Business Operations Manager

Smithbucklin; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Smithbucklin, in Washington, DC, seeks a Business Operations Manager to connect business units, oversee financial tracking, and enable cross-functional collaboration. This new role requires organizing evolving priorities while keeping operations running smoothly, reporting to the joint COO for 360 Live Media and Smithbucklin.

Ideal candidates are proactive, detail-oriented, and comfortable shaping processes, with strong communication and independence in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in operations, project management, or financial coordination.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Experience supporting operations across multiple teams or business units.
• Strong financial acumen (revenue and expense tracking, account coding).
• Experience developing and maintaining processes, templates, workflows and other operational tools.
• Experience with generative and agentic AI and automation tools.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Exceptional organizational and communication skills.
• Comfortable operating independently in a fast-paced and dynamic operating environment.

Responsibilities

• Support development and implementation of integrated processes across multiple business units to ensure seamless collaboration and delivery.
• Build, document and maintain business process and workflows, tools and automations, using AI and advanced technologies as available.
• Maintain agency scope language, SOW templates, and other templates and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Maintain vendor and contractor and related documentation.
• Coordinate legal review and signature workflows for client contracts and amendments.
• Support knowledge sharing and the adoption of operational efficiencies across business units.
• Maintain revenue and project trackers; ensure all new projects are properly set up.
• Manage project invoicing workflows and financial system inputs.
• Coordinate vendor payments and other accounts payable.
• Submit and review company expenses and invoices, ensuring GL coding accuracy.

Skills

Operations management

Project coordination

Financial acumen

Process design

AI automation familiarity

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

McKinley Advisors and 360 Live Media are looking for a Business Operations Manager to join our team in our Washington, DC office.

The Business Operations Manager will help implement and maintain the processes that connect the business units, support financial tracking and reporting accuracy and enable cross-functional collaboration. They will serve as a key point of coordination between project execution, finance, and leadership. The ideal candidate is organized, proactive, and comfortable bringing structure to evolving priorities while keeping people, process, and day-to-day operations running smoothly. This is a new role in a newly created business structure, so flexibility and comfort with ambiguity will be paramount to the candidate’s success. This role will report to the joint Chief Operating Officer for 360 Live Media and McKinley Advisors.

• A trusted operator. You are comfortable engaging with professionals at every level, from business unit heads and leadership to vendors and new hires. You naturally translate operational needs into clear, actionable processes, while conveying professional presence, sound judgment, and financial acumen.
• A strong collaborator who thrives in a highly matrixed environment, working across multiple business units, practice areas, and concurrent priorities. You are focused and organized, trusted for keeping trackers, workflows, and financial systems accurate and up to date. You are known for being highly responsive and proactively following up with colleagues on outstanding items, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
• A practical problem solver with an exceptional eye for detail. You naturally connect the dots between operational systems to spot gaps or inconsistencies before they become issues. You take pride in getting the details right the first time.
• A contributor to continuous improvement. You bring an interest in AI, automation, and new technologies to the table, always looking for ways to streamline a process, refine a template, or eliminate manual work. You help the firm's operations evolve, one workflow at a time.
• A respected teammate. Colleagues know and trust you to keep your commitments, communicate openly, and uphold our values in everything you do.

What You Will Do:

Operational Process and Workflows

• Support development and implementation of integrated processes across multiple business units to ensure seamless collaboration and delivery
• Build, document and maintain business process and workflows, tools and automations, using AI and advanced technologies as available
• Maintain agency scope language, SOW templates, and other templates and standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Maintain vendor and contractor and related documentation
• Coordinate legal review and signature workflows for client contracts and amendments
• Support knowledge sharing and the adoption of operational efficiencies across business units
• Maintain revenue and project trackers; ensure all new projects are properly set up
• Manage project invoicing workflows and financial system inputs
• Coordinate vendor payments and other accounts payable
• Submit and review company expenses and invoices, ensuring GL coding accuracy

Systems & Infrastructure

• Ensure data integrity across revenue and project trackers and financial and operational technologies
• Support adoption of project management and related tracking tools across business units
• Build and maintain dashboards and reports that track delivery health, profitability, and team performance
• Deliver recurring operational and financial reports to leadership, and pull ad-hoc analyses to support decision-making

General Operational Support

• Ensure project setup and resource assignments are accurately reflected in planning tools
• Support PTO planning, event calendar management, and operational continuity planning
• Support event logistics for business unit meetings and events
• Support operational onboarding of new hires, including system access, project assignments, and SOP orientation
• Coordinate communications and process alignment across agency and business units
• Provide general operational support to leadership and business unit heads

Basic Qualifications:

• 5+ years in operations, project management, or financial coordination, ideally within an agency, consulting, or professional services environment
• Bachelor’s degree required. Equivalent combination of education and relevant experience will be considered
• Experience supporting operations across multiple teams or business units
• Strong financial acumen (revenue and expense tracking, account coding, etc.)
• Experience developing and maintaining processes, templates, workflows and other operational tools
• Experience with generative and agentic AI and automation tools
• Strong attention to detail
• Exceptional organizational and communication skills
• Comfortable operating independently in a fast-paced and dynamic operating environment

About McKinley Advisors: McKinley Advisors is an award-winning association consulting firm providing tailored research and strategy services to solve the unique challenges of mission-driven organizations. The work the McKinley team delivers is consequential. Our clients have a direct impact on society, from improving healthcare outcomes to creating a more sustainable future for our planet and its people. We take that responsibility seriously.

Our team is composed of amazing individuals, each with a rich and diverse background and all sharing a commitment to deliver exceptional client experiences. McKinley Advisors has been recognized as a "Best Places to Work" by the Washington Business Journal.

About 360 Live Media: 360 Live Media is a full-service events agency on a mission to make events more valuable. We bring together the well-established event services of Smithbucklin and the innovative strategies of 360 Live Media to deliver total event management for any type of industry convening. From smart strategy to flawless execution, our integrated service delivery model elevates the experience for event organizers looking to modernize their approach, optimize their impact, and grow the show. 360 Live Media is a Smithbucklin company with offices in Chicago and Washington, DC.

Where Do You Fit?

Working at 360 Live Media, McKinley Advisors and Smithbucklin will offer you countless opportunities to develop transferable skills, acquire meaningful knowledge and gain rich experiences at an accelerated pace. By working collaboratively with smart, ambitious, multi-talented, genuine and hardworking colleagues, you will build meaningful, deep and enduring relationships that will serve you well throughout your career, regardless of your chosen path. In addition, as a 100 percent employee-owned company, Smithbucklin offers all of our people - regardless of position or compensation - an equal chance to experience the fulfillment and reap the benefits of ownership. As owners, our employees control the destiny of Smithbucklin and are unified in the goal of building a great, enduring company.

Smithbucklin is a hybrid work environment with in-office days established as Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Employees will work a standard 40-hour week, with the possibility of additional hours based on project deadlines.

Smithbucklin considers several factors when determining compensation, including a candidate's recent coursework, training, experience, and certifications, among other considerations. The expected pay for this role is $70,000-$85,000.

At Smithbucklin, Equal Employment Opportunity is our commitment and goal. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital status or any other protected status designated by federal, state or local law. Applicants are encouraged to confidentially self-identify when applying. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a reference and background investigation based on position.

Smithbucklin will not sponsor applicants for work visas and as a precondition of employment. You must be authorized to work in the United States permanently