Assistant Director of Operations

Assistant Director Of Operations

KLab is an interdisciplinary research lab in the Social Science Division (SSD) of the University Of Chicago working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, complex systems, computational science, and an emerging science of ideas and innovation. It is directed by Prof. James Evans, Max Palevsky Professor Of Sociology And Data Science at UChicago. The lab cultivates a culture of curiosity, creative exploration, and improbable discovery.

KLab seeks an experienced and entrepreneurial Assistant Director Of Operations to serve as the operational backbone of the lab. This is not a conventional administrative role. The ideal candidate brings genuine enthusiasm for KLab's research mission and organizational ambitions, and the creativity and judgment to take operational and administrative systems to a new level — automating what can be automated, solving problems that seem unsolvable, leveraging technology, and building new systems that enable the lab to move at the speed of discovery.

Responsibilities include designing organizational systems that are ideally invisible, partially automated, and continuously improving; taking a systems perspective to operations; owning the pipeline from needs to fast solutions; digging into operational challenges where others give up; anticipating operational needs before they become problems; identifying and implementing automation opportunities for routine administrative tasks; designing and maintaining automated financial reporting systems; monitoring budgets, managing expenditures, and ensuring compliance with grant and institutional requirements; conducting basic analysis and visualization of operational and financial data; partnering with SSD offices to coordinate onboarding of postdoctoral researchers, staff, students, and visiting scholars; maintaining real-time HR dashboards of people, contract renewal dates, visas, and onboarding/offboarding status; serving as the lab's primary liaison to work with university partners on visa sponsorship, immigration issues, and support for the lab's substantial international community; serving as the lab's primary operational point of contact for research proposals; developing and maintaining internal systems to give the team a real-time overview of the lab's grants; managing post-award operations in close collaboration with project managers; assisting in communicating KLab's research, teaching and service achievements internally and externally; providing operational supervision and support for KLab events and special initiatives; managing the design of KLab's Chorus AI Assistant from an operational perspective; using best practices to develop and execute organization's operational and overall strategic plan; planning, developing, analyzing and managing budget, including developing multi-year budget forecasts; working with minimal guidance in space, facilities, and equipment, including renovations, moves, maintenance and ongoing facilities operations; and performing other related work as needed.

Minimum qualifications include a college or university degree in related field and 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline. Preferred qualifications include a master's degree, 5-7 years of progressively responsible experience in business, research, or academic operations and administration, knowledge of operational and administrative processes related to finance, HR and planning, facility with spreadsheets, reporting tools, and data visualization for operational decision support, comfort learning and using new technologies, including AI-enabled systems and workflow automation tools, managerial experience, and exercises excellent judgment in balancing creativity, compliance, and practicality.

Application documents required include resume or curriculum vitae, cover letter describing relevant experience and your approach to creative problem-solving in operational contexts, and contact information for three professional references.

Job family is Administration & Management, role impact is individual contributor, scheduled weekly hours are 37.5, drug test required is no, health screen required is no, motor vehicle record inquiry required is no, pay rate type is salary, FLSA status is exempt, pay range is $85,553.35 - $110,716.10, benefits eligible is yes, and the university of chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees.