Manager of Student Recovery & Wellness

KIPP•Columbus, OH

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the School Leader, the Manager of Student Recovery & Wellness leads one of KIPP Columbus Middle School's most innovative student support initiatives. The Recovery Program exists to maximize instructional time while helping students develop the social-emotional skills necessary for long-term academic success. This leader believes that behavior is communication and that every challenging moment presents an opportunity to teach. By combining restorative practices, social-emotional coaching, and rigorous academics, the Manager of Student Recovery & Wellness helps students regain readiness to learn while preserving strong classroom cultures across the school. Serving as the leader of the Recovery Program, this individual manages the day-to-day implementation of the program, supervises the Recovery team member, partners closely with teachers and school leaders, responds to student behavioral needs throughout the school day, and continuously improves systems that support both students and adults. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable de-escalating a student in crisis, coaching a teacher, and analyzing program data.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required
Minimum of five years of experience supporting students in educational, counseling, social work, behavioral health, or youth development settings.
Demonstrated experience implementing restorative, trauma-informed, or social-emotional learning practices that improve student outcomes.
Exceptional classroom management skills with the ability to establish highly structured, positive, and engaging learning environments.
Deep understanding of adolescent development, behavior intervention, conflict resolution, and social-emotional learning.
Demonstrated ability to build trusting relationships while maintaining high expectations for student behavior and achievement.
Experience partnering effectively with teachers, administrators, families, and multidisciplinary teams to support student success.
Strong organizational, communication, problem-solving, and data analysis skills.
Ability to remain calm, solution-oriented, and decisive during challenging situations.
Demonstrated commitment to educational equity and an unwavering belief that all students can achieve at high levels when provided the appropriate supports.
Deep alignment with the mission, values, and commitment to educational excellence of KIPP Columbus.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred in Social Work, School Counseling, School Psychology, Education, Mental Health Counseling, Behavior Analysis, or a related field.
Experience leading or supervising adults, including coaching and developing staff, strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the implementation, management, and continuous improvement of the Recovery Program, ensuring the program consistently achieves its goals of preserving instructional time while supporting student growth.
Develop and maintain systems, routines, and procedures that ensure consistent implementation of the Recovery model across the school.
Directly supervise, coach, and develop the Recovery classroom teacher, ensuring students experience a highly structured, academically rigorous, and supportive environment.
Monitor daily program implementation, identifying opportunities to improve student outcomes, operational efficiency, and staff effectiveness.
Collect, analyze, and communicate program data, including referral trends, student outcomes, and implementation fidelity, to inform continuous improvement.
Partner with school leadership to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot and recommend program enhancements.
Serve as the school's primary leader for student recovery and behavioral intervention throughout the instructional day.
Respond promptly to classroom requests for support, minimizing disruption to instruction while helping students successfully regulate and re-engage with learning.
Provide immediate behavioral coaching, de-escalation, and restorative interventions for students experiencing behavioral challenges.
Meet individually with every student entering Recovery within ten minutes of arrival.
Facilitate structured 5–10 minute coaching conversations that help students identify the root cause of their behavior, reflect on its impact, develop self-awareness, and create a plan for success.
Utilize trauma-informed, restorative, and relationship-centered practices to help students regulate emotions while maintaining high expectations and accountability.
Build meaningful relationships with students that foster resilience, responsibility, and long-term social-emotional growth.
Maintain ongoing communication with teachers, school leadership, intervention specialists, and families regarding student progress and support plans.
Partner with teachers to strengthen Tier I classroom management practices and proactively reduce behavioral disruptions.
Identify patterns in student referrals and collaborate with teachers and administrators to address root causes.
Respond to classroom requests with professionalism, urgency, and a commitment to preserving instructional time for all students.
Support schoolwide implementation of restorative practices and social-emotional learning.