JOB SUMMARY

Reporting to the Senior Assistant Dean, the Chief Operations Officer (COO) for the Baskin School of Engineering (BE) is a key member of the Dean’s Cabinet and is responsible for overseeing some of the school’s key day-to-day operational and administrative functions. The COO works closely with senior leadership, faculty, staff, and partners across campus to ensure the effective and efficient management of the school’s resources in support of divisional educational and research goals.
The incumbent employs strong written and verbal communication skills, political acumen, and planning and project management skills to establish operational objectives and work plans across four teams (research administration, labs and facilities, space planning, and ITS). The COO develops, implements, and adaptively manages policies, practices, systems, and processes to streamline business operations and develop a customer-service and results-oriented culture within respective teams. The incumbent navigates a complex and dynamic set of competing demands with competency and flexibility and manages a variety of resources to meet the growing and increasingly complex needs of the BE academic enterprise.
The COO works closely with the Dean, Senior Assistant Dean, Associate Deans, Chief of Academic Operations, Chief People Officer, department chairs, faculty, and research center/institute directors. The incumbent also has regular interactions with senior staff and executives across campus administrative units and serves on campus committees and special task forces. The COO serves as a primary liaison with relevant campus administrative units, such as the Office of Research, Physical Planning, Development and Operations, and Campus ITS.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced degree in related area and/or equivalent experience and/or training.
• Advanced ability to work as a member of a team.
• Excellent management skills with the demonstrated ability to mentor and motivate staff.
• Demonstrated critical thinking and analytical skills.
• Excellent professionalism and customer service skills.
• Excellent verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively listen and communicate complex ideas and details in a concise manner.
• Excellent written communication skills.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively across the organization at all levels; ability to interact with diverse populations.
• Excellent negotiation and diplomacy skills and strong political acumen.
• Strong project management skills and demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks.
• Ability to evaluate processes to establish and maintain appropriate accountability structures and strong internal control elements and their impact on protecting university resources.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Masters in Business Administration.

APPLICANTS ARE REQUIRED TO USE THE UCSC ON-LINE PROCESS

View full job description and access on-line application:
https://careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psc/ucsc/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRSHRAMFL.HRSCGSEARCHFL.GBL?Page=HRSAPPJBPSTFL&JobOpeningId=77834&PostingSeq=1&SiteId=11&languageCd=ENG&FOCUS=Applicant
To ensure review of application materials by the hiring unit, they must be submitted on or before the initial review date (IRD) via the Staff Employment Opportunities web site; https://jobs.ucsc.edu. A computer is available at the UC Santa Cruz Staff Human Resources Office located at Scotts Valley Center. The Scotts Valley Center is located at 100 Enterprise Way, Suite E100, Scotts Valley, CA 95066. To learn more or to request disability accommodations, call 831-459-2009. Hearing impaired are encouraged to use the California Relay Service at 800-735-2922. UC Santa Cruz is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. UC Santa Cruz is committed to excellence through diversity and strives to establish a climate that welcomes, celebrates, and promotes respect for the contributions of all students and employees.
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50% - Management and Leadership

• Employs strong management skills to directly oversee three divisional teams: research administration, labs and facilities, and space planning, and oversees an additional embedded ITS team with shared reporting to a central campus ITS unit.
• Directly supervises unit heads across key operational functions: Research Administration, Labs and Facilities, Space Planning, and Information Technology Services (ITS). This includes setting clear performance expectations, ensuring accountability, and driving continuous improvement through regular evaluation and coaching.
• Facilitates collaboration between teams to ensure alignment and cohesion.
• Leads transformation initiatives, especially during periods of scaling, restructuring, or pivoting.
• Applies management principles, practices, and techniques to assess and adaptively manage clear, effective, and efficient workflow systems.
• Provides high-level strategic analysis and guidance to the Dean and Senior Assistant Dean regarding the development, organizational structuring, and resource allocation of the research administration, labs and facilities, space planning, and ITS teams.
• Sets a high operating standard for a respectful and functional work environment, and ensures that the UCSC Principles of Community are adhered to.

15% - Research Administration

• Supervises the Research Administration Manager, who manages a team of professional staff that oversee the administration of a $60M sponsored research portfolio- growing at a rate of more than 15% annually- to ensure compliance with sponsor and university policies.
• Implements policies and employs strong process design and organizational development principles to manage risk effectively while supporting research growth and ensuring Principal Investigators have a clear understanding of fund balances and administrative requirements.
• Ensures accurate and efficient operations, clear processes and communication, and that resources are appropriately right-sized and allocated to meet the division’s and campus’ reporting metrics and operational goals.
• Develops and implements practices and procedures for research administration, including those related to grant submission, compliance, and reporting. Ensures processes and reporting are clear and accessible to funding agencies and Principal Investigators.
• Ensures divisional research activities comply with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
• Works with faculty and staff to ensure compliance with financial, ethical, and legal standards in research, including the handling of sensitive data, intellectual property (IP), and the management of research ethics.
• Instills strong customer service ethics in team operations and implements conflict negotiation and diplomacy skills to ensure smooth operations among team members and relationships with key faculty, staff, and principal investigators.

15% - Labs and Facilities

• Supervises the Director of Labs and Facilities, who manages a team of professional staff that support the operations of labs and facilities on the main campus, the Westside Research Park, and the Silicon Valley Campus.
• Provides general direction and strong project management to the labs and facilities teams to ensure projects move forward efficiently and effectively.
• Ensures the successful execution of new divisional construction, renovation, and major maintenance projects.
• Ensures compliance with health, safety, and environmental regulations and oversees emergency response plans.

10% - Space Planning

• Supervises the Director of Space Planning, who manages a team of professional staff that plan and oversee space planning for research labs, as well as staff and faculty offices across divisionally held spaces.
• Oversees the development and implementation of a short-term and long-term space planning strategy that aligns with the division’s academic and administrative goals, growth projections, and evolving needs.
• Oversees the creation and maintenance of a divisional master plan, coordinating space allocation for academic, research, student services, and administrative functions.
• Working closely with the Director of Space Planning, continuously evaluates the division’s current space usage to ensure efficient and effective utilization across departments, faculty, staff, and student services.