Manager Of Program Operations Jobs in Irving, TX

Salary Range: 

Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications

About SMU

SMU's more than 12,000 diverse, high-achieving students come from all 50 states and over 80 countries to take advantage of the University's small classes, meaningful research opportunities, leadership development, community service, international study and innovative programs.

SMU serves approximately 7,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students through eight degree-granting schools: Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Cox School of Business, Lyle School of Engineering, Meadows School of the Arts, Simmons School of Education and Human Development, Dedman School of Law, Perkins School of Theology and Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies.

SMU is data driven, and its powerful supercomputing ecosystem - paired with entrepreneurial drive - creates an unrivaled environment for the University to deliver research excellence.

Now in its second century of achievement, SMU is recognized for the ways it supports students, faculty and alumni as they become ethical, enterprising leaders in their professions and communities. SMU's relationship with Dallas - the dynamic center of one of the nation's fastest-growing regions - offers unique learning, research, social and career opportunities that provide a launch pad for global impact.

SMU is nonsectarian in its teaching and committed to academic freedom and open inquiry.

About the Department:

SMU Continuing and Professional Education (SMU CAPE) offers a wide range of noncredit, work-integrated learning programs to help adult students advance in their careers or transition successfully to new ones. The CAPE portfolio includes courses and programs in on-campus and online formats.  Areas of focus include emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, analytics, project management, design, marketing and communications, legal and finance, and many more.

CAPE programs is a division of the Office of Global, Online and Continuing Education within SMU's Moody School.

About the Position:

This role is an on-campus, in-person position.

This position serves as a key contact for instructors, colleagues and Continuing and Professional Education (CAPE) partners during preparation, delivery and evaluation of all CAPE programs.

The Program Operations Specialist supports the operational and administrative functions of instructional delivery across CAPE programs, playing a critical role in maintaining consistency, documentation and communication with various stakeholders. The role emphasizes coordination, systems administration, process development and improvement, and project tracking.

The role resolves routine learner and instructor issues with professionalism and proactively monitors risks, gaps or delays that may affect learner experience or program delivery. This team member is expected to develop deep familiarity with CAPE's instructional ecosystem -- course structures, tools, timelines and best practices -- and to grow as a key contributor to instructional quality and innovation at SMU.

Essential Functions:

• Systems Administration and Training
  Oversee, update and evaluate effective use of primary and proprietary systems, including the Learning Management System (LMS). Support course setup and readiness activities, including configuration tasks in the Canvas LMS, instructor and partner access provisioning, and supplemental tool configuration. Develop and maintain documentation for training purposes.
   
• Day-to-Day Program Administration 
  Manage routine aspects of program delivery and serving as a contact for CAPE instructors, partners and colleagues regarding procedural questions and best practices. Build and maintain process documentation, including checklists and timelines to support team workflows and consistency. Coordinate troubleshooting of CAPE instructional technology issues.
   
• Business Administration 
  Support SMU Business Administration, following standard operating procedures related to accounts payable, purchasing and payroll tasks and documentation for CAPE's third-party vendors, partners, and instructors. Collaborate with SMU colleagues to develop procedures to collect, track, and reconcile third party funding sources for student fees and tuition.
   
• Reporting and Tracking
  Document noncredit program completion, credential attainment, qualitative assessment and other measurements in standardized reports aligned with institutional and workforce reporting requirements. Deliver requested data, analysis and summaries to support CAPE strategic planning and compliance activities.   
   

• Communications
  Collaborate with colleagues, instructors and partners to distribute information via multiple channels and to various stakeholder audiences. Serve as a primary contact for instructors, student success team members, graduate student assistants and other support staff. Represent CAPE on committees, task forces, working groups, etc. across SMU and externally. 

Education and Experience:

Bachelor's degree is required. Master's preferred.

A minimum of three (3) years of experience with continuing education, corporate learning and development, and/or workforce programming is required. 

Experience with higher education and project management is preferred.  

A Quality Matters (QM) certification and/or Project Management Institute (PMI) certification is preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Candidate must demonstrate strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate broadly across the University and develop and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of constituencies. Must also demonstrate strong written communication skills. A strong customer service orientation is essential.

Candidate must possess strong problem-solving skills with the ability to identify and analyze problems, as well as devise solutions. Must also have strong organizational, planning and time management skills. Strong project management skills and a focus on attention to detail are essential.

Knowledge of online teaching and learning pedagogy preferred. Knowledge of methods, practices, and principles of adult education is desired.

Candidate must have a strong working knowledge of Canvas and related systems (e.g. Panopto), Microsoft Office Suite applications, and project management systems, such as Asana.

Experience with a student management system (e.g. Modern Campus Lifelong Learning), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and/or AI tools (e.g. Claude, ChatGPT) is preferred.

Physical and Environmental Demands:

• Sit for long periods of time

Deadline to Apply:

Priority consideration may be granted to applications received by July 31, 2026. 

Deadline to apply is August 21, 2026.

EEO Statement

SMU is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression.

Benefits:

SMU offers staff a broad, competitive array of health and related benefits. In addition to traditional benefits such as health, dental, and vision plans, SMU offers a wide range of wellness programs to help attract, support, and retain our employees whose work continues to make SMU an outstanding education and research institution.

SMU is committed to providing an array of retirement programs that benefit and protect you and your family throughout your working years at SMU and, if you meet SMU's retirement eligibility criteria, during your retirement years after you leave SMU.

The value of learning at SMU isn't just about preparing our students for the future. Employees have access to a wide variety of professional and personal development opportunities, including tuition benefits.