Assistant Director, Operations

$75,000 - $85,000/Yr

Columbia University - New York, NY

Full-time

New York, NY

Educational Services

About the position

The Assistant Director of Operations at Columbia University plays a crucial role in providing administrative and operational support for handling complaints related to protected class discrimination and harassment, including issues of retaliation, sex-based harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, and domestic and dating violence. This position reports directly to the Director of Operations and is integral to the newly centralized office that combines the Title IX, Gender-Based Misconduct, Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EOAA), and Office of the Protection of Minors teams. The office is supervised by the Vice Provost for EOAA, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local laws regarding Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX. The Assistant Director will be responsible for managing unit records databases, training internal users, and ensuring adherence to security protocols. This role involves improving the efficiency of daily administrative operations by creating, reviewing, and implementing functional procedures. The Assistant Director will also assist in editing and reviewing policies, websites, educational documents, and annual reports related to university resources and applicable policies and procedures. Collaboration with the Director of Operations is essential for external reports and public-facing communications. In addition, the Assistant Director will administer and train staff on Case Management Software and related technology, respond to sensitive inquiries from various stakeholders, manage outreach initiatives, and oversee procurement and budget planning. The role requires managing case workflow, generating and analyzing reports, and serving as a liaison to various university departments. The Assistant Director will also be responsible for onboarding new employees and ensuring timely progress on projects overseen by themselves or the Director of Operations. This position demands independent judgment and the ability to handle sensitive information with discretion.

Responsibilities

• Administrate unit records databases and train all internal users while ensuring security protocols are followed.
• Improve the efficiency of the unit's day-to-day administrative operations by creating, reviewing, and implementing functional procedures.
• Assist in the editing and review of policies, websites, educational documents, and annual reports pertaining to applicable policies and procedures.
• Work in partnership with the Director of Operations on external reports and public-facing messages and media inquiries.
• Administer and train staff on Case Management Software and related technology and data security protocols.
• Triage and respond to sensitive and confidential inquiries from faculty, administrators, students, and family members regarding university protocols and resources.
• Manage outreach initiatives including editing and maintaining digital and print materials that support departmental functions.
• Work closely with the Director of Operations to ensure timely completion of procurement, budget planning, and payments.
• Manage and evaluate case workflow, identifying opportunities to streamline case management and incident reporting.
• Generate and analyze various reports including incident reports, case records, and other sensitive data.
• Serve as a liaison to the Department of Public Safety, the University's Registrar, and Columbia Residential and Campus Services.
• Responsible for onboarding and training new employees.
• Manage timely progress and assist in the implementation of projects overseen by self or the Director of Operations.
• Work independently and use sound judgment when handling sensitive information.
• Collaborate closely with the new office's teams, the University's Office of General Counsel, Deans of the schools, and University stakeholders.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 3-5 years of experience in a relevant field.

Nice-to-haves

• Excellent verbal and written communication and organizational skills.
• Good judgment, appreciation of confidentiality and discretion, and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage a demanding workload and complex cases accurately and timely.
• Strong interpersonal, customer service, program planning, and organizational skills.
• Resourcefulness, discretion, attention to detail, flexibility, and ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks.
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite, Google Suite, Adobe Acrobat Pro, and other desktop publishing and database software.