Partner Operations Manager

Partner Operations Manager, University Partnerships – Job Description

Role Summary The Partner Operations Manager (POM) serves as the primary operational partner between Emeritus and its university partners. POMs are responsible for ensuring smooth, high-quality delivery of online and blended programs, acting as the bridge between university stakeholders and Emeritus' internal teams (Product, Marketing, Admissions, Outreach, Delivery, Legal and Finance). This role blends project management, partner relationship management, and cross-functional coordination to ensure programs operate smoothly, meet contractual commitments, and deliver a high-quality experience for both partners and learners.

POMs manage a portfolio of university partnerships, owning program operations end-to-end, including onboarding new partners and programs, coordinating launches, monitoring performance, resolving issues, and implementing improvements.

POMs are expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy, balancing partner relationship management with operational execution and systems thinking. As the University Partnerships organization evolves across non-degree, blended, and degree programs, POMs will play a critical role in scaling operational excellence, identifying process improvements, and helping standardize partner operations across a growing global portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner Operations & Relationship Management
• Act as the primary operational point of contact for assigned university partners.
• Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with university program managers, faculty, and operational teams.
• Coordinate program launches, ensuring all pre-launch requirements, systems, and marketing timelines are met.
• Monitor ongoing program delivery to ensure adherence to agreed-upon service levels and timelines.
• Oversee learner support, faculty experience, and operational case management processes, with a focus on efficiency, effectiveness, scalability, and partner satisfaction.
• Cross-Functional Leadership & Operational Governance
• Support operational models across non-degree, blended, certificate, and degree-related programs.
• Partner closely with internal teams (including Product, Admissions, Marketing, Outreach, Delivery, Finance, Legal, Technical Operations, and Instructional Design) to ensure programs operate smoothly and partner commitments are met.
• Serve as the primary operational connective point between university partners and internal teams, developing strong cross-functional knowledge in order to effectively communicate processes, timelines, dependencies, risks, and operational decisions.
• Drive operational accountability across stakeholders by clarifying ownership, managing dependencies, and ensuring timely follow-through on initiatives, launches, escalations, and partner commitments.
• Facilitate cross-functional alignment on program launches, learner experience initiatives, curriculum updates, reporting needs, and operational priorities.
• Identify operational risks, process gaps, and bottlenecks, and proactively implement or escalate solutions.
• Support governance and coordination for complex partnerships involving multiple programs, stakeholders, systems, or delivery models.
• Balance competing priorities and exercise sound operational judgment within a fast-paced, matrixed environment.
• Data & Reporting
• Own operational reporting accuracy and data integrity across partner programs, including enrollments, learner status tracking, financial/revenue implications, and partner-facing dashboards.
• Partner with technical, analytics, and systems teams to troubleshoot data discrepancies, reporting issues, workflow failures, and integration dependencies.
• Translate operational and partner needs into scalable reporting and systems requirements.
• Ensure accuracy and timeliness of data sharing between Emeritus systems and university partner systems (e.g., SIS integrations, SFTP transfers, reporting dashboards).
• Analyze program performance data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Process & Issue Management
• Proactively identify operational risks or bottlenecks and implement solutions.
• Escalate operational or compliance risks appropriately and partner with relevant teams to support mitigation efforts.
• Ensure operational practices align with contractual obligations, learner data privacy standards, accreditation requirements, and institutional policies.
• Operational Improvement & Strategic Initiatives
• Contribute to the development and refinement of operational processes, documentation, and best practices across the Partner Operations function.
• Share feedback