Job Summary:
Reporting directly to the President and serving as a strategic partner to and member of the President’s executive team, the Vice President for Operations (VPO) assists in supporting the highest ambitions of the University’s teaching and learning, research, and engagement goals with the mandate to oversee enabling infrastructure of the University including the built environment, technology, and human resources organizations.
Working closely with the Chief Financial Officer, Provost, Deans, and other senior administrators, the VPO develops and supports a variety of strategic and operational initiatives in the built environment, aligning Facilities Services, ITS and Human Resources with the mission of the University in support of faculty, students, and staff. Prioritizing an exceptional level of service and delivery, the VPO delivers robust business practices that steward the University’s infrastructure resources efficiently and contributes to the long-range planning and culture of the University. Some units on campus have distinct space, IT, and HR functions (for example UChicago Medicine) with teams that do not report to the VPO. A successful leader will effectively navigate both direct reporting relationships as well as through collaboration and influencing within the University’s decentralized structure, all with the goal of the overall community having the most effective and efficient service possible. The VPO works closely with members of the Board of Trustees who have oversight of relevant committees within the VPO’s purview. The VPO directly supervises the Associate Vice President (AVP) for Facilities Services, the AVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, and the AVP and Chief Information Officer.
Built Environment: The University of Chicago’s 217-acre campus comprises 170 buildings with 18 million gross square feet of space across a range of styles and uses including historic neo-Gothic buildings, academic spaces, highly-technical research facilities, and residence halls in addition to other domestic and international sites.
The VPO’s built environment responsibilities include oversight of the facilities departments that manage capital planning (new and maintenance), campus architecture, campus master planning, design and delivery of new buildings, and the overall quality of the campus built environment. Additional responsibilities include direct management of the central administration building Levi Hall, oversight of auxiliary entities including the David Rubenstein Forum and the Quad Club, and integration with academic space planning.
Approximately 300 employees in Facilities Services are responsible for supporting the academic mission of the campus through securing and maintaining the viability and integrity of the physical campus via: capital project delivery; facilities operations; finance and business services; and campus planning and sustainability.
Information Technology Services (ITS): The VPO’s technology infrastructure portfolio includes the University’s central Information Technology Services (ITS) organization. ITS ensures sustained innovation, security, and reliability in the delivery of information technology systems and services that support the academic, research and administrative excellence of the University.
The organization employs some 300 staff to support IT architecture, integration and security; enterprise applications and services; academic and scholarly technology services; emerging technologies and communications; web services; administrative services; cybersecurity, and shared services and infrastructure.
Human Resources: The VPO also provides executive oversight for the University’s central human resources organization, involving all aspects of the centralized element of a broader decentralized human resources delivery system for the University including staff recruitment, benefits, compensation, performance management, staff development, leadership development, employee and labor relations, HR information systems, and union negotiations. Approximately 40 human resource professionals are in the central unit.
Helpful links:
Facilities Services https://facilities.uchicago.edu/
Human Resources https://humanresources.uchicago.edu/
Information Technology Services https://its.uchicago.edu/
Responsibilities:
Competencies:
Education:
Experience:
Required Documents:
The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.
We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.
All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.
Job Summary:
Reporting directly to the President and serving as a strategic partner to and member of the President’s executive team, the Vice President for Operations (VPO) assists in supporting the highest ambitions of the University’s…