The University of Denver is located in Denver, Colorado, a city known for its dynamic blend of business, innovation and world-class recreation. Denver is consistently ranked by Forbes and Kiplingers Magazine as one of the top cities for young professionals and recent college graduates. The University of Denver is a private institution founded in 1864. It serves a population of more than 5,800 undergraduate and 7,900 graduate students as an R1 institution. The beautiful campus is located approximately seven miles from downtown with easy access to public transportation.
With a long tradition of excellence and innovation, the Daniels College of Business prepares students to succeed in a dynamic, changing world. We are a high-achieving community of students, staff and faculty that inspires one another to think in new ways, perform at higher levels, and transform organizations and communities. The Daniels College of Business offers a variety of baccalaureate, graduate, PhD and certificate programs which are detailed at https://daniels.du.edu/
This vitally important role is critical to the continued success of Daniels in an evolving and competitive business education marketplace. This position will provide leadership, management expertise and support to the College and its internal stakeholders that will enable the promotion of the dean’s resource-development, community building and strategic engagement of the College. Key to this will be providing integrative, coordinated processes to critical non-academic functions while working hand-in-hand with the dean on strategies to ensure the health of the business operations at Daniels.
Position Summary
The Executive Director of Operations of the Daniels College of Business is a dynamic and innovative leader with astute operational and managerial knowledge and experience that will drive results and ensure the College meets or exceeds institutional goals. This position is responsible for the overall operational health of the Daniels College of Business which includes approximately 1500 undergraduate and 700 graduate students, along with 115 faculty and 104 staff. Reporting to the Dean, the Executive Director provides overall leadership, supporting innovative approaches to managing vital operating units of the College. As a key member of the Dean’s leadership team, the Executive Director must understand the challenges and opportunities in managing a business school that offers high quality business education rooted in ethical leadership, advancing the theory and practice of business and making a positive global impact.
The Executive Director has senior-level direct reports who are responsible for Communications, Marketing, Graduate Admissions and Events; Career Services; Corporate and Community Relations; and Graduate Student Services. In conjunction with the Dean, the Executive Director will establish goals for the College and lead each team to support and achieve those goals.
Essential Functions
Principal responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Setting Strategy and Executing Results
- Represent the Dean’s vision in College matters, internally and externally
- Translate an ambitious vision into actionable, achievable plans
- Establish comprehensive and market-oriented plans for growth and performance ensuring alignment with the College’s strategic plan
- Identify areas of efficiency and opportunities for improvement across the College’s operational units
- Set clear and challenging goals while committing and driving the organization to improved performance
- Navigate ambiguity and uncertainty and adapt nimbly to lead others through complex situations
- Represent Daniels across the University community to identify and leverage areas of convergence in the context of the University’s shared initiatives
Leading Teams
- Strengthen and promote a high-performing, collaborative and innovative culture for the College in conjunction with goals and strategies set forth in the Daniels strategic plan
- Coordinate across various operational teams to achieve synergies and foster innovation
- Translate over-arching business goals into specific goals and objectives for each team
- Oversee collective data strategy, best practices and protocols for operating units
- Lead with a high degree of integrity and forethought
- Aspire for excellence with values that align with the College
- Recruit, motivate, develop and retain a strong, professional corps of key staff
- Set priorities decisively, delegate appropriately, ensure accountability and allocate resources efficiently to achieve results
- Engage teams with enthusiasm and excitement about the College
- Promote a strong culture of diversity and inclusive excellence across all the College’s activities
- Organize and lead all-staff meetings
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Demonstrated success leading critical business functions in the aforementioned areas
- Demonstrated ability to think strategically and conceptualize while being flexible and adaptable, revising strategies as necessary
- Demonstrated capacity to innovate and solve complex problems
- Demonstrated capacity to operate the organization at the highest level of efficiency
- Ability to manage key relationships and create networks of people to accomplish objectives
- Possess unquestioned personal and professional integrity
- Possess self-awareness and understanding of others than enhances interpersonal communication and management abilities
- Self-starter with an entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative organization with limited direction
- Balanced ego and sense of humor
- The successful candidate will demonstrate commitment to the principles of multiculturalism/diversity/inclusive excellence through involvement and participation in university/division-wide projects and initiatives
- Excellent writing, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.
Required Qualifications
- Master’s degree or the equivalent in relevant years and level of experience
- 10 years of experience in business or administration management, including experience in direct personnel and team management and general operations
- Experience managing a complex organization with demonstrated track record of building cohesion among disparate groups
- Knowledge of trends in business education particularly as they relate to the real world issues and future business and economic realities.
Preferred Qualifications
- Administrative experience in higher education with a track record of academic leadership
Working Environment
1. Standard office environment.
2. Unexpected interruptions occur often and stress level is moderate to high.
3. Noise level is quiet to moderate.
Physical Activities
1. Ability to sit in front of a computer for an extended period of time.
2. Occasionally required to move about the office/campus with the capability of transporting objects up to 20 lbs.
Work Schedule
Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Application Deadline
For best consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. on October 31, 2023.
Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.
Salary Grade Number:
The salary grade for the position is 15.
Salary Range:
The salary range for this position is $135,000 – $150,000.
The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.
Benefits:
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefits and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver .
Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Resume
2. Cover Letter
The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. The University of Denver prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; Equal Pay Act; Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Workers’ Rights (“POWR”) Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver’s Non-Discrimination-Statement .
All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.
Advertised: October 16, 2023
Applications close: