Business Operations Manager

About the Position

Meridian University is seeking an experienced operations professional to lead student success at the operational level. This role is responsible for the systems, workflows, and direct interventions that determine whether students progress, successfully meet program requirements, and have a positive experience throughout their time at Meridian — from their first point of contact with advising through fieldwork completion and degree conferral.

The right candidate thinks in terms of case quality, satisfaction outcomes, milestone velocity, and longitudinal student health — and builds the infrastructure to track and improve all of it. They bring the rigor of a high-growth environment and the judgment to apply it in an academic context.

Key Responsibilities

Student Success Operations

• Own the day-to-day operational infrastructure that supports student progression — advising workflows, case management, escalation routing, and resolution tracking
• Monitor student health indicators across the enrolled population; identify at-risk students early and coordinate timely, appropriate intervention
• Track and improve case resolution quality, response time, and student satisfaction outcomes across the team
• Serve as a senior point of contact for students in complex or escalated situations, bringing both care and institutional authority to resolution

Fieldwork & Project Milestone Management

• Oversee student progress through fieldwork, practicum, and capstone project milestones; proactively identify students who are falling behind and coordinate support
• Maintain accurate, current milestone data across the active student population; use it to drive action, not just reporting
• Coordinate with faculty supervisors and site coordinators to resolve fieldwork issues that require institutional follow-through
• Support students through the administrative requirements of fieldwork placement, documentation, and completion

Satisfaction & Outcome Tracking

• Design and maintain systems for measuring student satisfaction, engagement, and success outcomes — including NPS-style indicators, advising touchpoint data, and case closure quality
• Analyze trends across the student population and bring findings forward with actionable recommendations
• Close the loop on student feedback and complaints; ensure that patterns are surfaced and addressed at the operational level
• Report on student success metrics to institutional leadership on a regular cadence

Team Coordination & Process Development

• Coordinate across advising, academic affairs, and faculty to ensure students receive consistent, high-quality support at every touchpoint
• Build and refine the processes that your team runs — document them, improve them, and hold the standard for how the work gets done
• Identify gaps between what students need and what current systems provide; propose and implement solutions
• Contribute to accreditation-related documentation and student outcome reporting as required

Alignment with Meridian’s Core Values

Success in this role requires embodiment of Meridian’s core values: Humility, Kindness, Self-Management, Engagement, Productivity, Accountability, and Innovation. Team members at Meridian are self-starters who manage their responsibilities well, work with a focus on accountability, and continually look to improve the processes they are responsible for.

Mindset & Approach

• Ownership — You take full responsibility for student outcomes in your domain. You manage your own priorities, surface issues proactively, and close loops without being asked. Self-manages well.
• Data orientation — You track what matters, analyze it honestly, and use it to make decisions. You are not satisfied with activity — you want to know whether students are actually succeeding.
• Adaptability — You are comfortable with changing priorities and innovation. You move without waiting for perfect conditions, and you help shape the work rather than simply executing what exists.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree or higher strongly preferred
• Experience in a student-facing, customer success, or case management role — with direct responsibility for outcomes, not just activity
• Experience in a fast-moving organization such as a startup, growth-stage company, or similarly dynamic environment
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent workflows with precision, follow-through, and attention to detail
• Comfort building and refining operational systems — not just working within them
• Strong written communication skills; ability to correspond professionally with students, faculty, and institutional leadership
• Self-management capabilities: independent workload ownership, visible systems, and proactive issue resolution

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in higher education — in an advising, student affairs, or academic operations capacity
• Familiarity with student success metrics, NPS frameworks, or customer satisfaction infrastructure
• Experience with Salesforce or a comparable CRM or case management platform
• Background in process design, knowledge management, or operational documentation
• Exposure to accreditation or compliance reporting in an educational setting
• Experience coordinating across academic and administrative teams in a cross-functional structure

Benefits

• Health: Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance — 100% of employee premiums covered
• Retirement: 401(k)
• Time off: PTO + 6 sick days/year + 8 paid holidays
• Wellbeing: Spotify, Calm, and Audible subscriptions
• Meals: Weekly catered team lunches + coffee & snacks stipend
• Commuter assistance

Application and Onboarding Process

Select applicants are invited to a 15-minute initial interview, followed by a 30-minute second interview. Final candidates proceed to a mutual diligence stage, which may include assessments tailored to the role. Candidates who advance are offered a paid, multi-week project-based contract prior to any full-time offer. Full-time team members complete a structured four-week onboarding process with a dedicated onboarding manager.

Meridian University reserves the right to deviate from the process above in certain circumstances related to specific role recruitments or recruitment needs.

How to Apply

A cover letter and resume are required. In your cover letter, please address:

• Your alignment with Meridian's vision, mission, and core values
• A specific example of a process you built or significantly improved — what the problem was, what you did, and what changed as a result
• Your experience working across both an academic and a fast-moving operational environment
• Your approach to supporting students or clients through complex, high-stakes situations

Please do not call, email, or drop in regarding your application. Due to application volume, we are unable to respond to all candidates.

Meridian is committed to diversity across all criteria-of-difference in its staff, faculty, and students. We do not consider race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status in hiring or admissions decisions.