Variable Hours Officer - Operations Coordinator

Columbia University; New York (NY); On-site; USD 30,000 - 40,000; Part time

Job summary

Columbia University is seeking an Operations Coordinator within University Life to maintain buildings like St. Paul’s Chapel and Earl Hall. You’ll help with safety rounds, event setups, and daily opening/closing tasks, while coordinating with the Assistant Director to manage schedules and budgets.

The role requires strong communication, discretion, and flexibility to work evenings, weekends, and on-call hours as needed. The position supports a central campus culture of belonging and well-being.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Strong communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Computer literacy including MS Office, and Google Suite.
• Must be able to manage multiple competing priorities and projects.
• Ability to be steady and sensitive in highly emotional situations.
• Must consistently exercise discretion and excellent judgment.
• Must be able to work flexible hours. Evening, weekend, holiday and on-call hours may be required.
• Respect for services in houses of worship is essential.
• Student candidates must be and remain in good academic and disciplinary standing with the University.

Responsibilities

• In conjunction with the AD, support the upkeep of St. Paul's Chapel and Earl Hall, including building walkthroughs and addressing repairs.
• Support the Assistant Director with creating and updating work schedules for the Operations Officers (VHOs).
• Support the AD with reviewing and tracking facilities-related expenses in ULife Finance budget sheets on a monthly basis.
• Review divisional work order requests submitted to the ULife Operations team in ServiceNow.
• Generate work tickets/service requests in Maximo and log the work order numbers in the internal ULife CUFO request tracker.
• Support the AD with event setups and breakdowns in Earl Hall, including revenue-generating events.
• Support event hosts with building-related matters, including opening and closing spaces in SPC and Earl Hall.
• Attend and participate in weekly operations meetings and events meetings during their shifts.
• Complete half-hour rounds during shifts to ensure safety and address facility issues promptly.
• Support the daily opening and closing of the Earl Hall building and St. Paul’s Chapel, if necessary.
• Provide administrative support to the ULife Ops team.
• Serve as a backup for minor AV support, as determined by the AD.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Skills

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

MS Office

Google Workspace

Multitasking

Discretion and judgment

Flex hours

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

ServiceNow

Maximo

CUFO tracker

Job description

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Temporary
• Hours Per Week: 10-20
• Salary Range: $38.00 - $38.00

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Position Summary

University Life is a central division dedicated to supporting all Columbia students by cultivating an inclusive, connected campus community. Partnering closely with Columbia’s 17 schools and colleges, we serve as a hub for student engagement, collaboration, and University-wide support. Our work is rooted in building meaningful relationships across the University to help students grow, connect, and thrive.

We focus on strengthening the student experience beyond the classroom by enhancing resources, policies, and programs; promoting opportunities for connection and belonging; and creating spaces for open dialogue across diverse perspectives. Guided by our values of connection, integrity, respect, service, and continuous learning, we work to ensure every student feels welcomed, supported, and empowered to make a meaningful impact at Columbia.

Through partnerships with students, faculty, and staff, University Life champions a campus culture grounded in well-being, inclusion, community citizenship, and personal development. Our work is guided by a vision of a Columbia where every student feels a deep sense of belonging and is empowered to make meaningful contributions through their relationships, engagement, and participation in the community.

Position Overview:

Reporting to the Assistant Director, Facilities, IT and Operations (AD), the Operations Coordinator maintains the upkeep of University Life buildings and spaces, including St. Paul's Chapel and Earl Hall.

Responsibilities

Operations Management

• In conjunction with the AD, support the upkeep of St. Paul's Chapel and Earl Hall, including, but not limited to: building walkthroughs, pointing out things that need to be fixed/addressed, etc.

• Support the AD with creating and updating work schedules for the Operations Officers (VHOs).

• Support the AD with reviewing and tracking facilities-related expenses in ULife Finance budget sheets on a monthly basis

• Review divisional work order requests submitted to the ULife Operations team in ServiceNow.

• Generates work tickets/service requests in Maximo and logs the work order numbers in the internal ULife CUFO request tracker.

• Supports the AD with event setups and breakdowns in Earl Hall, including for revenue-generating events.

• Supports event hosts with building-related matters, including opening and closing spaces in SPC and Earl Hall.

• Attends and participates in weekly operations meetings and events meetings during their shifts.

• Completes half-hour rounds during shifts to ensure safety and facility issues are addressed in a timely manner.

• Supports the daily opening and closing of the Earl Hall building and St. Paul's Chapel, if necessary.

• Provides administrative support to the ULife Ops team.

• Serves as a backup for minor AV support, as determined by the AD.

• Performs additional duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent in experience.

• Strong communication, interpersonal and organizational skills required.

• Computer literacy including MS Office, and Google Suite required.

• Must be able to manage multiple competing priorities and projects.

• Ability to be steady and sensitive in highly emotional situations.

• Must consistently exercise discretion and excellent judgment.

• Must be able to work flexible hours. Evening, weekend, holiday and on-call hours may be required. While we aim to have a set schedule as often as possible, the nature of this position may require variable hours day-to-day or week-to-week.

• Respect for services in houses of worship is essential.

• Student candidates must be and remain in good academic and disciplinary standing with the University.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.