Photo diodes work best when reverse-biased and connected to the summing junction (inverting input) of an op-amp. With the non-inverting input connected to circuit common, the summing junction becomes a "virtual" ground. You connect a feedback resistor from the output to the summing junction to control the "gain" of the circuit.
Whatever current the photo diode produces also flows in the feedback resistor. Output U = (Ipd)(Rfb), where U is the output of the op-amp in volts, Ipd is the photo-diode reverse bias current (varies with illumination) in amperes, and Rfb is the feedback resistor value in ohms.
Depending on diode type and illumination level, you might expect to get 100 μA to perhaps 1 mA of diode current under various illumination conditions. If the value of Rfb is, say, 100 kΩ then the output will be 10 volts for 100 μA input current. Adjust the value of Rfb up or down depending on how much sensitivity you need for a given illumination level.
The circuit is temperature sensitive, but this can be compensated by using two diodes thermally bonded together and applying a positive reverse bias to one diode and a negative reverse bias to the other diode, with both diodes connected to the summing junction. One diode acts as a "dark current" reference (this is current that is temperature sensitive) so it must be blocked from illumination the other diode "sees". One diode has its anode connected to a negative bias supply and the other diode has its cathode connected to a positive bias supply. Thus both diodes are reverse biased, but only one is exposed to illumination. Bias voltage is not critical... dark current barely varies with reverse bias voltage. Anything from a few volts upward to the maximum reverse voltage rating (60 V in your case) of the diodes will work. I generally use ±15 V DC from the op-amp power supply.
This circuit is quite linear as a function of illumination intensity over several decades, but it is also susceptible to microphonics when the feedback resistor value is made very large in a effort to maximize sensitivity to low-level illumination conditions. Start out with feedback resistors in the range from 10 kΩ to 1 MΩ and make sure the op-amp output doesn't saturate at maximum illumination. Saturation won't hurt anything, but it does slow down the response of the circuit to rapidly changing illumination conditions, and of course the linearity is destroyed once saturation occurs. If all you need is sensitive on/off switching when the IR source is unblocked/blocked, use the largest value resistor that will produce the desired signal "swing" in the output.
