KIPP Massachusetts
Job Title: Director of Operations
Reports to: KIPP MA Chief Operating Officer
Who we are.
KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) is a national network of free, open-enrollment, public schools that are
successful in helping students from educationally underserved communities develop the knowledge, skills,
character, and habits needed to succeed in college and the competitive world beyond. There are currently
183 KIPP schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia serving 70,000 students. Today, KIPP
Massachusetts serves over 1400 students in our five schools in Boston and Lynn and almost 400 alumni on
their journeys to and through college with our KIPP Through College Program.
What we do & why it matters.
Nation-wide, only 10% of students from low income communities like Lynn and Boston graduate from
college, compared to 84% of their more affluent peers. Preparing our students for successful lives of
independence and impact drives the work of all KIPP school leaders, teachers, and staff. Nationally, KIPP
alumni graduate from college at 4 times the national average, which is good, but not good enough. We
project our Class of 2015, the first to benefit from a 5-12 KIPP education, will graduate from college at 5
times the national average. Our goal is for 75% of our alumni to graduate from college.
Our Schools.
KIPP MA serves over 1,400 students at five schools in 2015-16. KIPP MA will serve over 1,600 students at five
schools in 2016-17.
In Lynn, MA, we are building a K-12 education system across three schools. We currently serve students in
grade K at KIPP Academy Lynn Elementary School, in grades 5-8 at KIPP Academy Lynn Middle School, and in
grades 9-12 at KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate High School. We are excited to build our Lynn elementary
school to serve grades K-1 in 2016-2017 and grades K-4 by 2019-2020.
In Boston, MA, we are building a K-8 education system across three schools. We currently serve students in
grades K-1 at KIPP Academy Boston Elementary and in 5-8 at KIPP Academy Boston We are excited to build
our Boston elementary school to serve grades K-2 in 2016-2017 and grades K-4 by 2018-2019.
Across all our schools, 84% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, 14% receive Special Education
services, and 20% are identified as English Language Learners. At KIPP, we believe that all kids can and will
learn, and our staff members are dedicated to ensuring we serve the needs of all our learners. We are at our
best when we are engaging students’ joy and curiosity through rigorous curriculum that will put them on the
paths toward lives of independence and impact.
By 2020, KIPP will serve 10% or more of Lynn public school students and join our charter peers in Boston to
serve 20% of Boston’s public school students. We will also scale our KIPP through College (KTC) program to
serve 857 alumni by 2020, effectively tripling the total number of students served by KIPP Massachusetts.
Work Hard. Be Nice.
Director of Operations
The Director of Operations is a versatile and team oriented individual with abilities and experience across
operations, logistics, finance, and academic administration. All KIPP MA schools include a Director of
Operations and each serve as their Principal’s thought partner and “right-hand” for managing the school’s
business operations, facility and academic administration. An essential function of the Director of
Operations is to enable KIPP Principals to focus on instructional leadership – the teaching and learning that
drives student outcomes as well as relationships with staff, students, families, and the community.
Reporting Structure
The KIPP Academy Director of Operations will report to the Chief Operating Officer and serve on the school’s
Leadership Team with a focus towards ensuring maximum teaching, learning, and college graduation
outcomes – while also ensuring we build a sustainable organization. Additionally, the Director of Operations
will be part of the larger KIPP MA Operations Team and will benefit from the support and oversight of KIPP
MA’s Regional COO. The KIPP MA Operations Team provides excellent operational support and resources to
teachers, principals, students and families.
Duties and Responsibilities:
While actual roles and responsibilities will vary depending on individual skill set and/or current need of the
school, the Director of Operations will be required to perform some or all of the following responsibilities.
Please note that this list is not all-inclusive and that the School Leader and KIPP MA Operations Team may
assign tasks as she/she deems appropriate.
1. Operations Staff Management:
 In coordination with School Leader and Regional Office, directly hire, manage, train, and
develop school operations staff that may include office manager, school secretary,
receptionist, custodians, cafeteria aides, operations assistants, bus coordinators, security,
etc.
 Monitor overall quality of operations performance and customer service at the school,
analyzing service performance and customer satisfaction data to set improvement goals
with School Leader and Regional Office.
2. Academic Administration
 Manage major academic-related systems and activities as delegated by the School Leader,
including student enrollment/lottery/intake, school scheduling, student data management
(e.g. PowerSchool), new staff onboarding, reporting to internal and external stakeholders,
etc. (In coordination with school secretary/office manager, data/analytics, and compliance
staff.)
3. Finance & Accounting
 Support annual development, management, and reporting of School’s annual budget in
collaboration with School Leader and Regional Office Finance Team to ensure on-budget
results.
 Review and approve spending (check requests, purchase orders, reimbursements, etc.) up
to agreed-upon thresholds; prepare larger expense requests for review by School Leader
and/or Regional Office.
 Ensure staff responsible for departments, programs, or projects with budgets have the
financial data they need to make appropriate decisions.
4. Purchasing
 Manage those purchasing, procurement, and inventory management responsibilities
handled at the school-level (vs. by regional office purchasing, technology, or facilities staff),
Work Hard. Be Nice.
including vendor management and securing administrative supplies, instructional
materials, furniture, and equipment.
5. Compliance
 Understand and ensure school is aligned with all federal, state, and local legal and
compliance requirements and regulations, with support from regional office compliance
specialist staff.
6. Data Management
 With support and resources from the Regional Director of Student Growth and
Achievement, ensure school-level data on students, families, staff, courses, etc. is entered
into PowerSchools and other systems accurately and on-time for use for teaching/learning
and compliance reporting, delegating to Officer Manager or other staff as appropriate.
7. Facilities & Maintenance
 Directly provide on-site facilities and maintenance management or (if separate Facilities
Manager is on staff) coordinate with facilities staff to:
 Proactively ensure school building is clean, well-maintained, safe, secure, and meeting
educational needs. Walk the building and campus daily to identify facility and
maintenance issues.
 Respond to facilities, maintenance, and equipment requests from staff, assign to custodial
staff and vendors, and resolve according to region-wide service standards.
8. Transportation & Food Services
 Establish and maintain strong, accountable relationships with transportation and food
service partners to ensure timely, reliable, safe, on-budget, and fully compliant delivery of
services and accurate reporting and financial management; and/or coordinate with
centralized transportation and food service staff.
9. Technology
 Track and monitor technology needs of school-based staff and report issues, challenges,
and opportunities to regional office Technology Team.
 Supplement user support primarily provided by regional and school-based technology
services staff.
10. Human Resources Administration
 Be knowledgeable about HR policies and program and provide school level support to
staff for those personnel changes, benefits, payroll, and other HR activities not carried out
by regional office HR staff.
11. Other:
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Participate in and contribute to KIPP’s national network of operations staff, accessing and
sharing support and resources from peers in other regions and technology staff at national
KIPP Foundation.
Other duties or projects as assigned by the School Leader or Regional Office Operations
Team.
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General responsibilities include (but are not limited to):
At KIPP, we believe that an excellent staff member does the following:
Work Hard. Be Nice.
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Believes that all of us can and will learn and creates a positive learning environment with high
expectations for all students and staff throughout the school;
Thrives as part of a team-oriented, mission-driven culture;
Exudes joy and a love of learning every single day;
Demonstrates a growth mindset and a desire to continually improve through feedback, coaching, and
professional development;
Constantly assesses progress, communicates results clearly, and uses data to inform decisions and set
ambitious goals.
Has a strong work ethic and commits to doing whatever it takes for students to excel, including
committing to an extended work day and remaining available to colleagues, students, and families
outside of school hours
Qualified candidates have the following:
Skills & Experience:
 Bachelors Degree required, (advanced degree in business, management, education, public
administration, or related field a plus)3+ years classroom teaching experience with high academic
achievement
 Prior direct K-12 teaching or education program experience ideal.
 At least 3 years professional work experience, ideally in a charter school or other K-12 education
organization, or transferable experience from another private or public sector organization.
 At least 1 year direct experience successfully managing and developing staff.
 Demonstrated success providing superior customer service.
 Strong communication, writing, and presentation skills; ability to translate technical operations
information understandably and concisely for customers.
 Organized planner and project manager with proven ability to multi-task, take initiative, prioritize
effectively, and deliver for multiple stakeholders on deliverables and deadlines.
 Quantitative skills and experience with accounting, budgets, and financial management.
 At least intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook required.
 Skill in and/or ability to learn new information systems, including PowerSchools (student data system),
MIP (accounting system), and operations customer service ticket systems.
Traits & Qualities:
 Relentless determination to do whatever it takes to help our students succeed.
 Orientation to make decisions in the best interests of students and the sustainability of KIPPMA to
fulfill its mission.
 Passion and deep alignment with KIPPMA mission, values, culture, and team.
 Deep customer service ethic.
 Goal-driven, accountable, and reliable; Strong attention to detail and follow through.
 Humility, self-awareness, integrity, enthusiasm, persistence, flexibility, entrepreneurial, constant
learner.
 Proactive and creative problem-solver; ability to identify, analyze, and recommend solutions to
problems.
 Strong interpersonal skills and track record of collaborating with diverse stakeholders; capacity to
work well with staff, students, families, community members, and outside vendors.
 Enthusiasm and sense of humor.
Work Hard. Be Nice.
To apply:
Internal candidates: If you are currently a member of the KIPP MA team, please apply by emailing your
resume to the Recruitment Team at Talent@kippma.org. Be sure to indicate to which position you wish to
apply.
External candidates: If you do not currently work for the KIPP:MA team, please visit our job board at
http://kippcareers.force.com/jobboard?site=Massachusetts and complete an online application.
Compensation
Compensation is commensurate with experience and includes a comprehensive benefits package.
KIPP MA is an employment at-will organization.
KIPP Massachusetts, KIPP Academy Lynn, and KIPP Academy Boston are equal opportunity employers. We do
not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, gender identity, religion, creed, ethnicity,
sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, special need, proficiency in the English
language, or a foreign language. We are committed to hiring a diverse and multicultural staff and encourage
applications from traditionally under-represented backgrounds.
Work Hard. Be Nice.