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Final salary offers are dependent upon candidate qualifications.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a district on the rise, serving over 320,000 students in 500+ schools and employing over 44,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life.  In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity.  Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) works to support networks, schools, and families with all issues related to special education including instruction, interventions, and legal and compliance support.

Job Summary: 

Reporting to the Director of Business Operations, the Business Operations Administrator for the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) will manage the coordination of operational functions, support business units, and ensure efficient workflows within the department. This includes supervising the OSD call center and administrative assistants, overseeing budgeting processes, leading special projects, and enhancing service delivery across various channels. The Business Operations Administrator will support CPS goals and align OSD operations to achieve high-quality support for students with disabilities.

The OSD Business Operations Administrator will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Operate as a cohesive leader within OSD, overseeing service delivery, call metrics, ticket performance, and vendor relationships and feedback.
• Develop and implement strategic operations support focused on proactive, tiered assistance.
• Manage all aspects of key projects within OSD, including planning, budgeting, scheduling, and reporting in alignment with district priorities; coordinate with cross-functional leaders to track project progress and provide status updates to senior leadership; Identify project risks and recommend strategies to mitigate issues, ensuring operational continuity.
• In collaboration with finance teams, manage day-to-day budgeting processes for OSD, including monitoring budgets, financial reporting and projections, and submitting requests for purchase orders, vendor payments, and reimbursements, focusing on non-public and residential services to ensure accuracy, compliance, and effective use of resources
• Maintain robust communication within OSD, addressing procedural questions, invoicing, and reimbursements.
• Develop internal communications to streamline processes across teams; Provide clear and timely updates to schools, networks, and community partners.
• Support and supervise the Business Operations Coordinator, OSD call center staff, and administrative assistants, providing training and guidance as needed.
• Build departmental capacity, improving response to inquiries and service quality.
• Cross-train within OSD departments to improve service responsiveness and resource allocation.
• Research effective practices and implement innovative solutions to meet CPS challenges.
• Conduct periodic audits to ensure compliance with CPS policies and enhance operational efficiency.
• Other duties as assigned. 

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the OSD Business Operations Administrator must possess the following qualifications: 

Education Required: 

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, required. 
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is strongly preferred. 

Experience Required: 

• Minimum of five (5) years of professional business operations experience, including budget management, procurement, and vendor management is required
• Minimum of five (5) years of professional experience in a large organization, coordinating complex projects requiring significant cross-functional collaboration is required                                                                    
• Professional experience in public sector organizations is preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Knowledge of CPS internal systems and protocols for finance, budget and payroll strongly preferred
• Ability to use influence to eliminate bottlenecks and potential resource alignment problems
• Knowledge of the project management life cycle and project management methodologies
• Ability to manage through all stages of the project life cycle
• Ability to Identify resources needs and assign individual responsibilities
• Ability to manage stakeholders and stakeholder expectations
• Ability to build strong project teams across multiple departments
• Ability to provide excellent service to clients (internal and external)
• Demonstrate a willingness to collaborate and support department peers and leadership
• Ability to track, plan/forecast and manage complex budgets
• Exceptional project management and time management capabilities, including ability to establish long-term vision and goals, and experience aligning and managing activities to drive cross-functional success on-time and to desired outcomes                                                                  
• Self-starter with ability to conduct multiple projects concurrently, both independently and as a member of a collaborative team                                                            
• Superior analytic and critical thinking skills and strong ability to analyze data, define problems, and outline valid conclusions and action steps                                                                                            
• Unflinching attention to detail with ability to meet and exceed expectations
• Strong facilitation and communication skills, in writing and verbally; able to present information to audiences at all levels of the organization.
• Ability and willingness to learn and adapt quickly amidst new and shifting priorities.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills
• Strong leadership and team-building skills; ability to focus a diverse group of professionals around a clear goal and then monitor progress towards that goal
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and drive multiple projects concurrently, both independently and as a member of a team
• Proven track record of success and a clear focus on results
• High standards for performance and ability to maximize employee performance
• An unyielding commitment to continuous improvement and ability to use multiple sources of data to inform short- and long-term decisions.

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency -Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 -Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. “Up-to-date” on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.