Working Title: Programs and Operations Manager

State Role Title: Administrative and Professional Faculty

Position Type: Administrative & Professional (Non-teaching Faculty)

Position Status: Full-Time

FLSA Status: Exempt: Not Eligible for Overtime

College/Division: College of Arts and Letters

Department: 100515 - Furious Flower Poetry Conference

Pay Rate: Maximum Starting

Specify Range or Amount: $70,000

Is this a JMU only position? No

Is this a grant-funded position? No

Is this a Conflict of Interest designated position? No

Beginning Review Date: 05/26/2025

About JMU:

Mission
We are a community committed to preparing students to be educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives.

Vision
To be the national model for the engaged university: engaged with ideas and the world.

Who We Are
Located in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA. With a population of just over 53,000, Harrisonburg is one of the most diverse communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and inclusive environment for students, faculty and staff. The student body includes approximately 20,000 undergraduate and 1,900 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.

JMU offers thriving programs in the liberal arts, science and technology, and professional disciplines at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels. The university is committed to expanding diversity, fostering equity and inclusion, and supporting superlative teaching and scholarship. JMU has achieved national recognition for the high quality of its academic programs, focus on maintaining strong student/faculty interaction, and innovative faculty research.

General Information:

The Programs and Operations Manager at the Furious Flower Poetry Center is a 12-month, AP Faculty Position that reports directly to the Center’s Executive Director. The Programs and Operations Manager supports the Executive Director’s vision and strategic plan with internal and external stakeholders, manages and executes a vision-aligned portfolio of programs and events designed to engage the Centers’ stakeholders; researches, secures, and manages appropriate grants in support of the Center’s needs, produces content and conceptualizes campaigns for the effective marketing and promotion of Center activities, and oversees the day-to-day running of the Center.

About Furious Flower: Located at James Madison University and housed in the College of Arts and Letters, Furious Flower Poetry Center is the nation’s first academic center for Black poetry. Conceptualized by Dr. Joanne V. Gabbin in 1994, for more than 25 years, Furious Flower has reached thousands of poets, educators, students, and poetry lovers through its decade-defining conferences, groundbreaking media and anthologies, workshops, reading series, and seminars. Under the current leadership of Executive Director, Lauren K. Alleyne, Furious Flower continues to impact literary communities on local, regional national and international levels, creating platforms for Black poets to engage new audiences, and for all audiences to experience Black literary culture.

This is an on-campus position; remote work is not available for this role.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Programs and Operations Manager
• Supports the mission, vision and values of the Center internally and externally
• Assists the ED with grant research, writing, management, and reporting in support of the Center’s mission and programs
• Manages project and event logistics for Center programs and initiatives (e.g. the annual poetry prize; reading series; publications)
• Develops and manages communications and marketing strategies, including the creation and maintenance of a communication plan, editorial calendar, brand guide, logo guidelines, etc.
• Writes, creates, edits, and/or copyedits content to engage stakeholders, market Center programs, and advance the Center’s mission
• Liaises with Libraries to develop and execute workflows related to the Furious Flower Special Collections
• Supervises assigned student workers and staff
• Performs other duties as assigned by the Executive Director

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications:
- A degree and/or significant experience in Arts Administration, Project/Event Management, or related field. Interest or additional education in English, Creative Writing, or African American Studies is a plus.
- Excellent writing, copy editing, and communication skills.
- Demonstrated grant writing and/or grant management and reporting experience.
- Experience in securing grants, engaging potential donors, and organizing and executing fund-raising events in non-profit/arts/higher education organizations.
- Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with event management.
- Expertise with using office communication and collaboration software in a group setting (e.g., Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, Google Suite, etc.).
- Collaboration skills, including the ability to adapt to a variety of work styles and approaches.
- Demonstrated experience with managing multiple projects, with attention to detail.
- Ability to train and engage colleagues and project teams in office and project management workflows.
- Ability to work independently as well as on a team.
- Ability to understand vision and translate into practical execution.
- Willingness to accept and act on feedback.

Preferred Qualifications:
- A Master’s degree or post-graduate certification in a relevant field.
- Knowledge of Black literary culture and/or contemporary poetry and/or related scholarship.
- Familiarity with JMU platforms (e.g. PeopleSoft, SharePoint, eVA) and policies.
- Supervisory experience.
- Ability to learn new technologies and their application in the execution of job duties.
- Some combination of education and experiential knowledge of social media and communications campaigns and techniques.

Additional Posting Information:

JMU’s Dual Career and Community Resources Program is available for candidates that will be relocating to the area. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2OTF1NG.

Conditions of Employment:  

Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background check.

E-Verify Notice: After accepting employment, new hires are required to complete an I-9 form and present documentation of their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. James Madison University uses the E-Verify system to confirm identity and work authorization.

EEO Statement:

James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.

Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.

Reasonable Accommodation:

If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance searching or applying for jobs please contact us at (540) 568-3597 or jobs@jmu.edu. You may also visit the JMU Human Resource Office, located at 752 Ott Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 and we will be happy to assist you.