production of monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting for Vice President and Dean communications to the Provost and President. Represent the college on institutional working groups, e.g. technology, systems, etc., and devise and improve process efficiencies within the UGC.
• Budget and Grant Management: Prepares, analyzes, and submits budget requests for the College as a whole and at the program level; Prepares reports and budget analysis to the Vice President and Dean and the executive team in the tracking and effective use of the budget. Such reports include margin analyses and ratio analyses tracking statistics such as student/employee and revenue/employee; Schedules quarterly budget meetings to review progress and variances with Undergraduate College executive team leaders; Provides guidance to NLU Contracts and Finance on spending and coding for faculty and programmatic expenses; Collaborates with Institutional Advancement on grant proposals and reporting; Reconciles grant charges and ensures grant spending remains on track; Prepares back up and supporting documentation for how the major components were calculated.
• College Scheduling and Enrollment: Oversees scheduling for all UGC courses, in collaboration with UGC academic leadership and NLU Scheduling Center. Oversees and streamlines academic operation processes (e.g., faculty credentialing and workload, textbook management, SAF waivers etc.) to create efficiencies, ensure clear guidelines and procedures, and positively impact the experience of students, faculty, and staff. Improves efficiency of systems and processes across populations for scheduling, staffing, start of term routines and timelines, communications. Manages the process for monitoring course enrollments, including adding, canceling, leveling and Course By Arrangements for all UGC courses. Collaborates with UGC leadership to review current summer enrollment practices and determine the most effective practices and approach moving forward.
• Project Management and Data Analysis: Assists the Vice President and Dean with College Strategic Plan priorities and outcomes and related project implementation, working with key workflow owners to ensure that outcomes are achieved. Works collaboratively with personnel across the College and University to ensure and improve institutional alignment through issue identification and resolution. Serves as liaison to Strategic Data Center. Coordinates Annual Program Review timelines and processes with UGC academic leadership and Director of Strategic Analytics. Supports conduction of student Focus Groups and surveys.
• College-wide Communications: Oversees the use of the UGC Dean email, including start of term and end of term communications and processes and college-wide communications to faculty, staff and students. Ensures the maintenance UGC Calendars for the academic year, along with important additional dates and events.
• Additional Responsibilities as assigned, including but not limited to: Oversees aspects of dual credit and Middle College partnerships with select strategic partner school districts, serves as point of contact for Interdisciplinary Studies Degree, manages operations team members to efficiently accomplish the operational needs of the UGC with an orientation towards customer service for all faculty, staff, and students, other responsibilities as determined by the Vice-President and Dean of UGC

• Masters Degree in Educational Leadership, Education, or related field.
• Ten (10+) years professional experience, in education, with increasing levels of responsibility.
• Five to seven (5-7) years leadership experience in higher education or K-12 education administration, including experience in academic operations (scheduling, staffing, budgeting, etc.)
• Strong project management abilities, capable of taking large initiatives, breaking them down into manageable tasks, and ensuring execution of tasks on-time and at high-quality
• Team player comfortable working with a variety of people and capable of leading a group towards a common goal, including cross-functional efforts in which one may not have direct authority
• Strong oral and written communication skills; capable of effectively and professionally communicating with a variety of audiences including students, faculty, and advisors
• Flexible and comfortable working on a variety of assignments at a given time; able to balance competing priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced, start-up environment. Agile and comfortable with ambiguity

NLU Inclusion Statement:

National Louis University is deeply committed to serving its community, advancing access and equity, and ensuring that all individuals are welcomed and valued. We are dedicated to fostering a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion remain at the core of who we are. These are more than just words to us: they are truly a way of life for the NLU community. We recognize that differences in abilities, age, ethnicity, gender (identity and expression), race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and background bring richness to our work environment. We affirm diverse perspectives, innovative contributions, and authentic presentations of self from every member within the NLU community. We believe inclusion is grounded in the actions we intentionally take each day. Our goal is to inspire and empower NLU employees and community members to cultivate an environment where we collectively focus on uplifting and advancing our institutional culture.

At National Louis University, we offer our employees an innovative environment to work together and inspire the ideas that will make an impact. As our external environment changes, our employees are provided the opportunities and tools needed to grow both personally and professionally to remain successful. NLU employees and dependents are offered a wide range of benefits, including but not limited to, Health Insurance benefits, Retirement benefits, Paid Time Off and Educational Opportunities. Additional information regarding full-time staff benefits can be found here.

The salary range of the grade for this position is $79,197 to $118,795 annually. Compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate. Offers are based on multiple factors permitted by law, including but not limited to: budgetary considerations, job-related knowledge/skills, experience, market considerations, tenure and standing with the university (applicable to current employees), and internal equity.

Please Include the following along with your application:

• Resume (Required)
• Cover Letter (Optional)
• Current NLU employees please also submit an Internal Posting Form