SCALES Director of Operations

The Director of Operations provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for Vanderbilt Center for Simulation, Computational-modeling, and AI-integrated Learning for Engineering Systems (SCALES). Reporting to the Center Director, this position is responsible for managing the Center's research administration, financial operations, educational initiatives, communications, strategic partnerships, and day-to-day operations. The Director serves as the primary operational liaison among faculty, university administrative offices, funding agencies, industry partners, and external stakeholders, ensuring the successful execution of SCALES' mission while supporting the Center's growth and national prominence. Key Functions and Expected Performance: Leadership & Personnel Management - Oversee the Center's administrative and operational staff, providing strategic leadership and ensuring the effective execution of the Center's mission and priorities. - Recruit, hire, onboard, train, supervise, mentor, and evaluate professional and support staff in accordance with university policies and best practices. - Manage a small- to mid-sized team of experienced professionals, typically at junior and intermediate levels, providing leadership, direction, coaching, and performance management while fostering professional growth and accountability. - Lead, direct, and review the work of staff who exercise independent judgment and latitude in carrying out assignments, ensuring consistency, quality, and alignment with Center objectives. - Establish performance expectations, delegate responsibilities, prioritize workloads, and implement operational policies and strategies that support organizational effectiveness and continuous improvement. - Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and service-oriented workplace culture that reflects Vanderbilt University's values of excellence, integrity, innovation, respect, and teamwork. - Promote effective communication, collaboration, and cross-functional partnerships among Center staff, faculty, university administrative offices, and external stakeholders. - Identify staffing needs and organizational opportunities to support the Center's continued growth and evolving strategic priorities. - Develop and implement administrative policies, standard operating procedures, and best practices to enhance operational efficiency, service delivery, and organizational effectiveness - Oversee the day to day operations of SCALES Financial Management - Oversee the financial operations of the Center, including operating budgets, discretionary funds, sponsored project accounts, and strategic investments. - Establish, implement, and manage transparent and comprehensive budget plans to monitor expenditures, revenue, cost allocations, and fund utilization across all Center programs and initiatives. - Collaborate with Vanderbilt Finance and university administrative offices to develop annual budgets, financial forecasts, and long-range operational plans that support the Center's strategic goals. - Prepare financial reports, analyze budget performance, and provide recommendations to support informed decision-making by Center leadership. - Ensure responsible financial stewardship through effective fiscal planning, resource allocation, and monitoring of financial performance. - Ensure compliance with university financial policies, sponsor requirements, and applicable regulations while promoting the efficient and effective use of Center resources. - Identify opportunities to optimize operational efficiencies and strategically allocate resources to support the Center's research, educational, and outreach priorities. Research Administration - Serve as the primary operational resource for SCALES faculty throughout the proposal development and award lifecycle. - Coordinate with Vanderbilt Contracts & Grants, Sponsored Programs Administration, and other university offices to facilitate proposal submissions and award management. - Assist faculty with proposal documentation, budgets, compliance requirements, and resolution of time-sensitive proposal issues. - Support post-award administrative coordination for sponsored research projects. - Monitor the SCALES general email account and respond to requests from faculty, industry, government agencies, and external collaborators. - Develop and maintain relationships with industry partners interested in SBIR/STTR collaborations. - Maintain and communicate a database of industry partners and funding collaboration opportunities available to SCALES faculty. Communications & External Engagement - Lead development and implementation of the Center's communications strategy. - Coordinate the design, launch, and ongoing management of the SCALES website through university resources or external vendors. - Promote the Center's visibility through strategic communications and external outreach. - Represent the center operationally in relevant university committees and working groups Center Operations, Events & Strategic Initiatives - Oversee the planning, coordination, and execution of high-profile conferences, workshops, symposia, seminar series, and strategic initiatives, ensuring alignment with the Center's mission and Vanderbilt University's brand standards. - Coordinate the SCALES Seminar Series, including speaker invitations, scheduling, logistics, communications, and event execution. - Manage visits for scholars, faculty, researchers, students, industry representatives, and international collaborators. - In collaboration of CEE staff, coordinate conferences and workshops where SCALES serves as the primary organizer or co-organizer, including national and international meetings. - Ensure successful execution of multiple concurrent events while maintaining exceptional operational quality and stakeholder engagement. Advisory Board & External Relations - Coordinate the activities of the SCALES External Advisory Board. - Organize annual Advisory Board meetings, prepare agendas, meeting materials, and follow-up communications. - Serve as the primary liaison with Advisory Board members, funding agencies, industry partners, and external collaborators. Supervisory Relationships: This position does have supervisory responsibility, this position reports administratively and functionally to the Director of SCALES Education and Certifications - Bachelor’s Degree is necessary - Masters is preferred Experience and Skills: - Minimum of 5 years of experience in operations, administrative management, financial management, grant/contract administration or related roles—preferably in research, academic or interdisciplinary setting. - Understands basic management approaches such as work scheduling, prioritizing, coaching and process execution. - University/College background – Engineering preferred - Strong Organizational skills - Strong critical thinking/ problem solving skills - Experience working with senior leadership - Experience working in a higher education/ academic setting preferred - Financial background including the review of budgets - Proficient in Microsoft office, adobe, and have database experience - Comfort with new technological systems. Adapts easily to changes in technology and process - Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously - Professional and pleasant attitude with considerable tact, diplomacy, and judgment in interactions with students, faculty, and staff