Senior Director of Operations

DC Prep•Washington, DC

About The Position

The Senior Director of Operations will be responsible for leading and overseeing all matters of school administration that are non-instructional across DC Prep, including safety, compliance, school-level finances, and facilities. DC Prep has six campuses (3 elementary and 3 middle) across 3 sites (Anacostia, Benning, and Edgewood). The Senior Director of Operations supervises and coaches a team of three senior operations staff, consisting of three Operations Site Leads. The Senior Director of Operations also works very closely with leaders across the Home Office and reports to the Chief Operations Officer.

Requirements

8+ years work experience, with 3+ years in management; school operations management strongly preferred
Experience managing diverse teams to strong outcomes
Desire and willingness to do “whatever it takes” to support student achievement in traditionally under-served communities
Excellent communication, relationship-building, and influence skills
High-quality written and oral skills to effectively communicate with varied audiences including students, families, staff, and external community stakeholders
Superior systems orientation, analytical skills and sound judgment to make critical decisions autonomously
Capable of thriving in circumstances involving ambiguity and nuance
Meticulous organizational ability, in order to strategically prioritize multiple urgent issues, organize workload, handle multiple responsibilities, and meet deadlines
Emotional constancy and extraordinary interpersonal skills to ensure purposeful and professional relationships with all colleagues and community members
Positive attitude, maturity, and personal stability sufficient for a demanding position
Ability to maintain strict confidentiality in regard to work performed
Excellent computer skills, including fluency with Google Suite, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
Belief in DC Prep’s mission, values, and commitment to diversity
Bachelor’s degree

Responsibilities

Senior Leadership Build and sustain a culture among the operations team of strong leadership by promoting the following mindsets for all ops team members: a growth mindset, encouraging intentional reflection to learn from both successes and setbacks, maintain a learning orientation under pressure, create a culture of continuous improvement by promoting data-driven reflection, and model accountability by refusing to participate in blame culture or excuses.
Serve as a strategic thought partner to the Senior team and Executive team, contributing to network-level decision-making, risk assessment, and long-range planning.
Partner with senior instructional leaders, especially the Managing Directors of Schools and Chief Schools Officer, to ensure operational decisions directly support student achievement, school culture, and staff experience.
Invest stakeholders and execute the long-term operational vision for the network, ensuring schools have the systems, infrastructure, and support needed to deliver on academic and organizational goals.
Actively participate, influence and contribute operational best practices to the design and planning process for major capital projects, including long-term space strategy, construction, renovations, and asset management.
Promote a culture of operational discipline and customer service, ensuring all stakeholders experience the Ops team as a high-quality, solutions-oriented, reliable partner.
Champion equity-driven operations, ensuring systems, policies, and resource allocation promote fairness, access, and inclusion across all schools and communities served.
Team Management Establish clear performance metrics for operational excellence, in collaboration with COO, and regularly evaluate outcomes to drive continuous improvement across the network.
Manage, coach, and invest deeply in supporting and developing Operations Site Leads, and growing their technical and adaptive skills to learn, contribute, and engage in the work of the team and organization
Develop and elevate irreplaceable campus operations leaders, building leadership pipelines, coaching for high performance, and empowering school teams to operate with excellence always.
Develop, review, and provide feedback on onboarding plans for operations team members to ensure new team members are set up to be successful
Develop and hold campus operations team members accountable to consistently high customer service standards by instilling operational discipline and ensuring stakeholders experience the team as a reliable, responsive, and solutions-oriented partner
Partner with Director of Facilities, Operations Site Leads, and Principals to foster consistent implementation of school operations priorities
Steward financial resources responsibly, collaborating with Finance and other HO directors to manage school level budgets effectively and in alignment with strategic priorities
Design, implement, and monitor internal controls and systems to ensure financial resources (including gift cards, donor checks, and cash secured on site) are properly tracked, safeguarded, and utilized in accordance with policy, minimizing risk and protecting organizational assets
Execute crisis management and organizational risk mitigation, including emergency preparedness, response protocols, and long-term scenario planning
Develop and lead communication and response around significant safety events
Proactively communicate relevant updates and information to operations team members so they can effectively do their work
Serve as back-up member to manage sites when team members are unavailable or not present
Cross-Functional Team Collaboration Act as a liaison between Home Office teams and school-based operations staff, ensuring that all campuses are safe, secure, clean, cost-effective, and fully operational at all times
Lead and project manage cross-team projects related to the operational work of preparing all campuses for the first day of school, Network-wide professional development days, and other large scale operations projects as needed
Partner with Home Office support team on cross-team network initiatives and systems (e.g. enrollment, school budget, compliance, compliance, financial audit, leave tracking, payroll)
Working in partnership and across teams to strategically identify operation issues and implement sustainable solutions
Collaborate very closely with Managing Director of Schools to create academic and cultural environments which supports our collective goal: preparing students for High School and college success
Student and Family Services Support Manage relationship and contract with DC Prep’s after school program provider; serve as liaison to ensure program is meeting expectations
Manage certain program-related vendor contracts (e.g., uniforms, music instruction, picture day, special events)
Oversee and coordinate MKV resources and support for our at-risk student population and students experiencing housing instability, ensuring their basic needs are met (e.g., transportation, supplies, referrals, and services) so they are able to attend school consistently and fully engage in learning.