Chief Operating Officer

achievementfirstnetworksupportcareers; United States; On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Achievement First Public Charter Schools seeks a Chief Operating Officer to bring simplicity to complexity across a network of 41 schools. The COO will set operating standards, drive performance, and lead facilities, enrollment, and IT in a decently staffed system.

The role reports to the CEO, collaborates with Regional Executives, and requires disciplined tradeoffs, external partnerships, and a focus on durable, scale-ready operations across Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island.

Qualifications

• Experience leading multi-site operations at scale.
• Ability to set and codify standards across a decentralized network.
• Strong partner management and budget oversight.

Responsibilities

• Create Exceptional School Environments: set vision and standards for facilities and services to keep schools safe, welcoming, and conducive to learning.
• Strengthen Operational Systems: design and implement common standards, processes, and accountability across regions.
• Advance Facilities and Real Estate: manage 29 facilities and two offices, capital projects, and long-range planning.
• Support Student Enrollment and Services: own recruitment/enrollment and set service standards for transportation, food, safety, and health.

Job description

Shape the Next Chapter of Achievement First

What does it take to make 41 schools work exceptionally well, every day, while rebuilding the systems that support them? Achievement First is seeking a Chief Operating Officer who can bring simplicity to complexity, set a high bar for operational execution, and lead the work of building a stronger, more integrated network. This is an opportunity for an executive who finds purpose in demanding, consequential work and knows how to turn operational challenges into lasting institutional strength.

The Opportunity

Founded in 1999, Achievement First Public Charter Schools is a nonprofit network of 41 public charter schools serving approximately 15,000 students across Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island. Our mission is to prepare every student to excel in college and career, deepen their knowledge of self and community, and lead lives of purpose. In partnership with families and communities, we work to disrupt the legacy of inequity in education and believe deeply in the unlimited potential of every student.

Achievement First is renewing academic excellence through a redesign of its K-12 instructional program. At the same time, the environment for public education is changing: families have evolving expectations and more options, and schools must deliver compelling experiences while managing cost, regulation, facilities, and technology. Internally, the network's growth outpaced the development of some central systems and shared operating practices, leaving uneven processes and insufficiently codified standards. AF has recently moved to a more decentralized model in which Regional Executive Directors lead regional academics and operations, and the COO sets networkwide standards and drives consistent performance through strong functional leadership and regional partnership.

The COO reports to the Chief Executive Officer and serves on the Executive Leadership Team. The role owns a portfolio spanning facilities and real estate, school operations support, student enrollment, operational risk, and Information, Technology, and Data, with an approximately $45 million budget, 4 direct reports and 42 positions. Regional executives retain direct authority over regional operations teams, so the COO leads through shared standards, clear performance expectations, and defined executive and regional decision channels. The next COO will inherit real strengths to build upon, alongside work that needs to be simplified, codified, and redesigned. This leader will set the operating vision, make disciplined choices about internal capability and external partnerships, and will turn fragmented practices into reliable, repeatable systems without losing momentum in schools.

The opportunity is demanding and consequential: enables the daily experience of students and educators while building the operational bedrock for durable performance and future scale. Achievement First needs a leader energized by creating a clear path where there is ambiguity, capable of making hard tradeoffs, and skilled at bringing people on the change journey. Success will depend on the ability to own results, lead specialized experts and vendors, challenge colleagues, and create coherence across a complex organization.

What You Will Lead

Create Exceptional School Environments

Set and implement the vision and standards for school environments across the network. Own performance expectations for facilities and essential services, and establish the reviews, escalation mechanisms, and actions that keep schools safe, welcoming, and ready, creating an environment that facilitates learning.

Strengthen Operational Systems and Organizational Alignment

Lead the design and implementation of common operational standards, processes, and accountability mechanisms. Set clear network expectations with Regional Executive Directors, define practical decision and escalation paths, and drive adoption of repeatable processes. Ensure operational changes enable the redesigned K-12 instructional program and maintain service continuity during implementation.

Advance Facilities, Real Estate, and External Partnerships

Own performance across a portfolio of 29 school facilities and two offices, including maintenance, capital projects, facilities strategy, and long-range real estate planning. Decide where to build in-house capability and where to use external specialists, and hold vendors and capital-project partners accountable for quality, schedule, risk, and budget. In co-located facilities, partner with districts to meet Achievement First standards.

Support Student Enrollment and Essential School Services

Own networkwide student recruitment and enrollment and set service standards for transportation, food, school safety, health and nursing, and related operational support. Direct functional teams and partners to monitor performance, fix recurring failures, and deliver dependable services. In Rhode Island, Achievement First serves a