Business Operations Manager at Western Governors University - WGU

Business Operations Manager

• Home Office

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our countryand you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that futureconsider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

Position Summary

The Business Operations Manager leads the centralized and matrixed operations for all WGU Professional business needs, including business development, marketing and revenue operations; research, product, and experience operations; and service and support operations. The Business Operations Manager will establish operating procedures in concert with employer and business needs, matrixed functional policies and procedures, and best practices in organizational operations. The Business Operations Manager will also take lead on vendor lifecycle management, functional budget management, document management, internal communications, and stakeholder management for WGU Professional. The Business Operations Manager will present a positive organizational image to the general public, specialized communities, employees and students in support of WGU’s mission to provide students with flexible, affordable access to quality higher education.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Lead and launch business operations for all WGU Professional sub-functions and matrixed cross-functions
• Lead and maintain project plans, schedules, and roadmaps with external sponsors, third-party delivery partners, college leadership and cross-functional stakeholders
• Lead complex intra-WGU Professional projects,
• Manage team, extended team, stakeholder, advisor, and customer communication strategies and their implementation
• Develop communications artifacts, including writing, copyediting, designing, and distributing
• Manage internal communication plans, sites, and systems, including establishing, managing, and updating SharePoint and Intranet sites
• Partner/Collaborate on external communications collateral developed through internal partners and third-party vendors such as WGU Professional website, strategic partner micro-sites, press releases and other marketing assets
• Partner with Academic Business Process team as necessary to define matrixed processes and represent WGU Professional in appropriate stakeholder committees
• Work with WGU Legal Teams to prepare client contracts, MOUs and SLAs in concert with other WGU and WGU Professional colleagues
• Support WGU Professional calendaring and scheduling

Knowledge, Skill and Abilities

Expertise or strong interest in one or more of the following areas highly desirable:

• Business Development
• Communications
• Project Management
• Program Development
• Product Management
• Student Enrollment and Support
• Data Analysis

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Experience as the assigned project manager of executive-sponsored projects, with sole responsibility for project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure
• Six (6) or more years of experience interfacing with cross-functional business owners within a matrixed environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Four (4) or more years of experience working in learning and development, workforce development, higher education, or educational technology are highly desirable.
• Certification in Agile project management, pragmatic marketing, product management or related areas.

Working Conditions

As an equal opportunity employer, WGU recognizes that our strength lies in our people. We are committed to diversity.