DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UCPATH
 University of California Office of the President | |
$
| |
 United States, California, Riverside | |
 Sep 13, 2025 | |
|
Apply for Job Job ID
81180
Location
Riverside
Full/Part Time
Full Time
Add to Favorite Jobs Email this Job Job Posting
For UCOP internal applicants, please login to the internal candidate gateway at: Jobs at UCOP Position Base University of California, Office of the President At the University of California (UC), your contributions make a difference. A world leader producing Nobel and Pulitzer Prize recipients with over 150 years of groundbreaking research transforming the world. Choose a career where you can leverage your knowledge, skills and aspirations to inspire and support some of the greatest minds in the world, and those who will follow in their footsteps. Working at the University of California is being part of a unique institution, and a vibrant and diverse community. At the University of California, Office of the President, we propel our mission through impactful work locally, in government centers and systemwide. We are passionate people, serving the greater good. The University of California, one of the largest and most acclaimed institutions of higher learning in the world, is dedicated to excellence in teaching, research and public service. The University of California Office of the President is the headquarters to the 10 campuses, six academic medical centers and three national laboratories and enrolls premier students from California, the nation and the world. Learn more about the UC Office of the President UCPath UCPath is the University of California's shared services center in Riverside, CA that manages the payroll, benefits, and other human resources transactions for more than 265,000 UC employees working across ten UC campuses, six academic health systems, three national labs and more. UCPath is the largest payroll, HR systems and benefits administration shared services organization in U.S. higher education. It was created to consolidate multiple legacy UC payroll, benefits, financial services and personnel system instances - at more than 20 UC campuses and hospitals - into a single, cloud-based PeopleSoft software suite. The Deputy Executive Director will serve as the strategic partner and trusted advisor to the Executive Director of the UCPath Center, providing critical support to drive the execution of the organization's mission and vision. As a highly visible and influential senior operations leader, the Deputy Executive Director will act as a key advisor to the Executive Director and act as a proxy when required, to represent the Executive Director's perspective and priorities across the UCPath organization and with high-level University of California (UC) stakeholders when needed. The UCPath Deputy Executive Director is resilient and adaptable to a constantly evolving business organization while achieving strategic objectives in a demanding, fast-paced environment that is still transitioning from start-up to steady state. This role requires someone with excellent organizational and communication skills, a strategic mindset and a proven track record of optimizing organizational and operational efficiency, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and advising at the highest levels. The ideal candidate for this position is a senior operations leader with a demonstrated track record of: * Business operations leadership in a large, complex service organization * Operational and organizational transformation * Measurable operational improvement * Strategic, functional and operational realignment to achieve organizational objectives * Significant experience moving the organization from status-quo to high performing enterprise * Developing and implementing innovative operational and technical solutions to improve efficiency and effectiveness * Partnering and collaborating with senior leadership and governance and stakeholder groups * Challenging the status quo to optimize business operations * Utilizing Agile methodologies to implement systemic improvements * Strong vision setting and aligning ability to drive buy-in across various stakeholders * Successfully working across a multi-disciplinary structure * Adept at identifying operational improvements opportunities and working with others to generate and implement solutions The Deputy Executive Director ensures seamless alignment between UCPath and UC stakeholders across all shared services functions, fostering a high-performing and collaborative environment while advancing the university's strategic goals. This role determines objectives, directs programs, develops strategies and policies, manages human, financial, and physical resources, and functions with a high degree of autonomy. This role also requires someone capable of rapidly learning and leading across the organization's various business services and products in a rapidly evolving organizational context. The UCPath Deputy Executive Director delivers results that elevate the value that UCPath brings to the University of California system and beyond.
* Drive Strategic Outcomes: Act as the primary advisor to the Executive Director, playing an instrumental role in planning and advancing strategic initiatives and influencing long-term decision-making across the organization. Plan, design and implement programs and establish direction, policies and procedures for UCPath. * Stakeholder Engagement: Build and manage relationships with UC senior leaders, faculty, university administrators, public agencies, and community partners to resolve complex issues and develop effective strategies to ensure UC stakeholders recognize the value UCPath brings to the University. * Insight and Analysis: Provide the Executive Director with high-level insights and data-driven recommendations, preparing comprehensive briefing materials for meetings and presentations. * Thought Leadership: Partner on strategy development, advising on key projects and organizational direction. Lead planning and execution of strategic meetings, retreats, and off-sites, ensuring alignment with UCPath's long-term goals. Stay well-informed on current and emerging issues within higher education and shared services organizations to provide a broad perspective to the Executive Director and Leadership Team. * Span of control: Directly manage multiple functional areas of UCPath while providing indirect oversight and leadership of all aspects of UCPath on behalf of the Executive Director to achieve the organization's goals and vision. * Organizational Leadership: Improve organizational performance and develop strategies for continuous improvement. * Communication: Develop and implement an internal communication plan, working closely with the CCO who leads marketing plan development and implementation.
* Change Agent: Challenge the status quo with UCPath leadership to evolve the organization to premier status. Lead initiatives to identify and implement best practices for continuous improvement and operational excellence. * Future-State Vision and Creative Solutions: Develop and implement a forward-looking vision for operational evolution and create an environment where teams can effectively solve challenges and implement creative solutions rapidly. * Strategic Analysis and Recommendations: Conduct deep-dive analysis on complex, open-ended strategic issues and provide strategic recommendations that drive operational improvements. * Rapid Response and Initiative Management: Lead rapid response efforts for critical operational challenges and manage strategically critical initiatives from conception through execution. * Cross-Functional Alignment and Impact Measurement: Drive cross-functional alignment and execution, and measure and communicate impact through data-driven analyses and tangible business outcomes. * Business Functions Oversight: Oversee key business functions including finance, business operations, product management, communications, stakeholder engagement, HR, training and development, governance, and IT, ensuring compliance, efficiency, and process optimization. Provide oversight for facilities management, including maintenance and custodial services for existing and new university-owned buildings. Advise the Executive Director and Leadership Team on matters concerning issues, operations or plans impacting UCPath. * Leadership Development and Recruitment: Develop future leaders across both strategic and technical disciplines. Responsible for hiring, staff retention, and professional development for direct reports.
* Stakeholder Engagement: Build and nurture strong relationships with stakeholders, representing the Executive Director and UC in high-level engagements and negotiations. * Align and Advance Priorities: Collaborate closely with the UCPath Leadership Team to drive the Executive Director's agenda and ensure seamless implementation of organizational priorities. * Strategic Oversight: Lead and advise on the development and execution of UCPath's strategic plans, ensuring alignment with the organization's vision and goals. * Cross-Functional Liaison: Act as a bridge between the Executive Director's office and cross-functional teams, facilitating communication, collaboration, and business execution across departments. * Financial Stewardship: Oversee budget development and expense priorities, advising on financial strategies and operational improvements that support long-term sustainability.
* Lead High-Impact Initiatives: Spearhead initiatives in areas such as organizational transformation, employee engagement, stakeholder engagement, communications, data metrics, process improvement, training, and operational execution to drive efficiencies that enhance UCPath's effectiveness and value to the UC stakeholders. * Organizational Design and Development: Lead enterprise-wide organizational design efforts, ensuring efficient structuring and staffing to support the evolving needs of the organization. * Mentorship and Development: Provide mentorship and guidance to senior leaders, fostering a culture of excellence, continuous improvement, and high performance. * Compliance and Governance: Implement and monitor compliance with legal, policy, and procedural standards, ensuring UCPath operates with integrity and accountability.
* Culture of Innovation: Foster and oversee a culture of innovation and continuous improvement by identifying opportunities for process optimization, cost savings, operational efficiency, process standardization and data-driven improvements, while ensuring clear, consistent guidelines and workflows. * Standardized Reporting Metrics: Establish standardized reporting metrics and dashboards to monitor trends, workflow, and accomplishments, providing the Executive Director and key stakeholders with clear, data-driven insights. * Enterprise-Wide Process Improvements: Lead enterprise-wide process improvements ensuring operations are optimized for efficiency, accuracy, and transparency. * Technology Implementation and Trends: Oversee implementation of new platforms and other technology solutions, leveraging cutting-edge tools that keep UCPath in line with industry trends. * Staff Training on Technology: Oversee staff training on technology tools and applications, optimizing productivity and efficiency. * Policy and Client Service Improvements: Drive improvements in key office policies, billing processes, and client service standards, creating clear, accessible resources for stakeholders. * Case Management and Customer Service Optimization: Implement and provide oversight to optimize case management and customer service that enable leadership to easily measure results and generate reports for executive briefings and strategic planning. * Communication Channel Updates: Ensure that key communication channels are continuously updated for the University community to provide clear, concise, and accurate information about services, contacts, key resources, and service delivery. Experience
Skills and Abilities
* Leadership Experience: Senior operations leader with demonstrated track records of business operations leadership within a shared services or large, complex organization, ideally one with a distributed service model supporting multiple clients. * Navigating Complex Processes: Proven, successful track record of navigating through complex and ambiguous corporate processes, organization structures, and processes. Experience organizing and partnering with multiple teams and departments in a fast-paced, deadline-driven structure. * Change Agent: Not wedded to the status quo. Continuously looks for new and innovative ways to resolve organizational challenges. * Strategic Vision: Demonstrated success in advising C-level executives, leading high-stakes projects, and managing cross-functional initiatives that drive strategic objectives. * Collaboration and Impact: Track record of identifying ways to increase organizational impact through collaboration and working with teams. * Planning and Project Management: Proven success in short- and long-range planning to establish an overall mission and goals at the macro-level, as well as a thorough background in program and project management, organizational design, workflow, facilitation, and coordination. * Higher Education Insight: Deep understanding of the organizational dynamics and regulatory environment of higher education, particularly within the California landscape. * Operational Excellence: Thorough knowledge and expertise in organizational design, project management, and strategic systems thinking, with a proven ability to streamline processes and deliver sustainable improvements.
* Executive Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex concepts to a variety of audiences and create compelling presentations. * Analytical and Strategic Thinking: Advanced analytical skills to assess organizational performance, identify opportunities, and recommend actionable solutions. Expert analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to generate data-driven insights for leadership. * Relationship Building: Superior consulting and relationship-building skills, with a proactive approach to engaging stakeholders and resolving challenges. Excellent people management and development skills. Ability to build and maintain relationships with stakeholders and the UCPath leadership and staff. * Financial Acumen: Thorough knowledge and understanding of budget management, financial analysis, human resources, risk management planning and operational oversight, ensuring fiscal responsibility and resource optimization. Advanced financial expertise, including budget planning, forecasting, and financial reporting. * Adaptability and Agility: Demonstrated success in navigating ambiguity, adapting to changing priorities, and leading through dynamic environments. * Strategic Leadership and Change Management: Demonstrated strategic leadership, planning, and change management skills within complex organizations. Ability to drive process improvement and manage large-scale operational changes and department goals. * Interpersonal and Negotiation Skills: Exceptional interpersonal, negotiation, and political acumen skills-able to influence stakeholders, solve problems, and drive resolution. Education
Preferred Qualifications
Travel Requirements The University of California, Office of the President, is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience. The full salary range shows the growth potential for this position and the pay scale is the budgeted salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position. Job Title ADDITIONAL INFORMATION This position will work a hybrid schedule which includes a combination of working both onsite at UCPath in Riverside and remote in California. HOW TO APPLY Please be prepared to attach a cover letter and resume with your application. JOB CLOSE DATE For first consideration, please apply by: October 3, 2025. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT Background Check Process: Successful completion of a background check is required for this critical position. Background check process at UCOP Smoke Free Work Environment: The University of California, Office of the President, is smoke & tobacco-free as of January 1, 2014. UC Smoke & Tobacco Free Policy As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccination Programs, as may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements. As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer.
EEO STATEMENT The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law. The University of California, Office of the President, strives to make this job board accessible to any and all users. If you have comments regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact us at: Accessibility or email the Human Resource Department at: epost@ucop.edu | |