Senior Operations Manager Graduate Housing

Special Instructions to Applicants:

All interested applicants should attach a resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application preferably in a PDF format to avoid any formatting issues.

About Rice:

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston Texas Rice University is ranked among the nations top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio and a residential college system which supports students intellectually emotionally and culturally through social events intramural sports student plays lectures series courses and student government. Developing close-knit diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty staff and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rices culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name RICE Responsibility Integrity Community and Excellence.

Position Summary:
The Senior Operations Manager for the Housing and Dining Department at Rice University is a highly visible leadership role responsible for overseeing and enhancing the operational efficiency of housing and dining services. This position plays a crucial part in ensuring a seamless and high-quality experience for residents and diners within the university community. The Senior Operations Manager will lead initiatives manage staff and collaborate with various stakeholders to uphold the departments standards of excellence. This position entails overseeing hospitality operations including food service and housing for 3 assigned colleges and 12 serveries totaling approximately sq. ft. or student apartments. With an additional focus on leadership for summer conference programs and support for H&D administration the Senior Operations Manager ensures the delivery of high-quality tenant and guest services through effective communication strategic planning oversight and monitoring of work process systems.

Delivers high-quality tenant and guest services through excellent communication planning and oversight. Develops annual operating budgets and makes recommendations for maintenance and capital improvement projects.

This position is considered essential during a campus emergency. The incumbent in this position is expected to report to campus provide the essential services designated and work under the overall direction of the Crisis Management Team for the duration of a campus emergency.

Ideal Candidate Statement:
The ideal candidate has experience working in a team environment. He/She should be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment managing multiple tasks.

Workplace Requirements:
This position is exclusively on-site necessitating all duties to be performed in Rice policy 440 work arrangements may be subject to change.

Physical Demands:

• Must lift and carry up to 20 pounds several times daily.
• Requires walking or standing up to eight hours per day.
• Other physical requirements include bending/crouching/kneeling lifting seeing reaching climbing and balancing.
• Must be able to move throughout assigned areas as work is performed indoors and outdoors.

Work Environment:

• Primarily an indoor work environment in various university settings including offices food serveries and residential facilities. May be exposed to temperature extremes in facilities that are not climate-controlled.
• Some work may occur at heightened elevations on ladders or scaffolding or in wet areas with possible exposure to toxic and caustic chemicals as well as kitchen mechanical equipment sharp objects such as knives and meat slicers.

Work Hours On-Call Schedule and Travel:

• On-call duty involves being available outside regular working hours to address emergencies or critical issues promptly. This responsibility requires quick responsiveness via phone or other communication channels to ensure timely problem resolution.
• After-hours work may be required or other work outside the regular schedule may be needed.
• Available on a continuous on-call basis for response to problems and emergencies that affect campus operations.
• May require periodic travel to classes conferences and vendor sites as needed.

This role is classified as an essential position requiring on-site presence to effectively carry out its vital functions.

Hiring Range: $85000 minimum with hiring salary commensurate with experience and qualifications.
*Exempt (salaried) positions underFLSA are not eligible for overtime.

Minimum Requirements:

• Associates Degree
• 4 years of related experience
• Strong interpersonal skills effective communication time management and ability to handle multiple priorities in a timely manner

Preferences:

• Bachelors Degree
• Eight years of related experience with at least five years in a senior leadership role
• Proven organizational and problem-solving skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel PowerPoint Adobe Google Suite
• Strong leadership and people management skills with a commitment to building and maintaining a customer service-oriented organization
• Ability to conduct/lead meetings and train personnel
• Exceptional interpersonal skills including the ability to work well with others exercise a professional demeanor and demonstrate tact and courtesy
• Effective time management and prioritization abilities
• Exhibit a high degree of emotional intelligence while dealing with conflicts

Essential Functions:

• Property and Facility Operations: Oversees the daily operation of student apartment communities and residential colleges ensuring a well-maintained safe and service-oriented living environment consistent with multifamily housing standards
• Resident Experience: Implements systems and processes to deliver consistent high-quality resident experiences comparable to professional apartment management focusing on responsiveness preventative maintenance and community engagement
• Leasing and Occupancy Coordination: Supports assignments transitions and inspections within apartment-style housing; partners with Housing Administration to manage occupancy data and coordinate resident communications
• Vendor and Contractor Oversight: Works closely with vendors property service providers and external maintenance partners to maintain service quality and value.
• Capital Renewal Planning: Identifies and prioritizes projects to sustain long-term facility health comfort and compliance across multifamily and student housing assets
• Maintaining Communication: Establishes and maintains ongoing contact and communication with college leadership students staff stakeholders vendors and other campus and community partners. Efficiently coordinates activities among maintenance trades external vendors and residents to ensure seamless collaboration and execution of tasks
• Staff Oversight: Monitors the work of custodial maintenance grounds staff and student interns approximately 100 staff and RAs ensuring high standards of service.
• Summer Housing Operations: Manages operations related to summer housing and conference programs ensuring smooth and efficient processes and tenant and guest services. This includes planning contracting and executing services related to summer groups averaging 2000 participants while managing summer renovation projects
• Quality Assurance: Solicits feedback from residents and implements ongoing adjustments to ensure continual improvement and satisfaction. Implements rigorous quality assurance measures for external vendors to ensure delivery of high-quality products and services
• Leadership and Vision: Provides strong leadership and vision and fosters high staff morale with a focus on common goals aligned with the universitys mission of supporting undergraduate and graduate education and growth. Articulates action plans that foster a shared understanding and commitment among staff
• Staff Management: Recruits trains and supervises all staff under direct supervision including Operations Managers and Hospitality staff. Prioritizes staff development through multifaceted training programs integrating workshops seminars and online resources. Regularly evaluates and adjusts initiatives to ensure alignment with organizational goals fostering a dynamic and skilled workforce while taking corrective action when needed
• Administrative Management: Directs and manages administrative functions ensuring the smooth coordination and efficiency of departmental operations. Handles office processes personnel documentation and communication systems such as IO systems and invoices timekeeping systems work order management and human resources documentation
• Budget Management: Works closely with the finance team to develop and manage budgets making data-driven recommendations for resource allocation and optimization. Collaborates with college leadership on support and project funding. Monitors payroll for all staff and temp agencies while maintaining budget guidelines. Makes recommendations on staff merit increases. Budget amount approximately $6M
• Environmental Practices: Oversees the implementation of plans and strategies for environmentally safe housing
• Process Analysis and Improvement: Analyzes internal processes recommends develops and implements standard operating procedures and guideline changes to enhance overall operations
• External Stakeholder Contacts: Coordinates with campus stakeholders to execute operational strategies including general counsel risk management human resources student support services facilities and capital planning sustainability dean of graduate studies athletics and other campus partners
  Additional Responsibilities: Performs all other duties as assigned

Additional Functions:
Supervisory Responsibilities

• Supervises a combined staff of housing personnel temporary workers student interns and Ras
• Monitors work and behavior and may give direction to custodial maintenance managers administrative staff and Ras
• Functions as a liaison to direct supervisors
• Enforces safety rules and regulations investigates accidents and incidents and completes accident/incident reports
• Prepares yearly staff performance appraisals
• Engages in strategic planning and provides direction toward departmental and university goals

Rice University HR Benefits: Mission and Values:Mission and Values Rice University

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race color religion age sex sexual orientation gender identity national or ethnic origin genetic information disability or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process please contact Rice Universitys Disability Resource Center at or for support.

If you have any additional questions please email us at Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.