Deputy Chief of Academic Operations

Achievement First (AF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization supporting 39 public charter schools across New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. For more than 25 years, AF has been recognized as one of the top tuition-free public charter school networks in the country. We are committed to creating schools of academic excellence within nurturing environments — schools that prepare students to be college-ready and to pursue and succeed in whatever paths they choose in life.

The majority of AF students are Black and Latinx children from low-income families, many of whom will be the first in their families to graduate from college. Across our network, we employ more than 2,200 staff members — 64% of whom identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color — who collectively educate nearly 15,000 students in Brooklyn and Queens, NY; New Haven, Bridgeport, and Hartford, CT; and Providence and Cranston, RI.

The Deputy Chief of Academic Operations  is the senior operating partner to the CoAP, translating academic vision into the plans, systems, and execution that sustain high-quality schools across three states. With new academic leadership in place, Achievement First has a rare opportunity to build clarity, consistency, and shared purpose across curriculum, assessment, training, data use, and school support — advancing urgent year 1 priorities while laying the 5-year foundation. The Deputy Chief will work with the Executive Directors and the CoAP to deliver the codified 12-K school design. 

The Deputy Chief Academic Officer owns the structure around the academic strategy: translating CoAP priorities into operating plans and a 5-year roadmap; building shared systems for curriculum, assessment, calendars, walkthroughs, and data use; running academic operations, training operations, and the academic project management office; and supporting the CoAP  with executive planning, decisions, and follow-through.

Academic Strategy and Planning

• Partner with the CoAP  and EDs to codify and refine 12-k school model 
• Partner with CoAP and EDs  to define annual academic priorities and translate them into plans with clear timelines, owners, and measures of progress. 
• Build and manage the 5-year academic roadmap. 
• Lead audits across curriculum, assessment, training, calendars, walkthroughs, and data routines. 
• Create planning tools and progress reviews that surface priorities, risks, and decisions, and prepare executive updates for senior leadership and board-facing conversations.

Curriculum and Assessment Systems

• Lead a review of curriculum use across schools, regions, and subjects — distinguishing variation that reflects state context or program design from variation that signals an opportunity for greater consistency. 
• Partner with content leaders to define a shared pedagogical throughline and build a curriculum governance process with clear decision rules for selection, adaptation, and retirement. 
• Develop a network assessment strategy that clarifies the purpose of each measure, along with an assessment calendar that accounts for state testing, instructional pacing, and school workload, plus routines for data analysis, progress monitoring, and reteach planning.

Cross-State Operating Model

• Build academic systems that work across New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, clarifying which practices should be shared and which should reflect state-specific requirements. 
• Manage academic, assessment, training, and walkthrough calendars within an annual planning cycle that gives schools the expectations, tools, and lead time they need to execute well.

Academic Project Management

• Stand up an academic Project Management Office for the CoAP. 
• Manage major initiatives across academics, data, operations, talent, finance, and regional teams, using standard workplans, decision logs, risk trackers, and status updates. 
• Run cross-functional meetings that produce clear decisions and next steps, tracking progress and surfacing risks early across both long-range strategy and current-year priorities.

Academic and Training Operations

• Lead the network's academic operations function — owning the academic calendar, school-facing communications, and the operating systems behind assessment, deadlines, and implementation support.
• Lead training operations across three states, building seasonal and annual training calendars tied to academic priorities and ensuring teacher training, leader training, content days, summer training, and network convenings have clear owners, materials, staffing, logistics, and follow-up that align with instructional intent.

By the end of year 1, the Deputy Chief Academic Officer will have delivered:

• A codified 12-K School Design and corresponding 12-K leader and teacher summer training plan
• A completed academic systems review across curriculum, assessment, calendars, training, walkthroughs, and data use
• A 1-year academic operating plan and a draft 5-year roadmap
• A network assessment strategy, cross-state academic calendar,
• A proposed curriculum governance process
• A training operations model across three states
• Regular academic progress reviews and clear school-facing communications
• Increased CoAP capacity to focus on vision, instructional quality, and senior leadership decisions

• A bachelor’s degree (an advanced degree is a plus).
• At least 10 years of formal school leadership experience as an instructional leader in a predominantly underserved community, with a proven multi-year track record of driving exceptional student outcomes.

• A deep commitment to Achievement First’s mission, a love of teaching and learning, and an unwavering belief that all students can and will succeed.
• A strong track record of leading high-performing schools or networks, particularly those serving student populations similar to Achievement First.
• Proven success in coaching and developing school leaders to improve instructional quality and student achievement.
• A high standard of excellence for classroom learning and staff culture, with a sense of urgency to close achievement gaps.
• Data-driven decision-making skills, with the ability to analyze results and implement effective action plans.
• Strong leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to inspire and align diverse stakeholders. Have a track record of achieving through influence in the absence of direct management authority
• A collaborative and resilient mindset, including maturity, humility, a strong work ethic, and a willingness to adapt and grow based on feedback.
• A hands-on approach, demonstrating follow-through, a positive attitude, and a sense of humor while tackling challenges.
• Ability to work proactively in an ambiguous, dynamic, fast paced environment

This is a hybrid role. The expectation is that the person in the role would be able to come into the Network Support office and/or Schools  (NYC, CT, or RI) at least 3 days a week. There may be additional travel to regions outside of your own on a monthly basis.