School Network Staff Regional Director of Operations
Job Description
Start date: October 2021
Team: Operations
Location: Bridgeport, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut and New Haven, Connecticut
About Achievement First
Achievement First, a non-profit 501(c)3 charter school management organization, operates 41 public charter schools in Brooklyn, Connecticut and Rhode Island for the 2021-22 school year. The mission of Achievement First is to close the achievement gap and deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all children, regardless of race or economic status. Achievement First currently educates more than 135300 students in historically underserved neighborhoods, with over 90% of our students identifying as Black and Latino. With its college-preparatory focus, Achievement First schools are attaining breakthrough academic gains throughout the network. Beyond our students and schools, Achievement First is an engaged and prominent partner in the larger national conversation about how to improve public education and drive student achievement. Achievement First’s approach to teaching and learning enables every student to succeed at the highest levels.
For more information about Achievement First’s mission, approach, schools and team, please visit our website at www.achievementfirst.org.
About the role
Achievement First is currently seeking a strategic and dynamic Regional Director of Operations (RDO) who holds a high bar for excellence in operations and has a strong track record in coaching and developing others to reach that bar. Reporting to the Vice President of Operations, the RDO will be responsible for overseeing the successful and seamless operations of multiple Achievement First schools in Connecticut (Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven).
The RDO is responsible for ensuring all facets of the school operations run seamlessly and with purpose, so that the instructional leadership in schools can intensely focus on ensuring great instruction happens in every classroom, every day. Our mission in ops is to remove (or eliminate) every obstacle that gets in the way of instruction. Through observation and feedback, and direct coaching of the directors of operations (DSOs) in the school, the RDO drives each school-based ops team to improve continuously and deliver high-quality operations for their school.
Key outcomes
Over the next 12 months, the RDO will be responsible for achieving the following:
- Managing all schools in their portfolio to operational performance and compliance outcomes, including: ○ Excellent Execution: 92% of Ops Teams successfully execute the top monthly priority and score Strong or Exemplary.
○ Enrollment: 90% of schools meet whole-school budgeted enrollment targets by geo-specific timeline. 90% of schools come in at or below budget.
○ Attendance: We make daily contact with 98% of our families.
○ Certification: By 1/1, 60% of RI staff requiring certification are certified.
○ School-Based Operations Learning and Development: By 5/1, 80% of all DSOs and 93% of DSOs with less than 4 YOE return for SY21-22. By 4/1 80% of SBOs Agree or Strongly Agree they are learning and developing in their position.
○ Meeting all compliance requirements for finance, human capital, safety, facilities, and data management.
Achievement First – Regional Director of Operations 1 of 2
- Coaching DSOs to excel in strong operational partnership with their principals and to be strong school leaders in their building, with an orientation towards delivering excellent service and support to staff, students, and families.
- Identifying geography-specific processes to be centralized, operationalizing each process, and establishing sustainable ongoing management and execution.
- Actively partnering with Regional Superintendents, Network Support staff, and Team School Operations colleagues on meeting these goals.
Skills and characteristics
- Belief in Achievement First’s mission and educational model
- Track record of operational excellence and continuous improvement
- Highly reliable organizational systems and project management skills
- Extraordinary detail orientation
- Adaptive leadership style with the ability to unlock the potential of direct reports to become stronger leaders; Effective management across lines of difference; Strong written and verbal communicator; Can influence and motivate direct reports and peers
- Focused on outcomes; Flexible and critical thinker and strategic problem-solver who can unstick murky problems, drive towards outcomes, and deeply believes the chief metric is student achievement ● Builds strong relationships throughout the organization and remains oriented on making sure the work of Network Support stays focused on serving and supporting our schools with excellence
- Maturity, humility, strong work ethic, and a roll-up-my-sleeves attitude
Educational background and work experience
- Bachelor’s degree required; Advanced or professional degree preferred
- Experience in a school-based operational role and/or a school-based operations management role preferred ● Minimum 3 years experience managing 3+ direct reports required; Experience managing other managers strongly preferred
Regular travel between our geographies required, in addition to evening and, at times, weekend work.
Compensation
Salary for this position is competitive and commensurate with experience. Additionally, Achievement First offers a comprehensive benefits package.
