Business Operations Project Coordinator

Work Schedule

• Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location

• Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type

• Hybrid Eligible
• Sponsorship Eligibility: Not eligible for visa sponsorship
• Pay Band: 04

Salary

• Salary commensurate with education and experience
• Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department

About the Position

Responsibilities

• Executive Operations, Strategic Administrative Support & Workflow Management:
• Provides project management support for business operations and leadership, including developing project plans, tracking progress, monitoring milestones, coordinating stakeholders, and ensuring timely completion of deliverables;
• Supports special and ongoing initiatives led by the CBO and Leadership teams, ensuring alignment with college priorities and maintaining consistent documentation, timelines, and communication;
• Manages scheduling and coordination across the business operations area, including meetings, cross unit workgroups, and recurring operational commitments; and
• Oversees operational communication and coordination between the CBO, functional leads, administrative clusters, and college departments to support consistent planning and execution.
• Communications, Executive Coordination, Event Leadership, Special Projects & Executive Support Operations:
• Provides coordination and project management support for cross college initiatives, business operation projects, process improvement efforts, and strategic priorities as assigned by the CBO;
• Supports college level events, Dean’s Office programs, and high visibility activities by assisting with planning, communications, logistics, and day of execution in collaboration with the Dean’s Assistant and the Events team; and
• Assists in preparing project documentation, status updates, meeting notes, and communication materials that support planning and implementation of initiatives across academic and administrative units.
• Other Duties:
• Performs other related duties as assigned, including contributing to emerging college priorities, new initiatives, or time sensitive projects requiring administrative or project management support.

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent;
• Prior experience providing advanced administrative support in a fast paced professional or academic environment;
• Demonstrated experience coordinating complex schedules, meetings, or operational workflows for senior leaders or multifaceted teams;
• Some experience supporting or coordinating projects, such as tracking timelines, organizing documentation, monitoring progress, or facilitating communications among stakeholders;
• Experience preparing professional correspondence, meeting materials, summaries, or reports for leadership audiences;
• Experience using productivity, collaboration, or project tracking tools (e.g., Microsoft 365 applications such as Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Planner, Lists, Excel, or equivalent platform);
• Experience working with confidential or sensitive information and exercising discretion and sound judgment;
• Some experience assisting with events or logistics, such as planning, scheduling, coordinating resources, or supporting day of execution;
• Knowledge of project management fundamentals (e.g., scoping, work breakdown structures, timeline/milestone planning, risk/issue tracking, stakeholder management, and post project evaluation);
• Knowledge of higher education administrative operations, including common academic and business processes (scheduling, committee support, budgeting workflows, HR and procurement touchpoints, and event operations);
• Knowledge of meeting and calendar management practices for senior leaders, including sequencing, dependencies, and cross unit coordination;
• Knowledge of business writing standards for executive correspondence, meeting briefs, agendas, and action logs;
• Knowledge of data stewardship and confidentiality standards, including proper handling of sensitive information and record retention practices;
• Project coordination and tracking skills using shared workspaces and collaboration tools (e.g., Microsoft 365 applications such as Teams, SharePoint, Planner, Lists, OneNote, and Excel) to maintain project plans, RAID logs (risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies), and status reports;
• Advanced scheduling and logistics skills for complex calendars, multi stakeholder meetings, retreats, and events; ability to anticipate conflicts and proactively propose options;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including drafting polished executive communication and clear, actionable meeting notes with owners and deadlines;
• Analytical and organizational skills to synthesize input, structure tasks, and maintain version control, documentation, and audit trails for initiatives;
• Technology proficiency with productivity, conferencing, and event tools (e.g., MS Outlook/Exchange calendaring, Teams/Zoom, shared inboxes, digital forms, basic website/content updates);
• Process improvement skills to map workflows, identify bottlenecks, propose refinements, and help implement changes;
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and operational workflows, set priorities, and meet deadlines in a fast paced environment with shifting demands;
• Ability to exercise discretion and sound judgment when handling sensitive matters and representing college leadership;
• Ability to coordinate across diverse stakeholders (faculty, staff, students, central offices, and external partners) and maintain momentum to deliver outcomes;
• Ability to translate high level direction into actionable plans, track follow through, and escalate risks or blockers with proposed mitigations;
• Ability to plan and execute events (small to midscale) including timelines, run of show, vendor coordination, space/facilities, and day of execution;
• Professionalism, initiative, reliability, and results orientation;
• High attention to detail and commitment to accuracy and completeness; and
• Adaptability, service mindset, and commitment to inclusive excellence and respectful collaboration.

Preferred Qualifications

• Associate’s degree in related field;
• Considerable experience supporting senior administrators, executives, or leadership teams, ideally within a higher education, research, nonprofit, or comparably complex organizational environment;
• Experience coordinating or contributing to multi unit projects involving multiple stakeholders, deliverables, and deadlines;
• Experience maintaining project plans, timelines, or status reports, and supporting process improvement, operational initiatives, or organizational change efforts;
• Experience supporting events, retreats, workshops, or college level programs, including logistics coordination and communication planning;
• Experience with enterprise systems related to academic administration, HR, procurement, finance, facilities/space management, or work order/ticketing systems;
• Experience developing or maintaining documentation such as SOPs, workflow guides, project trackers, or resource libraries; and
• Experience working in environments requiring coordination across multiple departments or stakeholder groups, such as the Dean’s Office, Provost’s Office, business operations unit, or central administrative office;
• Knowledge of university enterprise systems supporting business ops (e.g., HR, finance/procurement, facilities/space, or ticketing/work order platforms);
• Knowledge of change management and communications practices to support process rollouts and adoption;
• Intermediate project management skills (e.g., creating project charters, basic Gantt timelines, stakeholder matrices) and familiarity with PM frameworks (Agile/waterfall hybrids appropriate for administrative projects);
• Event production skills (e.g., program design, speaker/guest management, vendor coordination, communication plans, and post event debriefs/metrics);
• Data and reporting skills (e.g., building simple dashboards, status report templates, and action trackers in Excel/SharePoint/Lists);
• Ability to facilitate working sessions (agenda setting, time management, consensus building, and clear action capture);
• Ability to develop SOPs and quick reference guides to standardize recurring administrative and project workflows; and reference guides to standardize recurring administrative and project workflows;
• Interest in professional development (e.g., pursuing CAPM/Google PM, event management training, or Lean/process improvement coursework); and
• Comfort operating with intermittent ambiguity and shaping structure from evolving priorities.

Instructions to Applicants