Director, Administrative Services

Welcome to the official site for employment opportunities at MICA.  At MICA, we value diversity and empower our employees to use their talent in a variety of ways. We are pleased that you are interested in career opportunities offered at MICA.

General purpose:  The Director, Administrative Services works to ensure that Open Studies has strong business practices that support innovation and growth.

Position summary:  MICA seeks a strategic, self-motivated and detail-oriented Director of Administrative Service to help advance the work of MICA’s Open Studies academic unit. The Director is part of the Open Studies leadership team and works to create, implement, and manage systems and strategies focused on improving adaptability and efficiency in the OS office.  Specifically the Director works to balance operational budget requirements in relationship to funding requirements to achieve long-term business goals, while responding to fluctuations in the budget cycle. The Director also creates plans to ensure the agility and effectiveness of OS hiring practices for contract faculty and staff, while managing processes associated with compliance, contracting, onboarding, and record keeping.  The Director works in close collaboration with other Academic Affairs administrative service leads and with MICA’s finance and human resources teams.  As a member of the Labor Management Collaboration Committee (LMCC), the Director works with a team comprised of MICA staff and administrators along with representatives of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU, the adjunct faculty union) in an ongoing dialogue to foster effective communication, and the identification of potential solutions to issues that arise outside of the contract negotiation process.

Position responsibilities:  Open Studies serves a diverse student body of traditional and non-traditional college students, art and design professionals, lifelong learners, teens, and children. The unit administers four unique professional graduate programs in the Business of Art and Design, Information and Data Visualization, User Experience Design, and Design Leadership along with studio-based art and design classes for adults, teens, and children, short-term travel programs, and pipeline and cultural orientation programs in support of the college’s diversity and internationalization goals.  As MICA’s educational venture space the unit is engaged in innovating academic programming (including digital education, new curricular areas and program structures, and programs for non-traditional students) and revenue growth.  The Director, Administrative Services will: 
 

Overall

• Provide strategic leadership for the creation, implementation, and management of project and resource management strategies with the goal of achieving greater office efficiency and effectiveness.  Activities include:
  • Establishing, tracking, and managing immediate and long-term budgetary goals.
  • Creating systems and practices aimed at improving the effective management of OS contract employee hiring.
  • Creating and managing immediate and long-term project planning goals via structured systems, and shared project calendars for tracking all OS activities.
  • Fashioning systems and management tactics designed to increase the effective cataloging, consumption, deployment, and replacement of OS office assets and resources.
  • Building and managing budget, hiring, and resource utilization reports designed to measure office success and efficiency, against established metrics and constraints.
  • Communicating and translating functional processes and business requirements/vision/strategy to OS team.
• Manage OS office assets
  • Tracking inventories and ordering supplies
  • Overseeing and managing office technology with MICA’s technology office
  • Overseeing and managing office housekeeping and repairs with MICA’s operations team
• Attend all Open Studies team meetings.
• Attend all LMCC meetings.
• Manage relevant engagement with an online program management company (Elsmere Education Incorporated) and other relevant third party partners.

Budget

• Monitor and manage billing, AP, and collection activities.
• Ensure proper accounting procedures and controls are in place and followed.
• Ensure procedures are followed to achieve an accurate and timely budget closing at established intervals.
• Ensure all required records are maintained and submitted, as appropriate, in an accurate and timely manner and in compliance with applicable policies and regulations.
• Overseeing expenses for academic travel programs.
• Managing OS office credit cards.

Contract Staff

• Developing and leading OS projects related to the HRIS system while seeking ways to improve efficiency.
• Maintaining and archiving faculty folders and related records.
• Maintaining and archiving contract employee folders and related records.

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Demonstrated professional experience with administrative services as described above
• Knowledge of and competence in current trends in higher education administrative services
• Ability to analyze and evaluate data
• Experience developing strategic plans
• Ability to think entrepreneurially and approach challenges pro-actively
• Excellent organizational and planning skills with the ability to manage multiple projects
• Demonstrated ability to forge relationships and engage in collaboration
• Detail orientation and ability to keep and manage annual calendars and deadlines
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Strong business & financial acumen
• Strong customer focus with the ability to communicate with all levels of the organization in a timely and professional manner
• Applicable HRIS and SIS administration and system experience (MICA uses Workday and PeopleSoft)
• Proven experience with reporting and analytics

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s degree desirable in related field
• Background in or knowledge of higher education and/or art and design education

Reporting to this position: No direct reports

Physical demands and work environment: The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Physical Demands: While performing the duties of job, the employee is occasionally required to stand, walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; balance; stoop; talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift up to (75) pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. (may be adjusted depending on position)
• Work environment: While performing the duties of the job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time. The noise level in the work environment is usually (minimal, moderate, or high).
• Required training: Handbook orientation, Anti-Harassment, Hazard Communication, Emergency Plans & Fire Prevention, Personal Protection Equipment. (additional training may be added, SEE: EHS Manager training schedule).

Maryland Institute College of Art is committed to its policy of providing equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, or veteran status (disabled, Vietnam-era, or otherwise). Furthermore, the College does not tolerate any form of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment or sexual violence. This policy applies to all programs, facilities, and activities provided by Maryland Institute College of Art, including but not limited to admission, educational programs, and employment.

Applicants must apply online for each job in which they are interested. You will not be considered for any job for which you have not specifically applied. We do not accept applications via email, U.S. mail, or fax. Successful candidates for any staff or faculty positions will be subject to a pre-employment background check.

MICA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact Human Resources at 410-225-2363.