Director of Operations & Team Management

Success Academy Charter Schools; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Day-One health & wellness benefits

403(b) retirement plan with employer 3

Paid time off, holidays, and parental

Cellphone stipend & commuter benefits

Job summary

Success Academy Charter Schools is seeking a Director of Operations & Team Management to lead CAP Associates and Financial Aid Managers across NYC campuses, driving college access initiatives with rigor and accountability.

The role demands coaching, performance management, cross-campus coordination, and proficiency with AI-enabled workflows to ensure timely, high-quality outcomes for scholars and families.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 5–8 years of management experience leading teams in fast-paced, high-expectation environments, including oversight of 10–15+ staff.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, develop, and rapidly improve staff performance, including setting clear expectations and addressing gaps.
• Track record of managing complex day-to-day execution across multiple campuses and teams.
• Experience working in high-performing school environments with strong behavioral, professional, and performance expectations.
• Ability to establish credibility with senior leaders and manage competing priorities with calm, sound judgment.
• Experience managing complex escalations involving scholars, families, clients, or other external stakeholders.
• Experience implementing or operating within AI-enabled or technology-supported workflows with rigor and judgment.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop CAP Associates and Financial Aid Managers across campuses.
• Conduct regular observations, provide actionable feedback, and drive performance improvement.
• Set clear expectations and hold staff accountable for results.
• Ensure professionalism, responsiveness, and organization in all CAP activities.
• Build a culture of excellence, urgency, and accountability in line with SA values.
• Identify development needs and coordinate targeted training with CAP leadership.

Skills

Leadership & coaching

Staff development

Performance management

Project management

Data-driven decision making

Stakeholder management

Communication

AI-enabled workflows

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Director of Operations & Team Management

New York

Thanks for your interest in Success Academy! Running a large, fast-growing, and high-performing network of public charter schools takes a village - families, children, teachers, staff and faculty, advocates, and supporters alike. We are growing fast in New York and expanding to Florida, and we would love to welcome you to our community! We work tirelessly every day to ensure children have access to a fun, rigorous, whole-child education regardless of zip code or economic status. When you join SA, you play a part in giving every student who walks through our doors a fair shot at reaching his or her potential.

About the Role

The Director of Operations & Team Management (internally known as Leader of CAP Team Management & Operations) leads and develops the team of CAP Associates and Financial Aid Managers who are responsible for all aspects of the college application process, including scholar-work and family inputs (e.g., financial aid information) across all high school campuses. This role is accountable for team performance and day-to-day execution, ensuring that work is delivered with clarity, urgency, consistency, and a high bar for quality across the full college access process.

This leader sets and reinforces expectations, accelerates improvement in staff performance, and ensures fidelity to the CAP model through consistent oversight, coaching, and intervention. They manage the team’s daily and weekly work, translating CAP’s broader timelines into clear priorities, tracking deliverables through completion, managing caseloads and capacity, and adjusting execution when scholar needs, school conditions, or deadlines shift.Because CAP’s work is delivered within schools, this leader must understand and operate effectively within a fast-paced, high-accountability school culture. They ensure the team meets the expectations for professionalism, responsiveness, scholar engagement, classroom management, and adult accountability. They build credibility with School Leaders and navigate competing priorities and high-stakes situations with steadiness, sound judgment, and authority.

The Leader of CAP Team Management & Operations ensures that staff execute against the standards defined by the Leader of CAP Operations, Systems & Standards. They serve as the first line of quality assurance—reviewing materials as they are developed, identifying gaps, and requiring necessary revisions before the work advances to final review.

This role is also responsible for scholar and family engagement throughout the college access journey and manages complex related escalations, including admissions and financial aid issues.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop CAP Associates and Financial Aid Managers, ensuring strong performance and consistent outcomes across campuses and scholar cohorts.
• Conduct regular observations, provide actionable feedback, and lead performance conversations to strengthen practice and accelerate improvement.
• Set clear expectations, address gaps quickly, and hold staff accountable for results.
• Ensure staff demonstrate strong scholar insistence, professionalism, responsiveness, organization, and follow-through.
• Build and model a culture of excellence, urgency, and accountability aligned with Success Academy’s winning adult culture.
• Identify individual and team development needs and partner with the Leader of CAP Systems & Standards on targeted training and craft-focused coaching.

Team Operations and Day-to-Day Delivery

• Own the day-to-day delivery of CAP work across all campuses and the full college access lifecycle.
• Translate CAP’s integrated timelines into clear daily and weekly priorities for CAP Associates and Financial Aid Managers.
• Monitor scholar and team deliverables for accuracy and timely submission.
• Oversee caseloads, staffing, and workload distribution to ensure consistent, high-touch scholar support.
• Adjust schedules and priorities when scholar needs, school conditions, or external deadlines change.
• Identify risks early and intervene before they cause missed deadlines or substandard work.
• Maintain clear priorities and rapid issue resolution during peak application, financial aid, and college commitment cycles.

Quality Oversight & Accountability

• Ensure CAP Associates and Financial Aid Managers consistently execute against the standards established by the Leader of CAP Operations, Systems & Standards.
• Conduct first-line reviews, identify gaps, and require timely revision before deliverables advance.
• Hold staff accountable for accuracy, timeliness, and adherence to established standards.
• Use recurring issues to inform coaching, training, and performance management.
• Ensure staff use AI-enabled tools in alignment with established workflows and without compromising accuracy, authenticity, rigor, or judgment.

Scholar & Family Engagement

• Sustain scholar engagement and family investment throughout the CAP process.
• Ensure families understand CAP deliverables and reinforce scholar accountability at home
• Serve as the primary escalation point for scholar and family matters, addressing them directly and effectively.
• Ensure a consistent, high-quality scholar and family experience across campuses

School Partnership & Alignment

• Build credible, productive partnerships with School Leaders, aligning on scholar support, classroom expectations, family engagement, and campus priorities while maintaining clear ownership of CAP execution.
• Ensure CAP Associates maintain strong classroom insistence and productive learning environments.
• Centralize school-facing CAP communication and provide School Leaders with clear visibility into scholar progress and emerging risks.
• Resolve areas of misalignment directly while maintaining a unified focus on scholar outcomes.
• Lead team adoption of AI-enabled tools and redesigned workflows.
• Ensure staff follow established protocols and use new systems effectively.
• Partner with the Leader of CAP Operations, Systems & Standards to resolve implementation challenges and identify opportunities for improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 5–8 years of management experience leading teams in fast-paced, high-expectation environments, including oversight of 10–15+ staff responsible for direct, front-line delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, develop, and rapidly improve staff performance, including setting clear expectations, addressing gaps quickly, and driving consistent outcomes.
• Track record of managing complex day-to-day execution in matrixed environments spanning several campuses, teams, workstreams, stakeholders, functions, and deadlines.
• Experience working in high-performing school environments or similarly demanding cultures with strong behavioral, professional, and performance expectations.
• Demonstrated ability to establish credibility with senior school-based and organizational leaders and navigate competing priorities, pushback, and difficult stakeholder dynamics with composure, sound judgment, and authority.
• Experience managing complex escalations involving scholars, families, clients, or other external stakeholders.
• Highly organized and execution-driven, with a disciplined approach to monitoring progress, identifying risks, and ensuring follow-through.
• Experience using data to monitor staff and scholar performance, identify gaps, and drive targeted interventions.
• Experience implementing or operating within AI-enabled or technology-supported workflows, with the ability to promote adoption while maintaining rigor and sound judgment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills across staff, families, senior leaders, and cross-functional partners.
• Mission-driven, with a demonstrated commitment to scholar outcomes and team performance.

At Success Academy, we invest boldly in our Network team with a comprehensive package designed to support your health, financial future, and overall well-being:

• Day-One Health & Wellness: Medical, dental, and vision coverage starting your first day (SA covers 82% of our core medical plan), plus a free One Medical membership and confidential mental health support via EAP/Talkspace.
• Financial Security: 403(b) retirement plan with a 3% employer match, up to $2,400/year in employer HSA contributions, employer-paid life/disability insurance, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligibility.
• Time to Recharge: Generous paid time off, paid holidays, and paid parental leave.
• Perks & Stipends: A $50/month cellphone stipend ($600/year), pre-tax commuter benefits, backup family care, and performance-based earning incentives.

This is a hybrid position based in our NYC Financial District office, requiring on-site work Tuesday through Thursday and remote work on Monday and Friday.

Success Academy Charter Schools is an equal opportunity employer and actively encourages applications from people of all backgrounds. Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience. Success Academy offers a full benefits program and opportunities for professional growth.

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We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We actively seek applications from people of all backgrounds to strengthen our community and the perspectives needed to flourish in a multicultural world. Success Academy offers a full benefits program and opportunities for professional growth.

Success Academy Charter Schools does not offer employment-based immigration sponsorship.