Research Operations Director Jobs in Basking Ridge, NJ

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Primary Location:
OFFICE OF SR. UNIV DEAN FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Bargaining Unit:
No
The Office of K16 Initiatives and Adult Pathways at CUNY fosters innovative pathways for New Yorkers to envision and achieve success by partnering to address systemic educational inequities. The K16 Dual Enrollment Operations Manager plays a central role in supporting the advancement of equity and access through efficient, coordinated administration of the unit's dual enrollment programs.
The K16 Dual Enrollment Operations Manager supports the DE Operations Director across the K16 unit's dual enrollment portfolio. This position provides ongoing operational and programmatic support across all dual enrollment programs managed by the K16 office, including College Now, FutureReady NYC (FRNYC), New Paths, CUNY Explorers and Early College High Schools. The Manager works to support program leads and unit leadership to ensure that shared operational systems, processes, and infrastructure are well-designed, consistently implemented, and continuously being improved.
The K16 Dual Enrollment Operations Manager is responsible for supporting and integrating a variety of operational functions that cut across programs, including budget planning and fiscal management, program planning and work stream alignment and improved efficiencies, event and professional learning logistics, program accreditation and data collection, analysis, and reporting. This is an operations role that requires project management skills, a systems-thinking orientation, and the ability to support strategic program goals being translated into actionable operational deliverables.
Responsibilities:
The K16 Dual Enrollment Operations Manager supports ongoing coordination across the full operational infrastructure of CUNY K16's dual enrollment programs. Key areas of responsibility include:
Fiscal and Budget Management
• As needed, support program leads and the Operations Director on budget planning decisions, including projected costs for staffing, events, materials, technology, and professional learning activities. This will include the development of a system in which to monitor ongoing program expenditures across all budget lines, ensuring accuracy, compliance with CUNY fiscal policies, and alignment with program priorities and grant requirements.
• Support the annual budget development and projection cycle for all dual enrollment & education programs, including College Now, FRNYC, New Paths, and Early College, under the coordination of the Operations Director and with input from program leads and the Assistant Dean.
• Engage as needed with the various members of the K16 Budget and Administration team to ensure efficiency in related procurement and purchasing processes, including preparation of purchase orders, vendor contracts, and documentation required for fiscal compliance.
• Support the development and maintenance of systems that allow program staff and the Operations Director to track spending against allocations in real time; if needed, prepare monthly and quarterly fiscal reports for program leads and senior unit leadership.
• Support grant reporting and fiscal documentation requirements related to dual enrollment initiatives.
Annual Planning and Work Stream Alignment
• Design and manage a shared annual planning calendar for the K16 dual enrollment portfolio, coordinating key dates, deadlines, and milestones across all programs.
• Support cross-program work stream alignment with a goal of reducing duplication of effort, identifying shared infrastructure, and supporting integrated planning and delivery of programs and services.
• Support and maintain unit-wide communication plans for dual enrollment programs, including internal communications between program leads, staff, and leadership, as well as external-facing communications with campus, school partners, and stakeholders.
• Coordinate onboarding and orientation processes for new K16 dual enrollment staff, ensuring consistent integration into unit operations.
• Provide needed data and information to program leads for the development of annual work plans, project timelines, and deliverable tracking tools.
• Participate in and support regular cross-program operational meetings and manage follow-up on action items and decisions.
• Maintain and update shared operational resources, templates, and tools to support program leads across the portfolio.
• Support any institutional planning processes, including contributions to strategic plans, annual reports, and unit-wide presentations.
• Identify process improvement opportunities and implement solutions that increase operational efficiency across the dual enrollment portfolio.
Event, Professional Learning, and Program Activity Support
• Lead operations planning and logistics management for all K16 dual enrollment program events, including large-scale convenings, program launches, stakeholder summits, and community-facing activities.
• Coordinate, in collaboration with program leads and instructional staff, various professional learning events, including faculty development workshops, teacher training institutes, K16 partnership convenings, and student success programming.
• Manage end-to-end event logistics including venue sourcing, vendor management, catering, registration systems, materials production, audio-visual setup, and on-site coordination.
• Develop and maintain event budgets, track expenditures, and conduct post-event financial reconciliation.
• Support program leads in the design and facilitation of professional development activities and training curricula for CUNY and NYCPS staff.
• Manage event-related contracts, MOU documentation, and vendor agreements in compliance with CUNY procurement standards.
• Build and maintain a shared events calendar and event management toolkit for use across all DE programs.
• Coordinate logistics for external partner visits, site observations, and accreditation-related activities.
• Collect and organize participant feedback data to support continuous improvement of events and professional learning offerings.
• Coordinate scheduling and logistics for program lead and unit-wide staff meetings, retreats, and professional development sessions.
Data Collection, Management, and Reporting
• Support the maintenance of a limited but unified internal data infrastructure system for the K16 dual enrollment portfolio, including enrollment databases, student data and relevant partner school data.
• Support the accurate and timely exchange of relevant program data through engagement with K16's Planning and Evaluation staff, CUNY institutional research offices, NYCPS data teams, and campus-level data contacts.
• Support the creation and sharing of various standard and ad hoc reports or data requests for internal K16 leadership, CUNY's central office, external partners and stakeholders (NYCPS, elected officials, etc.), funders, and government agencies as required.
• Maintain a data reporting calendar aligned to program reporting obligations, grant requirements, and institutional accountability timelines through engagement with program leads and K16 planning and evaluation staff.
• Have a strong working knowledge of NACEP standards as they relate to CUNY dual enrollment programs to support ongoing program alignment; this can include monitoring policies, practices, and data systems for compliance and managing accreditation renewal cycles, self-study processes, and corrective action plans on schedule and in accordance with NACEP requirements.
• Ensure data governance practices, across all dual enrollment data systems, comply with FERPA, CUNY student records policies, and any data share agreements between CUNY and K16.
• Develop and maintain a data dictionary, user guides, and documentation for all K16 dual enrollment data systems and reporting tools.
• Coordinate, in partnership with the DE Operations Director and relevant program leads, the data submissions required for NACEP accreditation, Middle States review, or any other quality assurance processes.
Leadership and Cross-Unit Collaboration
• Serve as a member of the K16 dual enrollment team and contribute to the team's strategy, culture, and cross-functional planning.
• Support the unit's NACEP accreditation processes, including the preparation, submission, and ongoing maintenance of accreditation documentation across all eligible dual enrollment programs; serve as the primary institutional contact for NACEP site reviewers, peer evaluators, and national office staff.
• Supervise, coach, and develop interns and college assistants with responsibility for operational and data functions within the team.
• As needed, represent the K16 unit in internal CUNY working groups, cross-departmental committees, and external partner convenings as assigned.
• Contribute operational insight and best practices into grant proposals, program design, and policy development related to dual enrollment expansion and operations.
• Other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Minimum Requirements
• Bachelor's degree and at least four years of progressively responsible experience in higher education administration, program operations, or a closely related field, with demonstrated beginning knowledge of budgets, data systems, and multi-stakeholder program portfolios.
Preferred Qualifications
• Master's degree in higher education administration, fiscal management, public administration, education policy, or a related field (may substitute for up to two years of experience).
• Experience working in dual enrollment, early college, college advising or college access programs, preferably in a large urban public university or school system context.
• Familiarity with CUNY academic and administrative policies and procedures, including CUNY's dual enrollment programs (College Now, FRNYC, New Paths, Early College), advising programs.
• Knowledge of New York City Public Schools organizational structure, data systems, and partnership protocols.
• Skills in data management, analysis, and reporting, including proficiency with database tools, Excel/Google Sheets, and data visualization platforms.
• Some experience with project management methodologies and tools; ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and meet competing deadlines.
• Demonstrated experience designing and coordinating events and professional learning programs.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including experience preparing reports, presentations, and briefing materials for diverse audiences.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build effective working relationships across programs, departments, institutions, and external partners.
• Proficiency with technology platforms including Google Workspace, CRM systems, student information systems, and project management tools.
• Commitment to equity, access, and the educational success of underrepresented students.
Pay Range:
$84,000 - $94,000
RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.