Vice President, School Operations

Success Academy Charter Schools•New York, NY

1d•$200,000 - $225,000•Onsite

About The Position

Success Academy is a fast-growing network of public charter schools in New York, expanding to Florida. The organization's dual mission is to build world-class schools that empower children to thrive in college and in life, and to advocate for policies that expand access to educational opportunity. This role is crucial in supporting this mission by ensuring operational excellence across approximately 60 schools and 300 operations staff.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive leadership experience in operations, education, consulting, military, hospitality, retail, healthcare, government, or another complex multi-site environment.
7+ years in multi-site operations, performance management, continuous improvement, and operational risk — including leading senior leaders responsible for large, distributed teams.
Direct experience leading organizational redesign — restructuring roles, reporting lines, decision rights, and management systems in a large organization, and carrying that change through adoption rather than stopping at the design.
A track record of building new teams from the ground up — defining the function, hiring the leaders, setting standards and operating rhythms, and scaling the team to sustained performance.
Demonstrated use of AI and technology to simplify operations — identifying manual, low-value work and replacing it with better tools, automation, or redesigned process, and driving adoption across a distributed team.
Expertise in lean methodologies, data-informed decision-making, and change management, with a record of quickly assessing ambiguous situations and identifying the highest-leverage path forward.
Proven ability to influence executive leadership and drive adoption through leaders in a large, distributed system.
Exceptional people leadership: senior talent assessment, coaching, succession planning, and difficult talent decisions.
Strong business and financial acumen, and excellent executive communication.
Willingness and desire to spend approximately 60% of working time in schools across the network.
Deep commitment to educational equity and Success Academy's dual mission.

Responsibilities

Lead, develop, and hold accountable a high-performing Regional Operations Managers (ROM) team, establishing expectations, decision rights, operating rhythms, and performance measures.
Coach leaders of leaders to diagnose performance, develop talent, and deliver sustained results across their school portfolios.
Differentiate coaching and intervention based on leader readiness and performance risk; make rigorous talent decisions with clarity and fairness.
Build succession plans and a strong internal pipeline for Regional Manager.
Ensure leaders own and solve problems rather than depending on senior intervention.
Design and continuously improve the School Operations operating model — roles, structures, decision rights, regional support, and accountability systems.
Advise the executive leadership on the operational implications of enterprise priorities, including where School Operations can accelerate goals or create risk.
Use root-cause analysis to distinguish whether a performance challenge originates in strategy, systems, design, leadership capability, execution, or clarity.
Lead change from diagnosis through implementation and measurement, anticipating resistance and unintended consequences.
Actively seek opportunities to simplify, automate, and improve School Operations through AI and technology — reducing administrative burden on school-based staff so their time goes to scholars and families.
Build the capabilities required to support growth without compromising quality.
Establish network-wide operational standards and accountability measures across safety, compliance, facilities, enrollment, family experience, financial management, and technology.
Serve as senior escalation point for significant operational, safety, compliance, and reputational risks.
Use regional and school-level insight to strengthen the broader operating model.
Build trusted partnerships across Schooling, Enrollment, Facilities, Technology, Finance, People, Family Engagement, and Supply Chain — influencing without relying on formal authority.
Ensure cross-functional initiatives reflect implementation realities in schools and can be executed at scale; clarify ownership, resources, timelines, and accountability across teams.
Translate financial, operational, and talent information into clear recommendations, and communicate difficult tradeoffs with discretion and respect.
Define the leadership competencies and performance standards required across School Operations, and create pathways for high-potential staff to advance.
Identify systemic talent risks and partner with People leadership on workforce planning.
Provide senior oversight of budgets, staffing models, and major investments; partner with Finance on forecasting, reporting, and resource allocation.
Identify efficiency opportunities that don't compromise scholar experience, safety, or school quality.