Salary and Benefits PLEASE NOTE: The starting salary placement depends on qualifications and experience and is anticipated to be in the range of $300,000 - $315,000 annually.
Cal State East Bay offers a broad range of benefits that includes medical, dental, vision, retirement (CalPERS), 401k, 457, 403(b), dependent and health care reimbursement accounts, life insurance, vacation and sick, 14 paid holidays, one personal holiday and tuition fee waiver.
For more information on the benefits program, please visit our benefits website. The CSU Total Compensation Calculator demonstrates the significance of our benefits package.
Classification Administrator IV
About the Position The San Francisco Bay Region Network ("SFBRN" or "Network") seeks an accomplished, strategic, and visionary administrative leader to serve as the inaugural Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Network. The Network is an innovative shared services model established by consolidating back-office administrative and transactional functions of three Northern California institutions within the California State University System (CSU): Sonoma State University (SSU), San Francisco State University (SFSU), and California State University, East Bay (CSUEB) into one single, cost-efficient structure, leveraging the shared geographic region, while maintaining institutional independence and identity at each member university.
Reporting jointly to the presidents of the three member universities, the COO will provide strategic leadership and vision for the Network, focusing on efficiency, effectiveness, and cost savings while leading and empowering staff to achieve excellence in service delivery to the three member institutions across each administrative area of the Network. In addition to strong organizational acumen, relational ability, demonstrated expertise in project and change management, and an unwavering commitment to excellence in operational execution, the COO will ideally bring executive-level administrative oversight experience in one or more of the core functional areas of the Network---finance, human resources, and/or information technology.
This is a full-time position that will be performed on site in California, with regular expected travel among the three member campuses in the Bay Area and periodic additional travel outside of the Bay Area.
DSG Global has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Beth Schaefer and Laurie Casteen. Submit a compelling cover letter and resume by filling out DSG's Talent Profile . All inquiries are strictly confidential.
Minimum Qualifications Education & Experience
- Bachelor's degree required, graduate degree preferred.
- Experience in higher education, public sector, nonprofit, or similarly complex mission driven organizations.
- Familiarity with multi-campus systems, shared services models, or matrixed reporting structures.
- Commitment to student success, institutional resilience, and the distinct missions and identities of each member campus.
- Ability to travel regularly among the three Bay Area campuses (each of which is within an hour of the other) and maintain a visible, accessible leadership presence.
In addition, strong candidates will offer the following skillsets and experiences:
Strategy and Planning
- Demonstrated ability to develop and execute multi-phase operational strategies across complex, decentralized organizations.
- Experience setting priorities, translating broad institutional goals into actionable plans, and aligning resources, timelines, and accountability measures.
- Strong analytical capacity, including the ability to use data, metrics, and performance indicators to guide decision-making and assess progress.
Communication and Transparency
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to build trust, share information clearly, and maintain transparency with chancellor, presidents, campus leaders, staff, and other stakeholders.
- Political acumen and diplomacy in navigating complex institutional cultures, shared governance environments, and competing priorities.
- Proven ability to listen actively, mediate conflict, build consensus, and sustain engagement during periods of significant change.
Operational Leadership / Competency
- Deep experience leading large-scale organizational change, shared services implementation, or operational transformation.
- Strong project management expertise, including oversight of milestones, deliverables, risk mitigation, and cross-functional coordination.
- Administrative leadership experience in one or more relevant functional areas, such as finance, human resources, information technology, procurement, payroll, or business operations.
- Ability to standardize processes, improve service delivery, and identify efficiencies while maintaining high-quality support for distinct campus communities.
People Leadership
- Track record of empowering, supervising, and developing high-performing teams in complex environments.
- Human-centered leadership style marked by integrity, credibility, humility, self awareness, resilience, and sound judgment.
- Experience supporting staff through transition, including attention to communication, morale, professional growth, and change fatigue.
Condition(s) of Employment Satisfactory completion of a background check (including LiveScan, as appropriate), that may include, but is not limited to: criminal records check, verification of academic credentials, licenses, certificates, credit history, professional references and/or verification of work history is required for employment. Cal State East Bay will issue a conditional offer of employment to the selected candidate, which may be rescinded if the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Unsatisfactory results may also affect the continued employment of current Cal State East Bay employees who were conditionally offered the position.
All background checks are conducted through the university's third party vendor, Accurate. LiveScan is conducted through the University Police Department.
Advertised: Aug 25 2026 Pacific Daylight Time
Applications close: 
