Manager, Business Operations

Manager, Business Operations

A key mandate for a skilled leader of people, systems, financial and physical resources

 

Spanning seven locations, the Student Experience department plays a critical role in fostering student success and employability, by supporting the University of Guelph’s commitment to provide students with opportunities to apply their learning in real-world contexts through a diverse range of curricular and co-curricular experiential learning activities. Department staff support student transition, retention, development and success efforts by providing programs and services that facilitate personal and academic skill development.

Student Experience is comprised of six functional areas: (i) the Experiential Learning Hub (e.g., Co-operative Education, support for all forms of curricular EL; co-curricular initiatives such as Work Study, the Peer Helper Program; extra-curricular activities); (ii) Student Transition and Engagement (e.g., New Student programming and interventions; Town and Gown relations and off-campus living; Career Development; Leadership advising, education and support; senior year experience); (iii) Diverse Identities (e.g., programs and services in support of International students, LGBTQ+, racialized and culturally diverse students, and students with diverse faith perspectives); (iv) Aboriginal Initiatives; (v) Marketing and Communications; and (vi) Business Operations.

The Department is home to the 4th largest Co-operative Education program in Ontario, with over 3,500 students currently, and targets to achieve over 4,000 students by 2020. Employers who are Guelph alumni offer over 1,000 co-op work term opportunities annually, and the program contributes greatly to alumni relations, to employer reputational ratings, and to the University’s ability to recruit top students who are committed to their academic and career development. As Manager, Business Operations, you will have the opportunity to make your mark on the overall success of this complex Department.

Reporting to the Director of Student Experience, and as a collaborative member of the senior leadership team, you will be responsible for finance, business operations, human resources administration, Information Technology and policy administration. You will support all leadership team members in the financial management and operations of their functional areas, ensuring excellence in client, customer and business service deliverables, as well as human resource management. As Manager, you will develop strategic plans for capital projects, support long-term plans for existing facilities, Information Technology directives and Human Resource Management aligned with the Department’s vision, and provide direction for streamlining functions and processes to ensure both cost and service effectiveness.

The Department has a total operating budget of approximately $9.0M, with over $1.5M coming from government, over $3.2M from student fees and over $1.2M from third-party user fees, making your role a significant mandate. As Manager of Business Operations, you will allocate the yearly budget and co-ordinate budgetary requests based on a funding model and allocation strategies, and oversee department forecasting, fee increase recommendations (e.g., student referendum), contract negotiations and RFP processes. You will also be expected to identify new revenue sources and execute approximately $100,000 in grant or external funding submissions annually.

While you will be managing three (3) full-time direct reports, you will also provide Human Resources Administration support, including hiring processes and human resource issues, for approximately 80 full- and part-time staff, and approximately 200 part-time student staff.

 

QUALIFICATIONS

As Manager of Business Operations, you will work very closely with the Director and the leadership team to problem-solve and develop innovative and creative strategies to achieve long-term goals. This means undertaking and initiating projects that advance the Department’s overall objectives. As such, you must possess the following qualifications:

  • Demonstrated strength in leadership and decision-making, and the ability to build positive and productive external and internal relationships;
  • Excellent communication, interpersonal, and conflict resolution skills;
  • A high level of diplomacy, tact, and judgment;
  • Experience supervising/managing people, with a proven ability to motivate staff;
  • Skills and experience in strategic planning, financial management, and human resource management;
  • Familiarity with the reporting requirements of diverse external and internal funders is preferred (e.g., various Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) offices);
  • Project management, negotiation and problem-solving skills;
  • Ability to deliver high-quality work in an environment with overlapping, time-sensitive projects and conflicting demands;
  • An undergraduate degree, preferably in Business, Commerce or Human Resources, combined with a financial designation and at least 5 years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

 

The University of Guelph (www.uoguelph.ca) is one of Canada’s leading research-intensive comprehensive institutions, with a record of outstanding scholarship in the arts, humanities, social sciences, life sciences, physical and engineering sciences, agriculture and veterinary sciences. This is your chance to join us in our endeavour to improve life.

To view a detailed posting for the Manager of Business Operations role, including application instructions and the posting closing date, please go to our website at www.uoguelph.ca/jobs. Applications, quoting Hiring #2018-0522, must be sent to careers@uoguelph.ca.

At the University of Guelph, fostering a culture of inclusion is an institutional imperative. The University invites and encourages applications from all qualified individuals, including from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in employment, who may contribute to further diversification of our Institution.