Director, Collaborative Business Services (Boston, MA)

Colleges of the Fenway (COF) is a collaborative effort of five neighboring Boston-based institutions of higher education in the Longwood Medical and Academic area (LMA). This collaboration was created to add value to student's academic and social lives while seeking innovative methods of investing in new services and containing the costs of higher education. The COF staff members work as a team to facilitate and enhance collaborative initiatives in support of the priorities of the member institutions.
COF is looking for a Director, Collaborative Business Services to work closely with the administrative leaders within each of the member institutions and the COF staff to identify and implement opportunities for enhancing services, address challenges, and reducing costs through shared services and contracts that maximize the resources of the member institutions.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Working with and across the COF members, lead teams to identify and analyze new initiatives, existing programs, and business processes for shared services and improved operating efficiencies.
• Lead collaborative procurement processes, developing policies and procedures for shared procurement and contracts, including preparation of bid documents, vendor negotiations, bid analysis, contract development, and legal review.
• Oversee the third-party management of the COF-wide area network (COFAN 3.0), which provides internet service to the member institutions (and over 15,000 users).
• Manage all current COF contracts and vendor relationships, including gathering key reporting metrics.
• Oversees the identification, collection, and analysis of key data points across a range of activities from member institutions for new initiatives and from vendors, including student enrollment, employee counts, and cost savings. Uses relevant data to analyze the cost/benefits of potential projects and for marketing and financial allocation purposes.
• Facilitates key committees and Communities of Practice, including Chief Financial Officers, Chief Information Officers, Network Managers, Business Services, Facilities Operations and Planning, Legal Affairs, Risk Managers.  Convenes and leads ad hoc task forces to advance annual priorities.
• Works with the Executive Director on preparing and presenting the annual budget to leadership committees and prepares end-of-year financial documentation for annual audit.
• Represents COF at events and programs.
• Supervises Assistant Director of Collaborative Business Services

• Master’s degree in business administration, public administration, higher education, planning, or a related field.   
• Seven to 10 years of experience working with or in college or university business services, information technology, or facilities administration.   
• Familiarity with the administration of academic institutions and strong project management, contract negotiations, and supervisory experience. 
• Strong business and leadership skills, especially in the areas of financial management, strategy, process development, and meeting facilitation. 
• Ability to achieve objectives through influence rather than direct authority across all levels of high education organizations.
• Ability to build consensus and work with diverse campus constituencies. 
• Thorough understanding of the higher education community, its values, priorities, and work culture, including broad knowledge of information technology, emerging academic technologies and information resources. 
• Demonstrated ability to work in and promote a collaborative environment across multiple organizations. 
• Excellent diplomatic, analytical, written, and verbal communication skills. 
• Ability to take initiative, work independently and with groups, and manage several projects simultaneously. 
• Ability to foster trust and build interpersonal relationships.  
• Ability to have an energetic, entrepreneurial personality and have a high tolerance for ambiguity and nuance.  
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office software and online communication tools such as Zoom, Sharepoint, and Asana. 

• Expertise to acquire, manage, manipulate, and analyze data and effectively communicate results
• Experience working with procurement processes and technology tools.

• Competitive compensation and benefits
• 3 weeks of paid time off and 13 paid holidays
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Tuition reimbursement/ professional development
• Monthly MBTA subsidy or FREE offsite parking

The COF campuses are spread over 1 square mile in the middle of the Fenway neighborhood of Boston.  The Director is required to convene and/or attend meetings on the member campuses at least once a week, access local network connection sites on two of the campuses and visit the co-location vendor for the shared network in downtown Boston; the successful candidate will need to be able to walk comfortably to, from, and among the campuses; at times the Director will also need to carry equipment and supplies to those meetings or sites. 

COF is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We respect and seek to empower each individual and support the diverse cultures, perspectives, skills and experiences within our staff and member institutions.  We are currently working a hybrid work schedule; all employees are expected to be onsite a minimum of two days per week. 
 
A criminal background investigation is required for the hired candidate, and results may impact employment. Relocation assistance is not available.  Principals only, please. 
 

This is a full time position