Program Operations Specialist (HR Title: Program Specialist)

SMU’s more than 12,000 diverse, high-achieving students come from all 50 states and over 80 countries to take advantage of the University’s small classes, meaningful research opportunities, leadership development, community service, international study and innovative programs. SMU serves approximately 7,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students through eight degree-granting schools: Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Cox School of Business, Lyle School of Engineering, Meadows School of the Arts, Simmons School of Education and Human Development, Dedman School of Law, Perkins School of Theology and Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies.

SMU is data driven, and its powerful supercomputing ecosystem – paired with entrepreneurial drive – creates an unrivaled environment for the University to deliver research excellence. Now in its second century of achievement, SMU is recognized for the ways it supports students, faculty and alumni as they become ethical, enterprising leaders in their professions and communities. SMU’s relationship with Dallas – the dynamic center of one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions – offers unique learning, research, social and career opportunities that provide a launch pad for global impact. SMU is nonsectarian in its teaching and committed to academic freedom and open inquiry.

About the Department

SMU Continuing and Professional Education (SMU CAPE) offers a wide range of noncredit, work-integrated learning programs to help adult students advance in their careers or transition successfully to new ones. The CAPE portfolio includes courses and programs in on-campus and online formats. Areas of focus include emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, analytics, project management, design, marketing and communications, legal and finance, and many more. CAPE programs is a division of the Office of Global, Online and Continuing Education within SMU’s Moody School.

About the Role

This is an on-campus, in-person position. The Program Operations Specialist serves as a key contact for instructors, colleagues, and Continuing and Professional Education (CAPE) partners during preparation, delivery, and evaluation of all CAPE programs. The role supports the operational and administrative functions of instructional delivery across CAPE programs, playing a critical role in maintaining consistency, documentation, and communication with various stakeholders. The role emphasizes coordination, systems administration, process development and improvement, and project tracking. The specialist resolves routine learner and instructor issues with professionalism and proactively monitors risks, gaps, or delays that may affect learner experience or program delivery. This team member is expected to develop deep familiarity with CAPE's instructional ecosystem—course structures, tools, timelines, and best practices—and to grow as a key contributor to instructional quality and innovation at SMU.

Responsibilities

• Systems Administration and Training
  • Oversee, update, and evaluate effective use of primary and proprietary systems, including the Learning Management System (LMS).
  • Support course setup and readiness activities, including configuration tasks in the Canvas LMS, instructor and partner access provisioning, and supplemental tool configuration.
  • Develop and maintain documentation for training purposes.
• Day-to-Day Program Administration
  • Manage routine aspects of program delivery and serve as a contact for CAPE instructors, partners, and colleagues regarding procedural questions and best practices.
  • Build and maintain process documentation, including checklists and timelines to support team workflows and consistency.
  • Coordinate troubleshooting of CAPE instructional technology issues.
• Business Administration Support
  • Support SMU Business Administration, following standard operating procedures related to accounts payable, purchasing, and payroll tasks and documentation for CAPE's third-party vendors, partners, and instructors.
  • Collaborate with SMU colleagues to develop procedures to collect, track, and reconcile third-party funding sources for student fees and tuition.
• Reporting and Tracking
  • Document noncredit program completion, credential attainment, qualitative assessment, and other measurements in standardized reports aligned with institutional and workforce reporting requirements.
  • Deliver requested data, analysis, and summaries to support CAPE strategic planning and compliance activities.
• Communications
  • Collaborate with colleagues, instructors, and partners to distribute information via multiple channels and to various stakeholder audiences.
  • Serve as a primary contact for instructors, student success team members, graduate student assistants, and other support staff.
  • Represent CAPE on committees, task forces, working groups, etc. across SMU and externally.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree is required; Master's degree preferred.
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience with continuing education, corporate learning and development, and/or workforce programming is required.
• Experience with higher education and project management is preferred.
• A Quality Matters (QM) certification and/or Project Management Institute (PMI) certification is preferred.

Skills

• Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate broadly across the University and develop and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of constituencies.
• Strong written communication skills.
• Strong customer service orientation.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to identify and analyze problems, as well as devise solutions.
• Strong organizational, planning, and time management skills.
• Strong project management skills and a focus on attention to detail.
• Knowledge of online teaching and learning pedagogy preferred.
• Knowledge of methods, practices, and principles of adult education is desired.
• Strong working knowledge of Canvas and related systems (e.g., Panopto), Microsoft Office Suite applications, and project management systems, such as Asana.
• Experience with a student management system (e.g., Modern Campus Lifelong Learning), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and/or AI tools (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT) is preferred.

Physical and Environmental Demands

• Sit for long periods of time.

Benefits

SMU offers staff a broad, competitive array of health and related benefits. In addition to traditional benefits such as health, dental, and vision plans, SMU provides a wide range of wellness programs to help attract, support, and retain employees. SMU is committed to offering retirement programs that benefit and protect employees and their families throughout their working years and during retirement. Employees have access to a variety of professional and personal development opportunities, including tuition benefits.