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Democracy Prep Public Schools · 1 week ago

Chief Operating Officer

New York, NY

Full-time

Onsite

Director/Executive

$225K/yr - $245K/yr

10+ years exp

Democracy Prep Public Schools is a tuition-free high-performing public charter school network dedicated to educating responsible citizen-scholars. The Chief Operating Officer will lead operational functions across ten schools in New York City, ensuring excellence in student recruitment, school operations, and facilities management to support a thriving learning environment.

Responsibilities

Set vision for and oversee all school-facing operational functions across the network, including all operational systems and team structures (including student recruitment and enrollment, school operations, meals, transportation, procurement, student information systems, compliance and reporting, safety, facilities management, and real estate management). Drive excellence across these functions

Manage through layers at the network level to ensure excellence in enrollment, school operations, food service, transportation, safety, facilities, compliance, and student information systems

Monitor schools' experience with the Democracy Prep operations team to ensure consistent, responsive, and high-quality operational support that enables instructional focus

Remove operational barriers that limit teaching, learning, and school culture

Establish clear service standards and operational expectations for schools

Partner with principals to resolve complex operational challenges

Lead escalation and response to school-level operational issues and crises with urgency and care

Lead and manage senior leaders overseeing network operations functions

Build a unified, service-oriented operations culture across central and school-based teams

Set clear goals, performance expectations, and accountability structures that center on efficiency and operational excellence, customer service for our schools, and the creation of a safe and productive learning environment for our scholars

Ensure operational strategies for schools are translated into specific objectives and plans (with contingencies); integrate and align efforts across functions; set realistic yet aggressive timeframes for achieving key objectives

Develop, coach, and retain high-performing operations leaders

Foster collaboration, inclusion, and strong management practices across teams

Audit, evaluate, and refine, and continuously improve scalable operational systems and processes. Identify gaps in processes and design, and monitor new systems and processes where necessary

Ensure consistency of protocols, tools, and school-facing workflows and establish processes for rollout and consistent monitoring where needed

Continuously evaluate operational KPIs and dashboards to monitor performance and risk

Use data and school leader feedback to drive continuous improvement for schools and scholars

Identify operational risks early and implement preventative solutions

As required, lead operational planning and execution for any network growth in New York

Oversee facilities planning, maintenance, and capital projects for both private and shared school spaces

Develop and manage real estate strategy, leases, renovations, and construction projects; ensure alignment with current and future growth strategy

Ensure all facilities meet safety, regulatory, and instructional needs. Develops and organizes ongoing, long-range, and preventive maintenance plans and programs for sites, buildings and equipment, including grounds keeping, transportation, and custodial services

Maintain responsibility for all facilities management and planning, lease and licensing agreements, hazardous materials management, security systems, capital improvement, maintenance and repair service, energy management, refuse collection and disposal, and recycling programs

Partner with Democracy Prep's Finance Team to manage operations budgets and cost controls

Oversee processes for procurement, contract negotiation, and vendor performance

Ensure compliance with federal, state, local, and authorizer requirements

Oversee operational audits, reporting, and risk management

Ensure the implementation of a best-in-class student recruitment, enrollment and retention program across all Democracy Prep schools. Operationalize enrollment efforts for accountability at all levels

Oversee enrollment forecasting, data tracking, and reporting

Oversee all public relations and marketing vendor contracts and relationships

Operationalize the CEO's vision for Democracy Prep's brand and marketing

As needed to reach the CEO's strategic vision for Democracy Prep, collaborate with Academic, People, Finance, and Strategy leaders

Ensure operational readiness for academic and organizational initiatives

Align operational execution to network priorities and timelines

Perform other related duties as assigned, including participation in network-wide or department specific initiatives and/or projects

Qualification

Operational leadershipK-12 charter managementSystems/process designData analysisFinancial managementDiversityInclusionInterpersonal skillsTeam leadershipCommunication skillsCritical thinking

Required

A graduate of a Bachelor's degree program (required)

Network-level operational leadership within a school-based setting required

An educator with an unwavering commitment to the Democracy Prep mission of college success and authentic civic engagement for our scholars

A self-reflective and self-aware teammate who is dedicated to aligning their work to Democracy Prep's commitment to antiracism and who is eager to use these skills to contribute to a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion

A dynamic and visionary leader with significant operational experience to drive the operational strategy and systems for a multi-site K-12 charter management organization

A self-starter who is creative and entrepreneurial with 10-15 years of experience in and a track record of success in a charter management organization (CMO) or school district leadership

An excellent manager and team leader with a track record of leading teams in diverse functional areas

An excellent systems leader with strong process and detail orientation, including experience designing complex and scalable systems/processes from scratch and improving upon existing ones

Ability to define strategic issues clearly despite ambiguity, provide sound recommendations, and take all critical information into account when making timely, tough decisions

Ability to reflect on school-facing systems using varied data from diverse sources, challenging the status quo when necessary

Ability to manage through layers and ensure strong management and team culture through multiple levels of management

A strong relationship builder with excellent interpersonal skills, a proven ability to work collaboratively across teams, and an ability to develop and maintain long-term, productive relationships internally and externally

A leader with a deep belief in engaging families in school communities in meaningful ways, knowing that family involvement and investment are keys to maintaining a thriving school system

A professional who is highly responsive to and thinks critically about feedback and works to implement change in the right ways at the right time

An excellent writer and skilled orator who can take information from many sources, distill it to core messages, and effectively tailor that communication to multiple stakeholders in a variety of situations

A professional with proven experience in business management, human resources, and executive-level advising