Associate Director Graduate Operations

Oversees business operation and graduate student appointments within the college. Provides leadership in budgeting, payroll coordination, and operational workflows to support graduate education.

• Oversees business operations for the Graduate College to ensure appropriate resource allocation. Tracks and reconciles expenditures for programs and student aid. Reviews and researches all budget requests. Tracks payments for all revenue-generating programs. Responsible for all one-time and permanent budget adjustments. Prepares monthly and quarterly reports and presents reports to the leadership.
• Manages graduate appointments by monitoring student eligibility, ensuring departmental compliance with contracts and University guidelines. Approves graduate appointee salaries, processes tuition awards and resolves problems relating to student accounts and financial aid. Manages creation and dissemination of uniform appointment letter templates to ensure compliance with University requirements.
• Analyzes and resolves critical issues with graduate appointments. Serves as key contact for the college and to advise and provide training to hiring departments on graduate appointee processes, policies, and procedures. Serves as point person for university community to address GA compliance issues. Presents at advising meetings on GA related topics.
• Forecasts all budgets for the college. Ensures all financial operations comply with university policies. Develops business plans and budgets for Graduate College major projects. Develops and implements initiatives for new scholarships, petitions for emergency funding, and special projects.
• Plans and oversees Graduate Assistant Orientation biannually by working with offices to implement training for teaching, research, and service appointees.
• Reviews and prepares contractual agreements and obligations to ensure compliance with University policies.
• Manages data collection and reporting to various University departments in regard to graduate appointments and graduate enrollment management. Collaborates with departments to obtain necessary data.
• Oversees human resource functions for the Graduate College to ensure compliance with University policies and contractual requirements. Manages payroll for the Graduate College staff, graduate assistants, and fellows.
• Manages provost-funded graduate assistantship allocation.
• Hires, trains, evaluates and supervises staff.

Minimum qualifications based upon job documentation and industry best practices. Any current employees not meeting these qualifications will be grandfathered until they move to a different job.

• Bachelor’s degree in related field from an accredited institution.

• Three years' relevant experience.
• Experience in higher education administration, business operations, or human resources.
• Familiarity with graduate student appointments, assistantships, or similar employment processes.
• Understanding of payroll, budgeting, and compliance requirement in a university setting.
• Experience with budget management including fiscal analysis.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proficient with enterprise systems and Microsoft Office/Excel.

Office or other indoor work with minimal physical demands such as occasionally lifting or moving materials less than 25 pounds.

Work is generally performed in a well-lit, temperature-controlled indoor environment with occasional exposure to the outdoors or any number of elements.

Revised: 2026-01-21