Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center

Oversees the business affairs of the MGHPCC, a non-profit organization with an annual expense and revenue run rate of approximately $20M. Operations include a data center that is purpose-built for research and education, and a large-scale “AI Compute Resource” (AICR) dedicated to AI research and development. Principal members of the MGHPCC are Boston University, Harvard University, MIT, Northeastern, the University of Massachusetts, and Yale. Responsibilities include engagement with the board of directors and its committees; management of finance staff; development and evolution of business processes; grant management; contract management; and financial forecasting, control, and reporting. Working with a dynamic and committed team, the Director of Business Operations provides timely, transparent, and predictable support for all stakeholders, including those who rely on the data center and AICR, as well as funding agencies, vendors, MGHPCC staff, and operations.

The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) Director of Business Operations oversees the business affairs of the MGHPCC data center and Consortium, a non-profit organization with an expense and revenue run rate of approximately $20M. Operations include a data center that is purpose-built for research and education, and a large-scale “AI Compute Resource” (AICR) dedicated to AI research and development. Principal members of the MGHPCC are Boston University, Harvard University, MIT, Northeastern, the University of Massachusetts, and Yale. The Director of Business Operations supports the non-profit mission of the organization in three principal areas:

• Governance – Efficient and responsive engagement with the board of directors and its committees.
• Service – Business processes that are simple, transparent, and predictable for all stakeholders.
• Operations – Timely and efficient financial forecasting, control, and reporting.

Skills

Since the Director of Business Operations often represents the organization to stakeholders at a variety of levels, strong communication skills are a key requirement, including formal documents such as member agreements, widely distributed memos or emails, contributions and leadership in meetings and working groups, and oral communication via presentations and 1-1 interactions. The ability to both plan and react is important. A day’s work may include ensuring planning and timely execution of routine functions such as monthly invoicing, while at the same time reacting to an unexpected and time-sensitive member need. Ability to improve efficiency by identifying and acting on opportunities to simplify complex tasks, automate simple tasks, and eliminate unnecessary tasks needed to run the organization. Examples include simplifying business processes, introducing software tools, improving documentation, and addressing problematic vendor relationships. MGHPCC is a small organization, so willingness to take on multiple roles and to fill in on-line responsibilities when needed is important. While deep technical knowledge is not required, the Director of Business Operations must be comfortable working in an organization that deploys and operates complex computing, storage, networking, and facility operations technology.

Job Duties & ResponsibilitiesGovernance

Represent the MGHPCC on business and financial matters at meetings of the Board of Directors, committees appointed by the board, and related working groups. Work with the Executive Director and Corporate Counsel to ensure that governance follows best practices. Activities include maintaining the operating documents that define the relationship between MGHPCC and its members, and maintaining strong working relationships with the board of directors and committees appointed by the board. To ensure effective separation of duties, the Director of Business Operations complements the Executive Director on financial oversight functions such as expense and invoicing review and approval.

Service

Business functions such as reporting, invoicing, and contract negotiation are central to the relationships between the MGHPCC and its stakeholders. It is important that these functions be perceived to be transparent, timely, and friendly, for both routine operation and problem resolution. For the data center, the Director of Business Operations ensures that this relatively mature operation adapts to evolving needs – for example, accommodating new types of service and managing allocation of costs during a time when the technology in the data center is rapidly changing. For the AI Compute Resource, the Director of Business Operations will be responsible for developing and implementing new business processes to ensure simple, fair, and transparent allocation of costs to MGHPCC Members, Partner Institutions, and the Massachusetts AI Hub. This work is being done in cooperation with financial professionals at MGHPCC Principal Members. While most MGHPCC revenue comes from its principal members, it also receives grant funding from state, federal, and private sources. The Director of Business Operations is responsible for maintaining positive working relationships with the business and audit organizations within these agencies.

Operations

The Director of Business Operations manages the finance team that supports and maintains MGHPCC business and financial systems. Principal responsibilities of the finance group include: Business relationships with both suppliers to and users of the data center and AICR, including work with MGHPCC Directors of IT, Facility Management, and AICR on vendor contracts. Maintain working relationships with corporate counsel, third-party auditors, insurance carriers, and contract service vendors who provide financial and administrative services. Of particular importance are business relationships with the utility that supplies electrical power to the MGHPCC data center, and principal suppliers of the hardware and software for the AICR system. The financial life cycle for all grants, from proposal through award, execution, and close-out. This includes ensuring compliance with applicable requirements from federal, state, and private funding sources. Interpreting and implementing MIT and MGHPCC policies and procedures. Specific deliverables for the finance team include

• Incoming and Outgoing invoice/expense reviews and approvals
• Operating budget forecasting and reconciliation
• Forecasting and planning space/power/cooling capacity vs demand
• Forecasting and planning for data center and AICR capital refresh
• IT and facility deployment and construction project expense tracking and reconciliation

The finance team also has primary responsibility for external reviews, which include an annual third-party audit and an annual review of one aspect of business process by an Internal Audit group at an MGHPCC Principal Member. Perform other duties as required.

QualificationsJob-Specific Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field is required.

Job Specific Experience

Minimum 8 years of finance and administration experience required. The candidate must be fluent with financial management systems. Experience in academic or non-profit settings is a plus. The candidate must have good communication skills and the ability to work with a diverse set of university and community constituencies who have wide-ranging and sometimes conflicting interests.

Security Related Responsibilities

The Director of Business Operations must understand and comply with all MGHPCC security policies. The Director of Business Operations is a Privileged Worker as described in the MGHPCC Personnel Security Policy. All staff who fit this definition must pass a background check.