Overview

Company Description

Uncommon Schools is a nonprofit network of successful charter public schools that are closing the academic achievement gap and preparing students from historically underserved communities for success in college and beyond. Uncommon currently manages 57 schools serving more than 20,000 students in six cities: Boston, Camden, New York City, Newark, Rochester, and Troy. Uncommon graduates persist in and graduate from college at rates far higher than their peers. We believe that every child deserves an outstanding education, and we are committed to working beyond the walls of our schools to achieve that goal through our professional development workshops, books, and district partnerships.

Job Description

This role will lead operations for our central office, including stewarding culture, developing and implementing a vision for operational excellence across our 20+ teams, as well as central office facilities management. Your leadership will strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of our services to schools. You will lead the Home Office Operations Team and report to the Chief Operating Officer.

Core Duties and Responsibilities

Operational Excellence

  • In partnership with the COO, develop and implement a vision to ensure high-quality central office service to schools
  • Define, implement and refine structures and processes to measure and strengthen operational excellence
  • Drive effective cross-functional leadership team engagement
  • Define and implement organizational communication and decision-making structures
  • Ensure alignment and integration with school and regional operations
  • Own the knowledge-building and feedback processes that support service excellence

Cultural Leadership & Employee Experience

  • Ensure a strong culture and an excellent employee experience for the central office
  • Ensure strong employee engagement, including driving response to and actions based on central office satisfaction surveys
  • Lead key central office communications and culture-building vehicles, including leading staff meetings.

Organizational Strategy & Planning

  • Lead the annual planning process for 20 central office teams:
  • Lead process design and communication to Central Office Leads
  • Facilitate cross-team collaboration and information-sharing

Daily Office Operations & Facility Management

  • Ensure successful execution of daily office operations in our New York and Newark offices, including all associated planning, systems, and processes
  • Partner with Real Estate and Facilities on capital improvements, as needed

Additional Core Responsibilities

  • Lead strategic organizational initiatives
  • Own the Home Office Operations Team to ensure strong performance, development and projects support
  • Lead and/or support projects to enhance effectiveness of the COO

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree required
  • 6+ years of experience in school leadership, operations or management consulting or related field
  • Strong culture-building orientation and ability
  • Strong and creative problem-solving, critical thinking, and strategic planning skills
  • Strong systems and process-building skills, including ability to think and operate collaboratively and cross-functionally
  • Solutions-oriented
  • Excellent people and project management skills, including detail and action-orientation with excellent follow-through skills
  • Strong data analysis skills and data-driven decision-making
  • Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, and demonstrates strong interpersonal skills with diverse constituencies
  • Change management and ability to influence collaborators without direct authority to make change
  • Strong presentation design and deck development skills

Preferred:

  • Prior experience working in schools and/or urban communities and/or interest in and alignment with Uncommon’s mission

Travel:

  • When restrictions are relaxed, up to 2 days per month traveling across regions as needed, though mostly in NYC and Newark
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