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Chief Administrative Officer (0548U) 76264

About Berkeley

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty and staff.

As a world-leading institution, Berkeley is known for its academic and research excellence, public mission, diverse student body, and commitment to equity and social justice. Since our founding in 1868, we have driven innovation, creating global intellectual, economic and social value.

We are looking for applicants who reflect California's diversity and want to be part of an inclusive, equity-focused community that views education as a matter of social justice. Please consider whether your values align with our Guiding Values and Principles, Principles of Community, and Strategic Plan.

At UC Berkeley, we believe that learning is a fundamental part of working, and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups (staff organizations). Our goal is for everyone on the Berkeley campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support this by providing all of our full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours (10 days) of paid time per year to engage in professional development activities. Find out more about how you can grow your career at UC Berkeley.

Departmental Overview

The Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP) has 30 ladder-rank faculty, 12 emeriti faculty, more than 70 staff members, and more than 30 academic Lecturers. It occupies seven buildings (both on and off-campus) with more than 40,000 assignable square feet; within those buildings are eight classrooms and more than 100 offices.

GSPP is primarily a graduate school, with four degree programs at the graduate level: the Masters of Public Policy (MPP); a Self-Supporting Degree Program - the Masters of Public Affairs (MPA); the Masters of Development Practice (MDP); and a PhD program in Public Policy. Its annual budget is approximately $40M, made up of revenue sources such as current use and endowed philanthropy funds, contracts and grants, supplemental tuition from the MDP and MPP programs, self-supporting degree revenue from the MPA, and state funding.

The School is home to more than 10 research centers led by GSPP faculty: the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment; the Center for Studies on Higher Education; the Center for Environmental Public Policy; the Democracy Policy Lab; the Center on Civility and Democratic Engagement; the Possibility Lab; the Center for Security in Politics; the Berkeley Opportunity Lab; the California Policy Lab; the India Energy and Climate Center; the Risk and Resilience Research Lab, and others.

GSPP enrolls more than 1500 undergraduates annually in elective classes and has more than 600 students in its undergraduate minor. The School has approximately 330 Master's degree candidates, 20 PhD students, and more than 3,000 alumni. GSPP hires more than 60 graduate student instructors, readers, lecturers and graduate student researchers annually. Its constituency also includes parents, friends and a number of organizations representing state, federal and local government and policy organizations. Former UC President Emerita Janet Napolitano is a ladder rank faculty member at the School, and she has expanded the research in Security Policy, as well as enabling connections with heads of state and former heads of state, both in the United States and abroad.

GSPP has been ranked first in Policy Analysis among graduate schools in the US for more than 20 years by US News and World Report. GSPP is also consistently ranked as one of the top graduate schools in Social Policy, and ranked fourth nationally in the fields of Public Affairs and Environmental Policy & Management.

Application Review Date

The minimum posting duration for this position is 14 calendar days. The department will initiate the application review process on/after February 27, 2025.

Responsibilities

The GSPP Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) performs high-level strategic services in support of the Goldman School mission, values, reputation for excellence, and vision of the dean. This position reports to the dean and is part of the school senior leadership team. The CAO is responsible for all aspects of the school's administration and operations, including HR, IT, academic personnel, finance and budget, and facilities. This position also requires problem-solving for unprecedented situations-e.g., overseeing facilities and capital projects as the school expands its physical infrastructure; resolving space needs through subleasing and crafting MOUs with other campus offices and leaders; supporting the development of international partnerships and business contracts; comprehending and communicating changes in campus policies; and conducting liaison work with the White House for prominent faculty service. The CAO applies professional judgment acquired with many years of experience to a complex variety of cases as they arise and solves them-in collaboration with the dean and other campus leaders-through the creative application of historical context and solutions.

Strategic Leadership and Planning:

• Serves as a senior advisor, consultant, and strategic thought partner to the Dean, often in relation to highly sensitive and/or political situations and those involving other members of the Dean's cabinet and leadership team. Provides in-depth and complex analyses across a broad spectrum of programs, policies, and initiatives.


• Leads and supports all HR recruitment and compliance efforts for staff positions in the School, including crafting and updating job cards; makes recommendations on appropriate classification and HR decisions; advises on and executes changes to organizational structures; collaborates with the Dean's leadership team to define roles and responsibilities among leadership staff.


• Maintains integrity of the School through management and oversight of staff. Investigates and problem-solves issues presented to the Dean by staff, faculty, and academics. Responds to crisis situations and manages business resumption and recovery activities, ensuring strong internal communications to all stakeholders. In collaboration with the Dean, facilitates staff meetings as needed, to strengthen communication channels between the leadership and staff at large.


• Designs and carries out specific strategic initiatives on behalf of the Dean, and provides change management leadership to the School.


• Oversees and supervises the School's CFO and financial staff, and achieves results through a subordinate team of professionals. Provides strategic oversight for the development of the School's annual budget; determining expense priorities, recommending and implementing changes to methods, unit planning, staffing, programs and other financial activities. Writes the School's budget narrative in consultation with the dean and CFO; prepares briefing materials and attends the annual budget meeting with dean and EVCP.


• Oversees all the operation and administration functions of the School; manages physical space allocations within the School, in consultation with the dean, associate dean, and Facilities Manager.


• Oversees and directly supervises the School's technical and IT support; achieves results through a subordinate supervisor and direct supervision. Works closely with the technical team on all issues requiring strategic decision-making, such as software licensing, equipment and hardware, and classroom buildouts.


• Promotes a culture of customer service and professionalism.

Academic Personnel, ELR & Human Resources:

• Supervises, oversees and directs the School's Academic HR functions, with a focus on nimble execution of the dean's priorities; achieves results directly, and through a subordinate team of professionals.


• Works with Academic HR analysts to design and implement procedures and tools to streamline processes and ensure timely presentation of high quality recruitment, appointment, advancement, retention, and related cases to the central Office for Faculty Equity & Welfare, the campus Academic Personnel Office, the Vice Provost for Faculty, the Academic Senate's Budget Committee, and the EVCP.


• Drafts and edits complex faculty case letters and documentation for the dean's approval, in sensitive, impactful and urgent faculty assessment,recruitment and retention efforts.


• Accountable for the School's academic personnel function, which is centralized within the Dean's Office; this includes: 30 ladder-rank professors, 10 non-senate adjunct faculty, and approximately 50 represented academic lecturers, 12 emeriti and recalled faculty, 20 non-faculty academics (e.g., academic coordinators, researchers, postdoctoral scholars, etc.; both represented and non-represented), and 50+ graduate student instructors and researchers.


• Provides strategic leadership to ensure high-quality service, consultation, and timely resolution of inquiries.


• Serves as an escalation point for complex issues, including employee and labor relations, and for sensitive/high impact personnel situations.


• Accountable for the School's entire staff HR function. Supports the Dean, the center faculty directors, and GSPP's leadership team in all related decision-making and approvals, for a staff workforce of 120+ people (represented and non- represented), including position control, salary setting and equity, reclassification, retention, succession planning, involuntary separations, and employee/labor relations activities.


• Collaborates closely with the ProS Executive Director, the ProS HR Supervisor, the ProS HR partner, and the BRS Research Administrative team in Berkeley Regional Services, to carry out day-to-day HR activities and ensure consistent application of policies and guidelines in alignment with the campus/UC system and the School's values.


• Develops a compensation strategy for the School; consults with hiring managers on appropriate pay grades and compensation offers; manages performance evaluation and merit processes for the School. Serves as Control Unit Administrator for these processes, liaising with People & Culture leadership as needed.


• Analyzes new/changes to campus HR policies and systems to determine their impact and ensures successful implementation.


• In relation to both staff and academic HR, ensures compliance with campus, UC system, bargaining agreement, legal, and regulatory requirements in a complex, changing environment. Ensures supervisors, hiring managers, and administrative managers throughout the School are trained and supported in relation to HR and ELR policies, processes, and procedures.

Administrative Management:

• Manages, plans and oversees all administrative and operational projects for the Goldman School. Provides a framework for GSPP's practices, policies and administrative changes as needed, developing strategies for change management to remove barriers to goal achievement.


• Manages multiple functions through subordinate supervisors and professional staff (e.g., Academic Personnel, IT, Finance and Facilities), as well as provides direct supervision to a team of professionals.


• Trains and oversees direct reports to achieve results, holding them accountable for achievement of goals and metrics, as well as collective success.


• Provides feedback and coaching via regular check-ins and the Achieve Together program.


• Recommends strategy and job classification of new employees, and collaborates with other School managers and supervisors on recommendations for salary actions, terminations, performance ratings, and other related issues of managed staff.


• Harnesses strong team-building skills as a means to build staff morale. Ensures all reports are fully trained and have the tools they need to perform successfully in their roles. Actively engages in and supports the professional and career development of reports.


• Oversees unit budget and expenditures, ensuring appropriate fiscal stewardship. Works closely and supervises the work of the School's CFO and financial analysis staff.


• Convenes groups of operational staff for events that require crisis response or recovery, including the School's Injury, Illness and Prevention Plan; reports of occupational injuries; emergency response training from campus Office of Emergency and Safety Planning, as well as evacuation and space planning work.

Workforce Development:

• Leads the School's staff workforce development and satisfaction efforts, including performance management, learning & development, and mandated training initiatives and programs. Develops and consults on HR assistance for GSPP supervisors and hiring managers. Works with the Dean, various committees, and other leaders to develop a culture of professional development and promote community and collaboration across the School.


• Serves on a number of internal committees, including the Emergency Response Team, and backup to the Building Coordinators; meets with them regularly to establish goals, advise on strategies, and carry out programming.


• Envisions, designs, implements, and manages staff development programs for the Admin & Operations team, aimed at growing proficiencies in the areas of process improvement, project management, facilitation, and change management.


• Develops and maintains partnerships with central campus offices (e.g., Employee & Labor Relations; Comp & Classification; the Achieve Together community; the People & Organization Development office) to leverage resources and subject matter expertise.

Campus-level Engagement & Service:

• Represents the Dean and School on campus-wide bodies, including the Chief Administrative Officers (CAO) Group. Represents the CAO Group on campus- wide initiatives (e.g., UCPath Steering Committee, the campus CFO's steering committee, Financial Incentives committee).


• Engages in campus-level service activities (e.g., Berkeley Staff Assembly Staff Mentorship Program, CAO Planning Group, etc.)


• Leads special projects as identified, with campuswide impact (e.g., the Administrative Guide for Faculty pilot program, which informed much of the campus' work on Reducing Bureaucratic Burdens).


• Serves the campus as a "substitute CAO" as needed (e.g., serving as Interim CAO for the University Library in 2019 and 2023).


• Serves on interview committees as needed, for new Berkeley Regional Services hires, or new CAO hires.

Professional Training, Growth and Development:

• Recommends and participates in workshops, trainings, and other professional development activities (e.g., people management courses, DEIBJ-focused seminars, etc.).


• Incumbent is required to undertake and complete mandated training for UC employees, including specialized training for managers.


• Other duties as assigned; may involve evening and weekend work, depending on project needs, deadlines, and external constituent demands.


• While this job may allow for some hybrid activity, it is not eligible for 100% remote work.

Required Qualifications

Strategic Mindset:

• Ability to serve as strategic thought partner for the Dean, as well as for other members of the Dean's leadership team, senior faculty, and other members of the GSPP community.


• Demonstrates strong strategic, critical, and analytical thinking, and exceptional problem identification and resolution skills; very strong ability to quickly evaluate complex issues and identify multiple options for resolution.


• Demonstrates sound judgment and decision-making. Ability to synthesize large amounts of information.


• Ability to focus on vision and strategies, without neglecting operational details required to execute.


• Capable of leading diverse stakeholder groups towards a common vision, and of navigating complex internal and external relationships, politics, and constraints.

Human Resources & Academic Personnel:

• Comprehensive understanding of UC human resources policies and implementation, including classification, recruitment, salary setting, learning and development, performance management, employee relations/labor relations, payroll, benefits and leaves, and separations (or comparable institutional knowledge).


• Comprehensive understanding of academic recruitment, appointment, and advancement (merit/promotion) processes.


• Strong knowledge of campus and system HR and AP polices, guidelines, and procedures.


• Ability to interpret complex staff and academic HR policies and procedures with risk management exposure to the organization, including labor contracts, to prevent potentially litigious personnel actions.


• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain cohesive, high-performing, results- driven teams through excellent training, coaching, mentoring, and management of direct reports, to achieve goals through subordinate staff, and to hold team members accountable for their performance and collective success.

Communication Skills:

• Ability to represent the School and Dean professionally in all settings.


• Excellent verbal and written communication and listening skills, specifically as it relates to communicating to a variety of internal and external stakeholders.


• Expert skill in undertaking persuasive and compelling communications to achieve goals and objectives through both logic and appeal to positive motivations.


• Advanced skill in advocating for and representing the institution to its various communities and cohorts.


• Ability to maintain confidentiality, objectivity, sensitivity, discretion, professionalism, and exercise good judgment and tact.

Interpersonal / Collaborative Abilities:

• Strong customer service orientation.


• Outstanding interpersonal skills to be able to work effectively across and outside of the organization, at all levels, and with diverse populations including faculty, academics, and staff.


• High degree of emotional intelligence; proven political acumen in complex, multi- layered organizations; ability to influence and negotiate at all levels.


• Highly skilled in facilitation and relationship building.


• Demonstrated experience building collaborations; ability to build deep and trusting relationships.


• Demonstrated experience in building trust, confidence, and credibility with others. Demonstrated ability to handle difficult or volatile situations/individuals effectively.

Project Management Skills:

• Track record of strategic planning, project management, change management, risk management, process improvement, and managing across multiple important priorities.


• Results-driven; capable of working independently with minimal oversight; incumbent must be able to envision important arguments, supporting data, and persuasive elements for interactions with sophisticated audiences.


• Ability to juggle competing priorities successfully with a high volume of work in a complex working environment.


• High-level organizational skills and superb attention to detail.


• Comfortable, flexible, and adaptable in a fast-moving, high pressure, and constantly shifting environment.

Capital Projects and Facilities Oversight:

• Demonstrated experience with space management decisions and construction projects. Demonstrated experience with Capital Projects, and project budgets exceeding $2M.


• Ability to work collaboratively with construction personnel, to communicate effectively with stakeholders, and to make reasonably quick decisions when projects encounter unforeseen difficulties.

Multicultural competencies:

• Ability to work with diverse populations.


• Demonstrated commitment to and understanding of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.


• Demonstrated ability to integrate core concepts of DEIB into everyday practice.

Computer Skills:

• As the supervisor and manager of the IT Director and the technical team of the School, must understand concepts related to data security, data privacy, accessibility demands of the School's website, and the management of such functions.


• Excellent computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Suite, Google Collaboration Suite, Smartsheet, and/or other related business software programs, systems, and databases.


• Working knowledge of human resources management systems, such as UCPath or comparable systems.


• Knowledge of databases and reporting systems, with experience in data tracking and data analysis.

Salary & Benefits

This is a full-time, career position. This position is eligible for a hybrid remote work within the United States. Exact arrangements are determined in partnership with your supervisor to meet role responsibilities and department needs and are subject to change.

This position is eligible for the full range of UC Benefits. For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. 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, analysis of internal equity, 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 budgeted salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $200,000 - $230,000, annually.
How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

Diversity Statement

Please include, as part of your application a brief (1-2 paragraph) statement on your contributions to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in your professional experience.

Advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental to our UC Berkeley Principles of Community, which states that "every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring, and humane environment in which these values can thrive."

Conviction History Background

This is a designated position requiring fingerprinting and a background check due to the nature of the job responsibilities. Berkeley does hire people with conviction histories and reviews information received in the context of the job responsibilities. The University reserves the right to make employment contingent upon successful completion of the background check.

Misconduct Disclosure

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
Abusive Conduct in the Workplace
Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. For more information about your rights as an applicant, please see the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission poster.

The University of California's Affirmative Action policy.

The University of California's Anti-Discrimination policy.


To apply, visit https://careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psc/ucb/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM_FL.HRS_CG_SEARCH_FL.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST_FL&JobOpeningId=76264&PostingSeq=1&SiteId=21&languageCd=ENG&FOCUS=Applicant













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