Associate Director, Service Operations

Columbia University Housing is looking for an Associate Director, Service Operations to join our team in New York City.

This is a role for someone who leads from the front — someone who can run a 24-hour operation, transform how service gets delivered, and hold a team to a high standard without losing sight of the student on the other side of the desk. You'll need to be comfortable making fast decisions in high-stakes moments and patient enough to redesign the systems that prevent those moments from recurring.

This is not a back-office role. It's an operations leadership role focused on customer experience, service delivery, and organizational effectiveness.

About Columbia Housing

Columbia University Housing supports one of the most complex residential operations in higher education. We have more than 6,300 students across 40 residence halls and brownstones in New York City. Our team spans customer service, key control/access, emergency response, and major operational events like Check-In and Room Selection. 

Our team sits at the intersection of operations, student experience, facilities coordination, technology, and service delivery. We work collaboratively across Housing, Residential Life, Facilities, Public Safety, Dining, and numerous campus partners to ensure students receive responsive, high-quality support throughout their residential experience.

We're currently reimagining how residential services are delivered and moving from a centralized service model toward a more localized, proactive, and resident-focused approach.

What You'll Do

• Lead and develop the Hospitality Desk management team and frontline Customer Service team
• Drive the shift from reactive service response to predictive outreach and resolution tracking
• Redesign workflows to bring service delivery closer to where students actually live
• Serve as first responder and redesign emergency protocols for rapid, localized response
• Oversee key control and security-related service functions
• Collaborate with senior leadership on Check-In, Check-Out, Room Selection, and summer programs
• Use operational data to identify recurring issues and intervene before they escalate

Qualifications

You'll thrive here if you:

• Have 5–7 years of related experience, with strong supervisory history
• Can manage competing priorities across a high-volume, always-on environment
• Communicate clearly and diplomatically across staff, students, families, and university partners
• Build systems and processes that hold and enjoy solving complex operational challenges at scale
• Have experience in facilities, student affairs, hospitality, or operations management

Plus: familiarity with StarRez or other housing/student information systems is a strong plus as we continue building a more data-informed operation.

Salary range: $140,000–$150,000 | Full-time, onsite

This is a senior seat with real scope. If you're interested in leading service transformation, building exceptional customer experiences, and shaping the future of residential operations at one of the world's leading universities, we'd love to hear from you.

Full role + apply:

Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Feel free to share with someone who should be in this seat.