Director of Operations

The Organization: Meritus College

Meritus College is a new kind of not-for-profit online college, built from the ground up to meet the needs of working adults and career-changers who’ve been overlooked by traditional higher education.

The problem is clear: only 33% of Pell grant recipients complete their degrees at two-year colleges within six years. College has become too rigid, too expensive, and too disconnected from both student realities and career outcomes. Meritus College is different. Our online, asynchronous programs and "workplace as laboratory" approach allow students to learn and apply new skills directly to their jobs, while receiving personalized support from dedicated coaches every step of the way. We focus on real-world skills and stackable credentials in high-demand fields, ensuring graduates are prepared for today's jobs and tomorrow's opportunities. Founded in 2025 with an inaugural Associate of Applied Science in Technology and Innovation degree, Meritus College is building a mainstream pathway to economic mobility—one designed not for the privileged few, but for the talented many who’ve too often been left behind.

Role Overview

The primary mission of the Director of Operations is to serve as the connective tissue of Meritus College, ensuring priorities, information, and decisions move effectively across functional areas and that teams have the clarity and infrastructure they need. As Meritus College launches and builds in real time, you will connect dots across the College, proactively identify and unblock issues, escalate issues as needed, and serve as a trusted first line of feedback and thought partnership across the organization.

You will also play a critical role in building the systems, operating rhythms, and infrastructure of the College as it grows, often creating the process while simultaneously moving the work forward. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, operations, and culture, requiring exceptional resourcefulness, critical thinking, and stakeholder management skills to move fluidly between seeing the big picture, building what’s missing, and driving the details forward.

The Director of Operations will report directly to Melinda Day, Chief Academic Officer, and will work crossfunctionally across Meritus College teams.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, the following:

Cross-Functional Program Management

Drive alignment and accountability across Functional Leads through regular status meetings, 1:1 connects, and follow-ups. Introduce and standardize practices, tools, and approaches that strengthen both execution and communications.

Maintain a clear view across all College workstreams, connecting priorities, dependencies, decisions, and information across functional areas.

Proactively identify and resolve blockers, working with Functional Leads and escalating issues to leadership when quick decisions or intervention are needed.

Build a strong, supportive culture among Functional Leads, fostering trust, collaboration, shared accountability, and connection across teams.

Operations & Systems Building

Own and continuously improve key College operating rhythms, meetings, workflows, and ways of working.

Proactively spot gaps in systems, processes, communication, or ownership and design and implement practical solutions.

Jump into emerging priorities and problems that don’t yet have a clear owner or playbook, bringing structure and momentum to ambiguous work.

Stakeholder Communications, Change & Culture

Own key College-wide forums, including All Hands meetings, gathering updates from Functional Leads and developing materials, and ensuring College sharebacks clearly and compellingly communicate progress and wins.

Help shape communications and sharebacks to Merit America staff and leadership, tailoring the message, context, and level of detail for different stakeholder groups.

Support chang