Director of Resources and Operations

San José State University’s Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering is an innovative, collaborative, and supportive environment that empowers employees to achieve professional and personal goals while contributing to the university’s student-centered mission. A member of the 23-campus California State university system, San José State University is situated in the entrepreneurial heart of Silicon Valley. The College of Engineering at San José State University comprises ten departments and independent programs which employs nearly 400 faculty and staff to support more than 7,000 local and international students. Committed to excellence and service, the expert staff of the College of Engineering frequently work with multiple external stakeholders and partners from across campus and other institutions.

The Director for Resources and Operations (DRO) works under the general direction of the Dean in the College of Engineering functioning with autonomy and oversight of the college and department budgets, personnel, and operations. The primary responsibilities include budget and fiscal management, personnel, operations, and oversight of facilities projects. This position collaborates and provides guidance and advice to the dean, associate deans, chairs, and staff on the efficient use of resources to optimize operation, implements college and campus policies, and serves as approving official with delegated authority. The incumbent oversees the administrative activities for the college and supervises key office personnel who work on a wide variety of events, programs, activities, and special projects as assigned.

The incumbent also works broadly with the leadership in the division, managers, analysts, and staff throughout the university and adopts continuous process improvement (CPI) to achieve business optimization and enhance the effectiveness of services offered in the college.

Key Responsibilities

• Advises the Dean with regards to policy and procedures for budget administration. Reviews proposed budget, salary, and personnel actions to ensure conformance with established guidelines and collective bargaining agreements.
• Manages and monitors annual salary and operational expenditures for the College in coordination with the college financial analyst.
• Provides support to Dean, Associate Dean(s), Department Chairs, Directors, and staff regarding fiscal management. Oversees development and administration of the College budget in collaboration with the Dean and appropriate University departments.
• Oversees preparation of periodic forecasts for each department and distribution salary, OE, and equipment funds.
• Monitors and approves financial transactions and journal transfers for the college.
• Monitors all College accounts to include CSU Operating Fund, Trust Accounts (e.g. faculty startup, PaCE, etc), Research Foundation, Tower Foundation/Endowment, and Scholarship accounts for budgetary compliance.
• Provides analysis and makes recommendations to the Dean on the effective use of all funds to support the goals of the college and division.
• Participates in and performs a full range of work-related to program and policy research, analysis, development, evaluation, and/or operational and fiscal analysis related to financial tracking of budgets, funding, or projects.
• Receives, generates, and transmits reports and other general correspondence relating to planning, development, and decision-making within the College.
• Partners with FD&O units, including maintenance, operations, project management and safety management staff, to help offer better response time and updates to the dean, associate deans, and departments
• Shepherds the strategic operational planning of space in the college; Represents the dean to develop long- range solutions and general space allocation and utilization plans, in collaboration with FD&O, that are consistent with federal, state and local codes and regulations and CSU and university guidelines.
• Works collectively with FD&O to ensure College space data is accurate and collaborates to perform space utilization analysis and studies
• Addresses general building space management concerns with the Sr. Director of Academic Budgets, Administration & Operations, Vice Provost of IESA, and FD&O, on behalf of the Dean, Associate Deans, Chairs, and College.
• Collaborate with FD&O to develop draft capital budget requests for facilities related to renovation, maintenance, and construction projects. Help facilitate access to program information as needed by FD&O to further plan, design, and construction successful projects.
• Works with the Dean in setting college level priorities and also advocates for the departments in moving projects along when issues arise in the Division Space Committee and with FD&O.
• Initiates and tracks project requests and updates the Dean on all FD&O projects for the college. As the college point of contact, the incumbent works closely with FD&O as project progresses from beginning to end.
• Lead the college in Academic Scheduling and Special Events oversight and implement changes guided by the division.
• Manages personnel work for all employees in the college, including searches, and annual evaluations.
• Track and report Assigned Time and Faculty Workload.
• Administers the staff and faculty appointment approval processes within the college.
• Provides staff training, evaluates performance, and implements departmental changes in consultation with the dean. This includes assisting the departments in training and development to find areas that need specific attention for improvements within the college.
• Leads staff professional development efforts throughout the college and spearheads leadership and mentorship programs; works to establish staff support structures that cross departments.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common technical concepts, reports, and legal documents.
• Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference; applying concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
• Ability to develop, recommend, and implement techniques and practices to improve the areas of fiscal and personnel responsibility to ensure optimum performance.
• Ability to interpret safety management system based guidelines, documents and processes.
• Ability to respond to difficult inquiries or complaints from regulatory agencies or members of the university community.
• Ability to communicate effectively with a diverse community of faculty, staff, and students as well as community members to ensure a positive, collaborative culture at the dean’s level.
• Ability and willingness to engage in robust discussions at the college and division-level meetings.
• Ability to maintain contact with customers and solicit feedback for improved services and to maximize productivity through use of appropriate tools; develop resources that create timely and efficient workflow; and develop and recommend budget.
• Ability to identify problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions and interpret a wide range of information and data.
• Ability to initiate and implement plans to solve problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to develop and present recommendations for improvement of established processes and practices.
• Ability to develop, communicate, and maintain guidelines and procedures to support the functions of the service group/division/college, while operating as part of a team.
• Demonstrated knowledge and ensure compliance with local, state, federal, campus, and California State University (CSU) policy and guidelines to establish and implement appropriate procedures.
• Ability to think strategically and support the dean in recommending policy or procedural decisions.
• Ability to learn new processes to support the dean in developing and implementing ongoing, dynamic strategies for enrollment management.
• Exercise fiscal responsibility and complying with demands to meet assigned targets and goals on a semester/annual basis.
• Ability to maintain and develop state-of-the-art practices, keeping abreast of current trends and practices in fields of expertise.
• Ability to train staff and department chairs to understand processes and procedures related to budget, personnel, facilities, and other relevant aspects of this position.
• Ability to directly and effectively supervise employees.
• Ability to represent the University positively, affirming and promoting a positive public image. Act professionally, be respectful, work in harmony, and perform efficiently, instilling professionalism as a baseline requirement.
• Ability to work cooperatively as a member of the college management team with the Academic Affairs division and the University to achieve agreed upon goals and objectives.
• Ability to prepare progress reports, inform supervisor of project status and deviation from goals; prepare activity reports for management guidance, including ability to ensure completeness, accuracy and timeliness of all operation functions.
• Working knowledge of, or the ability to develop proficiency in, the appropriate and ethical use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), in higher education and administrative contexts.
• Ability to apply emerging technologies to support operational effectiveness, data-informed decision-making, and service delivery to students, faculty, and staff.
• Demonstrated ability to support continuous improvement and organizational learning through the responsible application of technology within assigned areas of responsibility.
• Ability to evaluate potential applications, promote responsible, ethical, and equitable use, and ensure alignment with institutional policies, regulatory requirements, and strategic priorities.
• Ability to communicate with constituents in a professional and respectful manner.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 3 years’ experience managing staff of 5 or more.
• 2 years’ managing complex, multi-funded budgets.
• Experience with risk management planning.
• Experience with Google Suite and Microsoft Office Suite.

Preferred Qualifications

• Post-Baccalaureate.
• Experience with SJSU financial systems or similar (PeopleSoft, data warehouse, CHRS, etc.).
• Experience with budget projection and analysis, and writing business plans.

Compensation

Classification: Administrator II
Anticipated Hiring Range: $10,500/month - $11,250/month
CSU Salary Range: $5,053/month - $16,221/month

The final hiring salary will be commensurate with experience.

San José State University offers employees a comprehensive benefits package typically worth 30-35% of your base salary. For more information on programs available, please see the Employee Benefits Summary.

Application Procedure

Click Apply Now to complete the SJSU Online Employment Application and attach the following documents:

• Resume
• Letter of Interest

All applicants must apply within the specified application period: October 16, 2026 through November 1, 2026. This position is open until filled; however, applications received after screening has begun will be considered at the discretion of the university.

Contact Information

People and Culture
jobs@sjsu.edu

Advertised: October 16, 2026 (9:00 AM) Pacific Daylight Time
Applications close: Open until filled