Senior Operations Manager

University of New Mexico; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 55,000 - 79,000; Full time

Job summary

University of New Mexico, Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque, NM, seeks a Senior Operations Manager to oversee daily operations, budgets, hiring, procurement, and grants management for the CDD EC Center. The role leads administrative staff and ensures efficient, compliant processes across a large program portfolio.

The successful candidate will drive strategic planning, supervise key personnel, and liaise with CDD leadership and central administration to standardize best practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
• At least 5 years of directly related experience.
• Ability to work fully on-site.
• Experience supervising employees and managing performance.

Responsibilities

• Oversee administrative, fiscal, hiring, purchasing, evaluation, and grants/contracts management for the CDD EC Center.
• Lead budgeting and financial reporting for CDD, EC Center, and program directors.
• Coordinate hiring processes with division leads and HR representative.
• Oversee technology, purchasing, and cost allocation to ensure proper spending.

Skills

Staff leadership

Budget management

Hiring processes

Collaboration with leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

UNM enterprise systems

Advanced accounting

Job description

Requisition ID

req38421

Working Title

Senior Operations Manager

Position Grade

14

Position Summary

The Center for Development and Disability (CDD), established in 1990, is New Mexico's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service, These centers, authorized by the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, build the capacities of states and communities to respond to the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

This position serves as a key leader reporting to the CDD EC Center Director with oversight of daily operations through management of all administrative functions of this large and diverse set of Core CDD programs focused on early childhood and maternal-child well-being. This new role will oversee administrative functions consolidated under a new Early Childhood "Center within a Center" at the longstanding UNM Center for Development and Disability (CDD). The Sr. Operations Manager will oversee the supervision of key administrative personnel to ensure administrative, fiscal, hiring, purchasing, evaluation functions, and grants/contracts management is completed efficiently and collaboratively with leadership. The role includes planning, delegating and directing work, performance management and evaluation of unit administrators and other key administrative personnel. The person will be a member of the CDD EC Center leadership team and will serve as the primary liaison/representative with CDD Central administration leadership. The individual will develop, implement, oversee and audit business practices and procedures for quality performance across the CDD EC Center's programs.

The Sr Operations Manager will be responsible for management of large, diverse, and complex budgets including interpretation of financial and operating information, preparing financial reports for CDD, EC Center, and program directors. This individual is responsible for the preparation of on-going operational budgets as well as preparing budgets for new funding proposals. In addition, the positions coordinates/oversees all hiring processes in collaboration with division leads and CDD's HR representative. The individual will coordinate technology and computer application systems for the for CDD EC Center; and oversees purchasing and assignment of indices for expenditures to ensure costs are allocated appropriately.

Successful candidate will have the:

Successful candidate will have the:

• ability to work in an environment supporting individuals with developmental disabilities, children at risk, and families in need;
• ability to support a large core set of programs housed within a larger federally designated Center;
• ability to work fully on-site;
• capacity to partner and collaborate with faculty and staff leaders and directors.

See the Position Description for additional information.

Conditions of Employment

• Identified positions in this classification may require specialized certification in an area of competency, depending on the specific needs of the designated role.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree; at least 5 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.

Completed degree(s) from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.

Preferred Qualifications

Address in your cover letter how your experience and skills align with our preferred qualifications

• Experience with UNM's business and financial processes and demonstrated knowledge of key principles of advanced accounting, hiring, and other UNM enterprise systems.
• Experience supervising employees including delegation and direction of work, performance management and evaluation; demonstrated capacity to build a positive staff culture and mentor staff to learn and grow.
• Experience providing administrative and budgetary support for grant writing, grants/contract management; experience working in support of programs funded by restricted and fee-for-service mechanisms.
• Strong teaming and collaborative skills working closely with a diverse set of leaders at the UNM CDD, including programmatic, clinical practice, fiscal, HR, evaluation and facilities leadership.

Additional Requirements

Able to work fully on-site.

Campus

Health Sciences Center (HSC) - Albuquerque, NM

Department

Pediatrics Center for Development (997H)

Employment Type

Staff

Staff Type

Term - Full-Time

Term End Date

06/30/2027

Status

Exempt

Pay

Monthly: $4,924.40 - $7,046.00

Benefits Eligible

This is a benefits eligible position. The University of New Mexico provides a comprehensive package of benefits including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance. In addition, UNM offers educational benefits through the tuition remission and dependent education programs. See the Benefits home page for a more information.

ERB Statement

As a condition of employment, eligible employees working greater than .25 FTE as determined by the New Mexico Education Retirement Act must make mandatory retirement contributions. For more information, review the Benefits Eligibility at a Glance grid.

Background Check Required

Yes

For Best Consideration Date

11/12/2026

Eligible for Hiring Incentive

No

Eligible for Remote Work

No

Positions posted with a Staff Type of Regular or Term are eligible for the Veteran Preference Program. See the Veteran Preference Program webpage for additional details.

The University of New Mexico is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.

The University of New Mexico requires all regular staff positions successfully pass a pre-employment background check. This may include, but is not limited to, a criminal history background check, New Mexico Department of Health fingerprint screening, New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department fingerprint screening, verification of education credentials, and/or verification of prior employment. For more information about background checks, visit https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3280.html. Refer to https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3200.html for a definition of Regular Staff.