Business Operations Manager

Position Details

Position Information

Announcement Number STAFF - VA - 27097

For questions regarding this position, please contact:

Katie Sutich

Assistant to the Dean

[email protected]

Classification Title Admin Assoc IV

Working Title Business Operations Manager

Brief Position Overview

The Department of English is searching for an enthusiastic and motivated individual to supervise and manage all administrative support activities of the department. The Business Operations Manager oversees fiscal, Human Resources, and student support services while providing critical assistance to the Department Head and faculty in their mission to provide outstanding educational and research opportunities to the students at Montana State University.

Position Number 4M0738

Department English

Division College of Letters & Science

Appointment Type Classified

Contract Term Fiscal Year

Semester

If other, specify From date

If other, specify End date

FLSA Non-Exempt

Union Affiliation FOCUS-MFPE

FTE 1.0

Benefits Eligible Eligible

Salary $25.04 per hour, commensurate with experience, education, and qualifications.

Contract Type Classified Salary

If other, please specify

Recruitment Type Open

Position Details

General Statement

The English Department offers undergraduate degrees in English Education, Literature, and Writing. Graduate students can pursue either a MA in English or an online MA in English Education. The department serves over 250 undergraduates, approximately 20 graduate students, 25 non-tenure-track faculty, 15 tenure-track faculty, two staff, and a student worker. The Department also houses the Yellowstone Writing Project.

The Business Operations Manager provides a high level of administrative and management support to the department. This includes serving as the assistant for the Department Head, providing fiscal oversight and budget management for department funds, organizing department events, liaising with Human Resources, supervising staff, and administering the daily department operations.

Duties and Responsibilities

Assistant to the Department Head

• Work closely with the Department Head to facilitate overall operations.

• Provide departmental and program data and implement decisions.

• Research and prepare data on budgetary and academic issues, such as course offerings, enrollments, and course loads, to provide supporting documentation to manage curricula.

Fiscal Manager

• Perform many accounting and all budgeting functions for the Department.

• Serve as account manager for purchasing card transactions, including monthly report compilation.

• Manages faculty travel and student scholarships.

• Serve as departmental liaison with the College of Letters and Sciences Fiscal Shared Services for centralized accounting services.

Conference and Event Organizer

• Work directly with the Academic Services Coordinator to make arrangements for events, conferences, and lectures, including securing facilities, preparing schedules, promoting events, and, where appropriate, arranging for food, lodging, and transportation. This may include participating in events as on-site staff.

HR Liaison

• Serve as the first point of contact for hiring and payroll issues.

• Create and process various types of appointments for faculty (tenure track and non-tenure track), staff, graduate, and undergraduate students.

• Process tax forms and all required new employee forms, conducts pre-payroll audits, reconciles payroll, submits appointment forms, and approves timesheets.

Operations Manager

• Oversee the daily functions, workloads, and services of the department.

• Provide support for curriculum assessment activities and for Retention, Tenure, and Promotion processes.

• Oversee department property management for departmental offices, common spaces, teaching labs, conference rooms, and research lab property issues.

• Supervise associated staff and student employees.

Required Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

• Bachelor’s degree and progressively responsible business management experience or an equivalent combination of relevant education and/or experience.

• Demonstrated experience with budgeting, accounting or human resources.

• Demonstrated experience organizing and prioritizing multiple work assignments, meeting deadlines and exercising adaptability with a high degree of accuracy.

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel, Outlook, and computer databases.

Preferred Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

• Knowledge of MSU procedures and policies or previous experience working in a higher education setting.

• Progressively responsible management experience.

The Successful Candidate Will

• Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Possess strong decision-making and problem-solving skills.

• Have the ability to implement and communicate new policies and procedures.

• Have the ability to work independently with minimal supervision and as part of a team.

• Have the ability to establish and maintain productive and positive working relations with coworkers, faculty, students, supervisors, and the public.

• Represent the department, college, and university to others in a professional and courteous manner.

Position Special Requirements/Additional Information

This job description should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements, but a general description of the job. Nothing contained herein restricts Montana State University’s rights to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Physical Demands

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

This position has supervisory duties? Yes

Posting Detail Information

Number of Vacancies 1

Desired Start Date Upon completion of a successful search.

Position End Date (if temporary)

Open Date

Close Date

Applications will be:

Screening of applications will begin on September 29, 2026; however, applications will continue to be accepted until an adequate applicant pool has been established.

Special Instructions

This position is not eligible for sponsorship.

EEO Statement

Montana State University is an equal opportunity employer. MSU does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, political ideas, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, or any other protected class status in violation of any applicable law.

In compliance with the Montana Veteran’s Employment Preference Act, MSU provides preference in employment to veterans, disabled veterans, and certain eligible relatives of veterans. To claim veteran’s preference, please complete the veteran’s preference information located in the Demographics section of your profile.