Campus Operations Senior Associate

ABOUT ALU

ALU provides higher education for a higher purpose. Our students declare missions, not majors.
They develop the real-world skills to take on the world’s most pressing challenges. And they take ownership of their learning from day one through our peer and student-led approach – because ALU believes in the power and agency of young people to start shaping the future right now.
Together with a world-class faculty and staff, our students are igniting a ripple of positive impact across Africa and the world.

We are dedicated to fostering an open yet secure environment, balancing the safety of students, staff, and visitors with respect for individual rights, and safeguarding responsibilities.

HOW WE WORK

As a high-growth start-up, the ALU Team works in starkly different ways to traditional academic bureaucracies. We approach education from first principles, empower individuals to design, test, and implement creative new ideas, and work closely together to craft transformative learning experiences. We are deeply passionate about our students and excited by the challenge of building something entirely new.

The African Leadership University is committed to ensuring the safety and Well-being of all students under our care. As part of this commitment , we have a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place , which outlines our Zero-tolerance approach to any violation of safeguarding.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking a Campus Operations Senior Associate to support the daily operations of our ALU’s campus. The Campus Operations Associate will play a key role in ensuring efficient campus operations by providing administrative support, developing systems, managing performance, optimizing resources, maintaining safety, coordinating logistics, overseeing front desk, and managing procurement.

THE TEAM

The Operations Team is a vital part of ALU's mission, as we ensure the smooth functioning of the university's administrative, logistical, and technological infrastructure. We work collaboratively to provide top-notch support to our students, faculty, and staff, and are committed to maintaining a culture of excellence, innovation, and inclusivity. Our team regularly interacts with other teams such as student life, admissions, academics and finance to provide seamless support for the university's operations.t.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Administrative & Operational Support:

• Provide comprehensive administrative support, including scheduling, correspondence, and record management.
• Manage logistical aspects of departmental events and meetings.
• Process invoices, purchase orders, purchase requisitions and expense reports.
• Handle communications and maintain departmental records.
• Tracking inventory levels and stock movements. 
• Manage the operational support platform and ensure SLAs are consistently high.
• Tracking the location, condition, and performance of assets & ensuring accurate record and lifecycle management
• Generate weekly administrative task reports.

Systems Building and Tracking:

• Develop and document SOPs, policies, and protocols to standardize operational delivery.
• Conduct crisis simulations and implement emergency procedures.
• Formulate and track strategic and operational objectives.
• Manage Operations department dashboards and KPIs.

Performance Management:

• Track and report performance using data-driven methods.
•  Manage service provider contracts and SLAs.
• Oversee the selection, training, and succession of external operations partners and student interns.
• Manage operations intern performance, including motivating them and keeping them focused on the department's objectives.
• Identify and implement customer service improvements.
• Conduct regular team performance review sessions every two weeks.

Safety and Risk Management:

• Develop and implement an emergency response plan.
• Conduct periodic campus risk assessments, produce reports 
• Terminate and manage contracts based on safety risk assessments.
• Implement mitigation plans and corrective actions for high-risk areas
• Develop SOPs for valuable student assets.
• Decrease incident rate and design communications and awareness plan for the risk.

Operational Excellence through Data & Systems:

• Improve the score of the campus operations CSAT
• Oversee reception operations, including mail distribution, courier services, office furniture maintenance, stationery inventory, meeting room bookings, visitor logs, and basic clerical tasks such as filing, photocopying, and data entry.
• Serve as the first point of contact for visitors and callers, managing inquiries, phone calls, and maintaining a clean and organized reception area.
• Create a reception roadmap for new people and guests to have a great campus experience.
• Produce and secure accurate data on quality markers, with improvement in accuracy & providing monthly and quarterly reports.
• Optimize campus resource utilization and reduce overall campus operational costs while maintaining or improving student satisfaction.

Procurement and Vendor Relations Management:

• Manage the campus operations budget including additional procurement, and the associated budgetary approval, by coordinating with ALU Finance.
• Plan the Operations Department yearly budget forecast, Operational and CAPEX, and ensure that monthly spendings are within the allocated budget.
• Manage vendor relations and contracts.

Other Duties:

• Perform other duties as assigned by the Campus & Facilities Operations Senior Manager.

Ensure the safety and well-being of all young persons and vulnerable adults with whom we deal,  by adhering to ALU’s comprehensive safeguarding policy, maintaining a zero-tolerance approach to any violations of safeguarding standards. 

REQUIREMENTS 

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
• 3-5 years of experience in an operational support role.
• Strong organizational, communication, and analytical skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Experience with database management and systems development.
• Knowledge of performance management and KPI tracking.
• Understanding of safety and risk management principles.
• Experience with contract and vendor management.
• Experience with front desk or guest management.
• Experience with budget planning.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in higher education.
• Knowledge of relevant software/systems.

Skills

• Problem-solving
• Multitasking
• Customer service.
• Analytical skills.
• Project management.
• Systems development.
• Performance analysis.
• Risk assessment.
• Data analysis.
• Budget management.
• Vendor management.
• Logistics and event planning.
• Guest management.