Senior Director of Operations - Youth Justice Institute - University at Albany

The Senior Director of Operations serves as the Institute's senior operational leader and is responsible for enterprise-wide infrastructure, fiscal coordination, administrative systems, compliance oversight, and operational risk management. Reporting directly to the Executive Director, this position ensures that all Institute initiatives are supported by aligned financial, personnel, and operational systems that promote stability, accountability, and long-term sustainability.

The Institute operates within a matrix management model. While the Senior Director of Operations directly supervises designated operational leadership roles, this position also maintains dotted-line oversight and coordination responsibilities with programmatic Directors to ensure alignment between operational systems and program implementation.

This role is critical in supporting the Institute's continued growth and stabilization across multiple state, federal, and foundation funding streams.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Enterprise Operations & Infrastructure
  • Provide strategic oversight of Institute-wide operational systems, including finance, grants administration, human resources coordination, contracts, compliance, and administrative processes.
  • Develop and maintain standardized operating procedures to ensure continuity, consistency, and institutional memory.
  • Oversee enterprise-level risk management and ensure adherence to University at Albany policies and funding requirements.
  • Lead operational planning during periods of institutional growth, transition, or stabilization.
• Financial & Grants Oversight
  • Directly supervise the Director of Finance & Grants.
  • Review and monitor Institute-wide financial reports, cashflow projections, and budget performance prior to Executive Director review.
  • Ensure fiscal alignment across multiple funding streams (State, federal, and foundation, as applicable).
  • Oversee the annual budgeting process in coordination with the Executive Director.
  • Ensure strong internal controls and audit readiness.
• Personnel & Administrative Systems
  • Directly supervise the Associate Director of Operations.
  • Ensure alignment of staffing structures with institutional priorities and funding requirements.
  • Oversee coordination with University HR and Research Foundation offices regarding payroll, benefits, hiring, and personnel processes.
  • Support performance management systems and organizational capacity planning.
• Grants, Contracts & Compliance Coordination
  • Oversee Institute-wide grant lifecycle systems, including proposal development workflows, reporting timelines, and deliverables tracking.
  • Ensure timely and accurate submission of grant reports and compliance documentation.
  • Oversee coordination of MOUs and contractual agreements in collaboration with University administrative units.
  • Monitor cross-portfolio reporting and compliance requirements.
• Matrix Leadership & Cross-Portfolio Alignment
  • Maintain dotted-line coordination with the Director of Training & Technical Assistance and the Director of Research to ensure operational systems effectively support program implementation.
  • Facilitate alignment between programmatic activities and fiscal, personnel, and reporting structures.
  • Establish dashboards and performance indicators to support leadership decision-making.
  • Promote clarity across operational, fiscal, and programmatic swimlanes within the Institute's matrix model.
• Institutional Sustainability & Process Improvement
  • Identify efficiencies and recommend structural improvements to strengthen institutional stability.
  • Lead development of enterprise reporting tools to inform executive-level planning.
  • Ensure operational resilience and continuity independent of individual personnel.
• Other reasonable duties as assigned.

Functional and Supervisory Relationships:

• Reports to Executive Director.
• Supervises the following positions:
  • Director of Grants and Finance.
  • Associate Director of Operations.
• Matrix / Dotted-Line Coordination:
  • Director of Training & Technical Assistance
  • Director of Research
  • The Senior Director of Operations ensures operational alignment across all portfolios and collaborates closely with programmatic leadership to maintain clarity across fiscal, administrative, and implementation pathways.

Job Requirements:

• Strong knowledge of compliance requirements associated with state and federal grants.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively within complex organizational structures.
• Applicants must demonstrate an ability to develop inclusive and equitable relationships within our diverse campus community.
• Applicants must demonstrate an ability to support diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and belonging relative to their role.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, Accounting, Organizational Leadership, or related field from a college or University accredited by the US Department of Education or an internationally recognized accrediting organization.
• Minimum of 5 to 7 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in operations, finance, grants management, or institutional administration.
• Demonstrated experience overseeing multi-source public funding portfolios.
• Experience supervising senior-level staff.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree (M.A., M.P.A., M.B.A., or related field) preferred.
• Experience working within SUNY or comparable university administrative systems.
• Demonstrated experience operating within a matrix management model.
• Experience managing interagency MOUs and complex public-sector partnerships.

Working Environment:

Typical office environment