As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

The University Honors Program, a unit of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, has an outstanding opportunity for a Program Operations Specialist to join our team.

Undergraduate Academic Affairs (UAA) shapes, advances and stewards a world-class undergraduate academic experience for students at the University of Washington. Staff, faculty and students in UAA deepen and enrich the learning experience for all undergraduates, recognizing and supporting the unique learning path of each individual student and the commitment of each academic program to excellence in learning and teaching.

The University Honors Program is an innovative academic unit and collaborative community engaged in rigorous interdisciplinary exploration. Students can pursue Honors as a general education track, as an in-depth program within their majors, or as a combination of the two. We prepare our students to ask and answer bold questions about the challenges facing our ever-changing world through participation in small classes with faculty from across campus, and by challenging themselves and each other to take intellectual risks and commit to conscious global engagement. Our staff not only enjoys outstanding benefits and professional growth opportunities, but also an environment noted for diversity, community involvement, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.

The Program Operations Specialist plays an important role in managing program operations and processes. This position reports directly to the Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives & Admissions and works collaboratively with all program staff. In addition, the program operations specialist has frequent contact with instructors, university staff and administration, prospective students and families, and works closely with program leadership, academic leadership, administrators and instructors from units across the university. The position is responsible for programmatic management and operations, administrative coordination and planning, office processes, and coordinating the quarterly course scheduling, as well as the Honors Program’s collaboration with academic units in coordinating the compensation of faculty chosen on a quarterly basis to teach courses within the Honors Program.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program Operations (35%)

Manage day-to-day operations of the office, including, develop and implement policies and procedures; supervise student support staff. Maintain appropriate resources and guidelines for support staff.

Oversee front desk functions and student staff, including hiring, onboarding, and allocation of duties.

Initiate and monitor spending and purchase requests. Work with faculty and staff to initiate reimbursements, monitor order requests, and other purchasing and reimbursement requests. Maintain purchasing records and work with Fiscal Managers to ensure procedure and policy compliance.

Maintain, document, and update standard operating procedures, educating staff on compliance and changes to UW, UAA , or Honors practices as needed for all office procedures, including but not limited to, room reservations, purchasing, and facilities.

Prepare presentations on program operations and needs to guide Honors Program leadership strategic planning and decisions.

Special projects and duties as assigned by Honors Program leadership to support the broader goals of the Honors Program.

Curriculum & Compensation Coordination (35%)

Develop and maintain a faculty course proposal system and process, making recommendations to Honors Program leadership on faculty recruitment, and consulting with campus partners on Honors & UW processes for faculty hiring and compensation. Manage Honors faculty hiring in collaboration with academic units across all three University of Washington campuses.

Build and manage quarterly time schedule and escalate issues that need the attention of the Director and Assistant Director.

Process management (15%)

Build and implement annual and quarterly calendars with key dates to maintain office priorities, identify potential conflicts, and propose and/or collaborate on conflict solutions. Annual and quarterly calendars will also be used to facilitate and inform the Honors Program's communication strategy.

Build and implement annual and quarterly processes to support and improve program operations and services. Create and maintain guides, resources, and websites for these processes.

Design and administration of student surveys to evaluate the efficacy of programming and services.

Collaborate with computing specialists to create reports and develop data visualization resources to assess applicant and student demographics, and students' use of academic support services. Analyze data for trends to inform future program development.

Provide annual reports to program staff.

Human Resources and Administration Management (15%)

Manage and participate in the hiring processes for permanent and temporary staff, including creating internal hiring processes and procedures and managing hiring processes.

Manage the recruitment and hiring of GSAs and student employees, assist in determining and prioritizing projects assigned to student employees.

Administer, maintain, and retain administrative, student, financial, and electronic database records to ensure compliance with federal, state, and University policies and procedures. Maintain a high level of confidentiality and discretion.

Coordinate program committees and meetings, including overseeing meeting logistics, monitoring projects, collecting and disseminating materials, and communicating outcomes to stakeholders.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Bachelor's degree.

Two years working in a fast-paced office environment.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

Additional Requirements:

Working with typical office software and project management tools.

Working effectively on a team and individually.

Demonstrated excellent oral and written communication skills and excellent interpersonal skills.

Managing multiple stakeholder relationships and communicating with diverse audiences.

Implementing project management tools on existing and new processes.

Demonstrated ability to identify and determine operational priorities.

Demonstrated experience taking on new projects and learning new skills.

Experience with writing, editing, and proofreading.

Experience using judgment and discretion with access to sensitive information and maintaining collegial relationships.

Desired:

Knowledge of University of Washington academic procedures, policies and administrative systems.

Experience with Wordpress.

Experience and/or familiarity with honors programs/colleges.

Experience working with diverse undergraduate students in a university or similar setting.

Demonstrated goal and results orientation, with the ability to think strategically to problem solve.

Demonstrated commitment to diversity and equity.

Additional Assessment Questions
In your application please address the following:

What is it about this program and these job responsibilities that interests you, and how do your prior work experiences connect to the responsibilities of this position?

Please tell us about your experience engaging and working with diverse communities – particularly in the context of your professional, volunteer, or civic work. Please also address efforts you have made or been involved with to foster diversity competence and understanding.

Application Process:

The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.