Director of Operations - KIPP Kansas City

KIPP KC is part of a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory charter schools with a track record of preparing students in educationally underserved communities for success in college and in life.  

Together with families and communities, KIPP Kansas City Public Schools works to create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence they need to pursue the paths they choose - college, career, and beyond - so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world. We are a Pre-K through 12th grade school located in the historical 18th and Vine District. We are part of a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory charter schools with a track record of preparing students in educationally underserved communities for success in life. KIPP KC opened its first school, KIPP Endeavor Academy, in 2007 with approximately 31 fifth grade students. Today, KIPP Kansas City has grown to serve students in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade and is currently educating approximately 1,000 students.

The Director of Operations is the operations leader of the school.  This role is meant to bridge the workstreams between academics, culture and operations so that staff, students, and families have the resources and information they need to thrive. This person will have to create and maintain systems that, in some cases, may not currently exist, calling for a visionary and detailed leader. They are a member of the school’s leadership team, parallel to assistant principals, and are responsible for their school’s operations excellence with the goal of ensuring  the efficient running of the school and systems so the rest of the team can spend their time and effort focused on academic and instructional excellence. 

The Director of Operations will report to the Managing Director of Operations (MDO) and also sits on the Regional Ops Team. They work closely with their principal to turn their school-specific vision into functional systems that support their vision. The DOO will join their coach, the MDO and the Principal in a weekly triad meeting where they will check in on regional and school-wide priorities for the week and state of operations at the school.  This leader will embrace initiative, innovation and continuous improvement, be willing to do the work on the ground with teachers and leaders, and relish the challenge of finding ways to work smarter. 

GOALS: 

• 100% student enrollment in their school at three key deadlines (8/14, 10/1 and 2/1)
• 90% student attendance at their school at the end of each academic quarter. 
• 80% on regional procedure rubrics during fall and spring EKGs
• 80% on regional facilities rubrics during fall and spring EKGs
• 80% on TNTP survey question: Operations at my school run smoothly

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to the Managing Director of Operations, the core responsibilities of this position will include but are not limited to:

Managing and Developing Others

• Manages and develops Front Office Coordinator at their school
• Invest Front Office Coordinator in their professional development goals aligned to the bigger school operations goals and regional operations goals. 
• Create a professional development scope that ensures they are fully trained to execute all aspects of the KIPP KC Operations Playbook as well as one that aligns to Front Office Coordinator’s professional development goals. 
  • Develop training modules for each operational area that the FOC leads at his or her school and identifies local and state training necessary for development
  • Conducts weekly observations during key systems and hold weekly O3s with FOC
  • Develops and holds FOC accountable for meeting goals
• Create team culture on the school-based operations team 

School Systems and Events

• Write and refine whole-school routines and procedures aligned to school vision ensuring they are efficient and meet the KIPP KC operations standard of “safe, shiny and smart schools”. These include but are not limited to:  arrival, dismissal, breakfast/lunch
• Collaborates with school Leadership Team to roll out new procedures with staff (lead PD)
• Actively participates in all major school routines and procedures
• Monitors and collects data on whole-school routines and procedures with the AP of Culture with the KIPP KC Operations Walkthrough Rubric and gives real-time feedback. 
• Responds to Ops tickets for school-based events by collaborating with the owner of the event on key logistics such as project plan/timeline, security, tech and supply needs, budget, etc. These events include but are not limited to field trips, PTO meetings, etc.
• As a member of the Regional Operations Team, assist in the execution of regional events. These events include but are not limited to back to school night, family conferences, etc.
• Maintain school-wide events calendar in collaboration with the Principal 

Student Academics & Support

• Collaborates  with Leadership team to approve supply request tickets. Effectively communicates that system to staff and holds staff accountable to following it. 
• Creates vision for supply inventory, storage, and supply and purchase order distribution
• Support high-stakes assessment scheduling, material management/distribution
• Collaborates with the Data Manager on creation and distribution of weekly snapshots 
• Collaborates with Data Manager and School Counselor to maintain accurate student information records in Infinite Campus (SIS) 
• Audit gradebook weekly for grade submission and F report; report to Leadership Team
• Participates in key SIS reporting such as input of behavioral data (suspensions)
• Pulls and organizes data for different stakeholder groups; anticipates questions that families, scholars, teachers, and leaders would want to have answered

Kids in Seats: Attendance and Enrollment

• Leads the execution of KIPP KC’s Attendance Playbook at their school with Front Office Coordinator and ensures that stakeholders implement process to meet attendance goals
• Leads weekly school attendance meeting, attendance data reporting, incentives, attendance communication, and truancy reporting systems at their school
• Manages Front Office Coordinator to ensure accurate attendance reporting, corrections, and teacher accountability around taking attendance
• Collaborate with MDO to set school-specific enrollment vision from recruitment to registration to maintain 100% enrollment throughout the entire school year
• Effectively communicate and invest leaders and staff in enrollment efforts and goals
• Manages the Ops Coordinator to ensure that all enrollment  processes are followed. 

Student Safety 

• Collaborates with AP of Culture to execute key culture systems
• Effectively communicate with the security team of their school and ensure their knowledge of all school-wide routines and day-to-day items (e.g. events)
• Collaborate with MDO to write safety and security procedures for their school (e.g. emergency procedures/drills) and ensure health/safety compliance is met at their school 

Financial Health & Sustainability

• Manage school budget by following budget systems provided by the MD of Finance 
• Collaborate with Principal to maintain financial health, responsible purchase request approval, and regular communication/reporting of budget to school Leadership Team 

Facility Maintenance 

• Leads facility maintenance at their school in order to maintain a safe, smart, and shiny school environment where students and staff can thrive and focus on instruction
• Collaborates on the ground daily with vendors and facility partners 
• Maintain working technology and printers/copiers in the building. Communicates with vendors on issues that they cannot solve themselves
• Maintains an inventory and physical setup of classrooms storage spaces and shared spaces along with keys and access to spaces
• Manages school-wide shared space calendar (e.g. sports, events, assemblies, late duty)

Technology 

• Set the vision for tech management and distribution aligned to KIPP KC’s Tech Playbook
• Contacts IT vendor through ticket system for troubleshooting or maintenance requests 
• Ensures classrooms have working projectors, computers, and other technology needs. 

Transportation

• Manages the FOC to communicate with families regarding bus routes
• Establishes systems with Front Office Coordinators to handle all discipline student infractions on the bus with consistency and in alignment with the student handbook
• Communicate with school leaders, staff, and families regarding late bus plan
• Secures transportation for athletics, KIPP Forward, and school level field trips as needed

Communication 

• Manage parent communication systems (Parent Square) at their school in conjunction with the Data Manager and Principals (e.g. school-wide events, schedule changes, etc.) 
• Ensure 100% of families sign up for Infinite Campus Parent Portal and Parent Square; In MS and HS, engage students in Student Square and Infinite Campus portal
• Contribute to KIPP:KC website and social media 

Manage a Region-Wide Initiative

• Manage a key region-wide operations initiative such as Enrollment or Transportation 
  • Vision for region-wide system is set by MDO in collaboration with Ops Team
  • DOO manages a system by being the point person on the Operations Team, effectively training the Ops Team so they can execute their part of the system at their schools, and reporting progress regularly to the MDO 

Yearly Calendar: Non-School Based Year-Round Regional Support

Hours: Same as school staff (HS = 7:00-3:15, MS 8:20-4:30) Pending School LT duties

Required Skills and Qualifications 

• High bar for self and others as it pertains to the work we do for students and families 
• Willingness to do the work that needs to be done to reach that high bar
• Adapts quickly and navigates unforeseen situations with optimism and innovation
• Experience leading and/or investing others
• Fluency and confidence with computer-based systems
• Detail oriented and extremely organized
• Ability to clearly and effectively communicate across stakeholder groups

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution 
• Classroom or school experience
• Leadership or coaching experience and project management experience
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Google Suite
• Experience in data analysis and systems

Compensation and Benefits

Starting salary for this position is $65,000.  It is competitive and commensurate with education and experience.