Manager, Business Operations — WSJ Leadership Institute

Job Description:

About the Team

The Wall Street Journal Leadership Institute is designed to help business leaders master a world of accelerating change. To succeed, they need not only good information—which The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones have traditionally provided them—but also a means for continuously honing their abilities to manage their people through a daunting array of challenges—whether from disruptive new technologies, an evolving geopolitical landscape, a changing energy paradigm, rising stakeholder demands, or shifting workplace norms. The WSJ Leadership Institute consists of executive peer communities, a variety of content, benefits and in-person and virtual experiences, and unique access to data only available within Dow Jones.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Business Operations Manager to sit at the intersection of data analytics, cross-functional execution, and corporate strategy. In this role, you will build the operational cadence, reporting frameworks, and metric visibility that drive our business forward. You will own cross-functional KPI tracking, lead critical strategic initiatives, evaluate and manage key business partnerships, and support high-impact ad-hoc projects—including evaluating acquisitions, new business lines or market expansion.

This role requires a unique balance of analytical depth, structured problem-solving, and hands-on execution. It reports to WSJLI’s Senior Director of Business Operations. 

You Will:

• Operational Performance & Reporting: Establish, standardize, and manage division-wide dashboarding. Track operational KPIs to identify trends and performance gaps.

• Cadence & Governance: Facilitate weekly, monthly, and quarterly business cadence meetings, ensuring alignment on KPIs and tracking risks to key milestones.

• Strategic Project Management and Execution: End-to-end execution of cross-functional strategic projects that increase efficiency, reduce operational friction, or drive top-line growth.Define project goals, set milestones, and drive accountability across teams (Membership Sales, Finance, Marketing, Sponsorship).

• M&A & Deal Support: Help program-manage operational due diligence, cross-departmental task forces, and post-acquisition integration workstreams to seamlessly combine teams, systems, and processes. 

• Partner Evaluation & Selection: Contribute to the evaluation of potential strategic partners and key vendors—assessing operational fit, scalable capacity, cost structures, and alignment with business goals.

• AI Innovation & Automation: Serve as the functional leader for generative AI tools within the operations ecosystem, identifying manual process bottlenecks and deploying tools to automate them.

• Strategic Planning Support: Work with the Senior Director, Business Operations and finance business partners to support the annual budget cycle to ensure that goals align with strategic business objectives.

• Workflow & Process Optimization: Continuously review functional processes to identify efficiencies, remove friction and automate manual operational tasks.

• Problem Solving & Escalation: Act as a centralized resource to resolve operational bottlenecks and inter-departmental misalignments.

You Have:

• Experience: 7+ years in Business Operations, Corporate Strategy, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), or Management Consulting.

• Project Management: Proven track record of managing complex, cross-functional projects with tight deadlines and competing priorities.

• M&A / Transformation Background: Prior exposure to M&A integrations, corporate development, or large-scale business transformation programs.

• Partnership Experience: Demonstrated background evaluating, onboarding, or managing strategic vendor, channel, or commercial partner relationships.

• Analytics & Tooling: High proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets and modern Business Intelligence software (Looker, Tableau, etc).

• Execution: Demonstrated experience breaking down ambiguous, large-scale problems into structured, actionable project plans.

• Stakeholder Management: Experience working directly with department heads and director-level leaders to drive alignment.

• Communication: Ability to distill complex operational metrics into clear, actionable insights for senior leaders.

• Adaptability: Comfort working in ambiguous environments with shifting priorities and large, ad-hoc projects.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics or a related field. MBA is a plus, but not required.

Our Benefits

• Comprehensive Healthcare Plans

• Paid Time Off

• Retirement Plans

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance Plans

• Education Benefits

• Paid Maternity and Paternity Leave

• Family Care Benefits

• Commuter Transit Program

• Subscription Discounts

• Employee Referral Program

Learn more about all our US benefits

Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. EEO/Disabled/Vets

Reasonable Accommodation

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application and/or interview process. If you need assistance or accommodation in completing your application or participating in an interview due to a disability, email us at [email protected]. Please put "Reasonable Accommodation" in the subject line and provide a brief description of the type of assistance you need. This inbox will not be monitored for application status updates.

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Business Area:

Dow Jones - Leadership Institute

Job Category:

General Management

Union Status:

Non-Union role

 

 

Base Pay Range: 105,000.00 - 150,000.00

We’re committed to offering competitive and flexible compensation to attract top talent. This pay range reflects our good faith estimate for the role and may vary based on a candidate’s experience, skills, location, and other relevant factors.

For bonus-eligible roles, targets are determined based on multiple considerations, including market benchmarks and individual contributions.

For benefits-eligible roles, we offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package covering health, retirement, wellbeing, and more, along with optional benefits to meet the diverse needs of our employees.