Department
IRSAY FAMILY RESEARCH INSTITUT (UA-IRSY-IUBLA)
Department Information
The Irsay Institute was founded in 2021, enabled by a generous gift from the Irsay Family. The Irsay is dedicated to direct support and development of research and researchers interested in health and health care through outreach, education, and research.
Job Summary
The Director of Operations provides strategic and operational leadership for all administrative and personnel functions of the Irsay Institute. This role is responsible for ensuring effective and compliant operations, supporting a wide portfolio of interdisciplinary research projects and programs, and driving alignment between day-to-day activities and long-term Institute goals. As a senior leader, the Director of Operations contributes to organizational planning, oversees staff and systems, and partners with Irsay Institute and IU Research leadership to implement evolving initiatives.
Department Specific Responsibilities
- Provides high-level operational leadership and coordination across administrative functions.
- Directly supervises professional and support staff; responsible for recruitment, training, performance evaluation, promotion, corrective actions, and termination decisions. Establishes and implements operational objectives and priorities aligned with the Institute's mission and strategic plans.
- Conducts resource planning, assesses Institute staffing needs, and manages reorganization or restructuring, partnering with Irsay Institute faculty leadership.
- Leads development and communication of internal policies and practices; ensures consistency with university wide standards.
- Represents the Institute in cross unit initiatives and operational working groups; advises executive committees on infrastructure, finance, and process improvements.
- Serves as the Institute's primary HR liaison; oversees Institute and research project hiring for staff, students, and temporary roles.
- Provides high-level operational leadership across Irsay initiatives, including oversight of multiple projects and teams.
- Guides proposal development processes and post-award project execution, particularly for initiatives involving National Institute of Health (NIH), and foundation funders.
- Serves as a liaison between faculty directors and staff to ensure project alignment, transparency, and progress.
- Translates faculty and institutional research priorities into implementable programs by designing scalable systems, workflows, and staffing plans.
- Supervises a cross-functional Irsay Research Team of project managers and coordinators, offering mentorship, task oversight, and career development support.
- Aligns staff assignments and capacity with project needs, coordinating with faculty leads and executive leadership to optimize resource distribution.
- Cultivates a goal-oriented team culture that promotes collaboration, initiative, and accountability. Program Documentation and Operational Standards.
- Develops and maintains institutional documentation across program portfolios, including Confluence wikis, backend process guides, and activity reports.
- Develops, refines, and codes automation procedures and workflows using AI and knowledge of best practices to improve consistency across teams and reduce redundancy across projects.
- Standardizes reporting practices and create reusable templates and frameworks to support documentation efficiency and accuracy.
- Tracks and analyzes program metrics for internal planning and reporting.
- Implements improvements to documentation processes that enhance continuity, scalability, and onboarding for future staff and collaborators.
- Develops targeted communications for a wide range of audiences, including university leadership, external funders, and the broader public.
- Ensures all communications advance institutional reputation and strategically support external funding and faculty collaboration.
- Oversees internal and external communications strategies, including Irsay media presence and newsletters and the management of the Irsay website.
- Develops the Irsay website by architecting, building, and maintaining the backend and frontend codebases to support the evolving needs of the institute and its faculty.
General Responsibilities
- Provides leadership and strategic direction for complex operational functions, programs, services, or initiatives with broad organizational impact; ensures alignment of operations with departmental, divisional, and institutional priorities.
- Serves as a senior operational advisor and subject matter expert; consults with leadership and stakeholders on operational strategy, organizational effectiveness, service delivery models, and business process improvements.
- Leads the assessment, design, and implementation of major operational initiatives, process transformations, and organizational improvements that enhance efficiency, quality, compliance, and customer experience.
- Resolves highly complex operational issues and emerging organizational challenges; evaluates risks, assesses impacts, and develops solutions that support long-term operational success.
- Directs the development and implementation of operational policies, procedures, standards, frameworks, and controls to promote consistency, accountability, and effective governance.
- Analyzes organizational performance, operational metrics, trends, and resource utilization; provides recommendations and strategic insights to support planning, prioritization, and decision-making.
- Builds collaborative partnerships across departments, divisions, and functional areas to advance institutional initiatives, address operational needs, and achieve shared objectives.
- Identifies future operational needs, risks, and opportunities; develops recommendations and long-range approaches to improve organizational effectiveness and sustainability.
- Mentors and provides guidance to operational professionals and leaders; shares expertise, promotes best practices, and contributes to the development of operational capability across the organization.
- Leads cross-functional projects and initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and areas of responsibility; facilitates decision-making, drives execution, and ensures successful outcomes.
Qualifications
Combinations of related education and experience may be considered. Education beyond the minimum required may be substituted for work experience. Work experience beyond the minimum required may be substituted for education.
EDUCATION
Required
- Bachelor's degree in related field.
Preferred
- Masters' degree (preferably in administration or sociomedical sciences.)
WORK EXPERIENCE
Required
- 4 years of relevant experience.
- 1 year of management experience.
Preferred
- 5 years of professional experience in management, operations, or administration, at Indiana University.
- In depth knowledge of the Irsay Institute, previous working experience with the current Director and Associate Directors.
- 5 years experience in a higher education or research-intensive environment.
- Experience working with IU Research, in depth knowledge and structure of university systems.
- Experience working with complex funding structures and university systems.
SKILLS
Required
- Proficient written and verbal communication skills.
- Maintains a high degree of professionalism.
- Demonstrates time management and priority setting skills.
- Excellent organizational skills.
- Excellent collaboration and team building skills.
- Effectively coaches and delivers constructive feedback.
- Instills commitment to organizational goals.
- Effective conflict management skills.
- Demonstrates a high commitment to quality.
- Demonstrates excellent judgment and decision making skills.
- Builds and manages effective teams.
Preferred
- Strong proficiency in IU systems.
- Demonstrated leadership in operations and process improvement within the Irsay Institute.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- Ability to present to a wide range of audiences, including IU Research leadership, faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, staff, and members of the community
- High proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Adobe Creative Suite, and Python for data analysis and reporting; GitHub, JavaScript/TypeScript, HTML, and Cascading Sheet Styles (CSS) for web development; Unix shell environments and scripting languages for automation.
- Deep understanding of university and federal policies related to grant proposals, post awards, HR and sponsored research.
Working Conditions / Demands
This role requires the ability to effectively communicate and to operate a computer and other standard office productivity equipment. The position involves sedentary work as well as periods of time moving around an office environment and the campus. The person in this role must be able to perform the essential functions with or without an accommodation.
Work Location
Bloomington, Indiana
Benefits Overview
For full-time staff employees, Indiana University offers a wide array of benefits including:
- Comprehensive medical and dental insurance
- Health savings account with generous IU contributions
- Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
- Basic group life insurance paid by IU
- Voluntary supplemental life, long-term disability, critical illness, and supplemental accidental death & dismemberment insurance
- Base retirement plan with generous IU contributions, subject to vesting
- Voluntary supplemental retirement plan options
- Tuition subsidy for employees and family members taking IU courses
- 10 paid holidays plus a paid winter break each year
- Generous paid time off plans
- Paid leave for new parents and IU-sponsored volunteer events
- Employee assistance program (EAP)
Learn more about our benefits by reviewing the IU Benefit Programs Brochure.
Job Classification
Career Level: Sr. Operational
FLSA: Exempt
Job Function: General Administration
Job Family: Operations Management
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Posting Disclaimer
This posting is scheduled to close at 11:59 pm EST on the advertised Close Date. This posting may be closed at any time at the discretion of the University, but will remain open for a minimum of 5 business days. To guarantee full consideration, please submit your application within 5 business days of the Posted Date.
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Indiana University is an equal opportunity employer and provider of ADA services and prohibits discrimination in hiring. See Indiana University Notice of Non-Discrimination here which includes contact information.
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