Director of School Operations- Elementary School

Founded in 2008 with 50 students in 5th grade, KIPP Columbus currently serves over  2,000 students in grades kindergarten through twelfth. The mission of KIPP Columbus is to create a system of schools where students develop the intellectual, academic, and social skills needed to understand and take action on issues they encounter in everyday life. 

KIPP Columbus continues to rank as one of the top five schools for the academic growth of any school in Ohio and is a top-performing urban school in the state for academic growth. In Spring 2021, KIPP Columbus graduated its second class of high school seniors. 100% of graduates were accepted to college, with over $20 million in merit scholarships from colleges and universities awarded.

In addition to academic excellence, KIPP Columbus also partners with more than 100 community organizations to provide extracurricular activities, programming, health and wellness services, meals, and more to KIPP students, families, and the broader community. KIPP is also an Ohio High School Athletic Association member, offering more than ten varsity sports. 

The KIPP Columbus learning campus will continue to advance student learning, expand partnerships, enable superior programming, and serve as a teaching and leadership lab for schools nationwide, reimagining education through a deeper lens of antiracism and excellence and joy.  

To learn more, visit: https://www.kippcolumbus.org/

The Opportunity

The Director of School Operations (DSO) is a school-based leadership position, overseeing all operational functions required to run an efficient, thriving school. This individual will work to create a shared vision and lead the implementation and execution of clear operational systems focused on fulfilling the needs of students, families and school community stakeholders. An effective DSO values data-driven decision-making, collaboration, structure, innovation, and continuous improvement, grounded in students' best interests.

Responsibilities of the Director of School Operations include, but are not limited to, the following:

Day-to-Day Operations: 

• Providing day-to-day tactical support in the areas of transportation, child nutrition, food services, technology and facility maintenance

• Coordinating field trips, student transportation, and team support for all school-based events

• Maintaining a welcoming, beautiful school environment through all visual culture

• Working closely with technology vendor to ensure technology and related infrastructure are functioning properly, and when there are issues, ensure they are addressed promptly, efficiently

• Performing regular audits and adjustments to ensure the effectiveness of key operational systems

• Ensuring the front office runs safely and effectively

• Serving on the school-based leadership team

Stakeholder Management: 

• Maintaining positive and productive relationships with key stakeholders such as Nationwide Children's Hospital staff members, custodial staff, safety and security personnel, food service personnel, and outside vendors

• Meeting with food services and transportation vendors to ensure expectations are met and logistics are adjusted based on the school schedule

• Working to productively navigate challenges and concerns with stakeholders

• Proactively escalate issues to the Regional Director of Operations as necessary

Project Management:

• Establishing and maintaining project plans for all events and operational projects to ensure the operations team is working 4-6 weeks ahead

• Achieving alignment with the School Leader on the vision, scope, and outcomes of projects and events

• Establishing an annual facility plan with the Regional Director of Operations and the School Leader

• Managing recurring annual projects such as intent to return and re-enrollment forms, school tours, and parent teacher conferences 

Student Enrollment and Attendance: 

• Developing and executing school-based re-enrollment and cultivation plans to meet 100% completion

• Partnering with the Regional Operations team to execute student recruitment efforts

• Enhancing bus ridership, ensuring 95% on-time bus arrival, and overseeing the processing of transportation requests weekly by working with families and transportation vendors

• Supporting daily attendance efforts by completing calls to absent student households with the goal of getting students to school the same day, maintaining a 95% average daily attendance, and providing support to families facing roadblocks

Finance and Purchasing: 

• Monitoring and processing spending requests against the budget, in accordance with KIPP Columbus' fiscal policies

• Managing the development of inventory and purchasing systems

Operations Team Management: 

• Developing others toward excellence in their roles and focusing on their long-term development

• Facilitating collaboration, training, and team support by establishing an ongoing, regular cadence

• Monitoring the execution of the team's responsibilities to drive operational excellence

Student Safety and Compliance:

• Assisting with coverage of front desk as needed, including warmly greeting and assisting all visitors, answering and processing all incoming calls in an efficient and rapid manner

• Implementing safe and effective operational duty systems to maintain the safety of the school

• Ensuring accurate parental guardianship rights for students are updated and accurate in student information system weekly

• Maintaining a drill calendar to ensure safety drills are completed on time

• Bachelor’s degree or 3 to 7 years of work experience, preferably in education and/or business or operations management 

• Demonstrated management and leadership skills (e.g. at least 2 years managing a team or multiple large projects)

• Strong project and time management skills; ability to effectively backwards plan, juggle multiple priorities with great attention to detail, and deliver consistent and timely results

• Strong strategic and analytical skills with an aptitude for shifting from fire-fighting to systems-building

• Sense of humility, customer service mindset, and shows urgency and the ability to proactively solve problems and make decisions quickly

• Excellent communication, public relations, and interpersonal skills

• Excellence organizational skills

• Openness to giving and receiving frequent feedback

• Ability to evaluate problems and implement effective and creative solutions

• Ability to maintain emotional control under stress 

• Ability to work urgently in a fast-paced and results-oriented environment

• Ability to develop and grow relationships 

• The desire to learn, grow, and develop professionally

Compensation and Benefits

KIPP Columbus offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefit plan including medical and dental insurance, as well as group term life insurance, retirement plan and paid time off.  

Statement of Non-Disclosure

KIPP Columbus is committed to a policy of equal treatment for all individuals applying to the school for consideration of any position (admission, employment, etc.). KIPP Columbus does not discriminate on the basis of disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes set forth in Section 4112.02 of the Ohio Revised Code.