Associate Director of Operational Leadership

We are a thriving nonprofit network of 23 free, public charter schools open to all students. At KIPP, we believe all children should grow up free to create the future they want for themselves and that schools can and should be a critical factor in making that vision a reality. Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world. 

Our student community consists of over 7,100 elementary, middle, and high school students in East Palo Alto, Oakland, San Francisco, San Lorenzo, San José, Redwood City, and Stockton. 80% qualify for free or reduced price lunch, 27% are multilingual learners, and 17% receive special education services. We strive to cultivate a representative team of teachers and leaders that reflect our students’ diversity.

The Associate Director of Operational Leadership strengthens school operations across KIPP NorCal by delivering stronger operational results and developing Directors of School Operations (DSOs) as strategic, high-performing leaders. The role reports to the Director of Operational Leadership + Systems and connects regional priorities to consistent execution across schools.

The role has two core responsibilities:

• Improve Great Eight outcomes. The “Great Eight” are KIPP NorCal’s eight priority areas for operational excellence: 

• High Performing Operations Teams

• Thriving Attendance

• Sustainable Enrollment

• Families are Partners

• Strong Supports

• Administrative Integrity

• Safe + Well Community

• Optimal Facilities

The Associate Director owns strategy execution and results for a focused subset of these outcomes. The role identifies the drivers of performance, sets the improvement strategy, establishes effective practices, and equips schools with the tools and learning needed to execute. The Associate Director monitors results, addresses performance gaps, and adjusts the approach based on data and school feedback.

• Strengthen DSO leadership. The Associate Director owns designated components of the DSO talent and development strategy, from hiring and onboarding through ongoing leadership development and performance support. The role designs learning experiences and support structures, monitors DSO growth, and equips School Leaders to develop and hold DSOs accountable. Some components are led independently; others are led jointly with another Associate Director to create a coherent DSO experience.

The Associate Director delivers results by aligning school and regional stakeholders around clear outcomes, ownership, and expectations. The role tailors implementation support to school and leader needs while maintaining consistent regional standards. Within the department strategy, the Associate Director owns a defined set of Key Results and decides how to achieve them. When progress depends on broader changes to strategy, systems, or resources, the Associate Director brings the Director a clear diagnosis and recommendation.

Success in this role means that priority operational outcomes improve, DSOs grow as leaders, and schools have practical, sustainable systems that support strong teaching and learning.

Great Eight Strategy and Performance

• Owns strategy and results for a focused subset of the Great Eight.

• Analyzes performance across schools to identify meaningful variation, root causes, and the highest-leverage opportunities for improvement; translates these findings into clear outcome measures, milestones, and leading indicators.

• Designs and oversees a regular performance-review cadence that enables school and regional leaders to identify gaps early and maintain focus on the actions most critical to results.

• Diagnoses performance gaps, determines the appropriate school-level or regional response, and aligns responsible stakeholders on agreed-upon actions and monitors follow-through.

• Evaluates whether strategies are producing meaningful and sustainable improvement and recommends changes to the Director when progress depends on shifts to policy, resources, systems, or broader department direction.

School Implementation and Improvement

• Translates Great Eight strategies into clear school-level expectations, roles, routines, timelines, and measures of quality.

• Develops and maintains the playbooks, templates, data views, professional learning, and resources schools need to implement priority practices effectively.

• Integrates key actions, milestones, and decision points into the Operations Arc of the Year--KIPP NorCal’s annual calendar of school operations work--and related planning structures.

• Clarifies which practices must remain consistent across the region and where schools may adapt based on their model, context, and needs.

• Assesses implementation quality and determines the level of support each school requires, and then executes on the interventions required to ensure standards are achieved.

• Identifies effective school practices and recurring breakdowns, scaling what works and addressing regional design issues that create unnecessary burden or inconsistent execution.

DSO Talent and Leadership Development

• Owns designated components of the DSO talent and leadership-development system, with clear accountability for quality and impact whether the work is led independently or jointly.

• Translates KIPP NorCal’s expectations for DSO leadership into selection criteria, onboarding outcomes, development priorities, and observable indicators of proficiency.

• Leads designated elements of DSO hiring and onboarding in partnership with Regional Talent team and School Leaders, maintaining high-quality selection tools and differentiated pathways that accelerate new DSO readiness.

• Designs and manages a coherent year-long DSO learning experience across Communities of Practice, DSO Calls, onboarding, and other leadership-development structures.

• Coordinates regional contributors so DSO learning is appropriately sequenced, grounded in current priorities, and connected to application in schools.

• Uses performance evidence, observations, work products, and stakeholder feedback to assess individual and cohort development, adjust support, and identify broader talent needs.

• Equips School Leaders and School Leader Managing Directors to set clear expectations, provide actionable feedback, and develop DSOs who can advise school leadership, integrate operations across the school, manage risk, lead strong teams, and build durable systems.

• Coordinates with other Associate Directors and regional partners so separately owned components function as one coherent DSO experience.

School and Regional Coordination

• Establishes clear roles, handoffs, and decision points across DSOs, School Leaders, School Managing Directors, Regional Operations, and other teams whose work affects priority outcomes.

• Resolves dependencies involving policy, data, systems, communication, or capacity, escalating those requiring broader authority before they become barriers to school implementation.

• Sequences and tailors communication, learning, and implementation support so each audience receives the context and direction needed to act without creating conflicting or duplicative demands on schools.

• Advises school and regional leaders on the operational implications of key decisions and elevates conflicts or constraints that require broader resolution.

Regional Operations Leadership

• Contributes to department planning and performance reviews by bringing forward school-level evidence, emerging trends, and recommendations for regional action.

• Identifies when recurring school challenges require changes to regional practices, systems, resources, or direction.

• Contributes to the ongoing development of the Great Eight framework, Operations Arc of the Year, and department operating practices so they remain clear, useful, and responsive to school needs.

• Codifies key decisions, effective practices, results, and lessons to strengthen continuity and organizational learning.

• Leads additional department priorities that require school operations expertise and coordination across multiple stakeholders.

• Other duties and projects as assigned.

These competencies describe the core leadership behaviors expected at this level – they guide how we hire, develop, and grow our people at KIPP NorCal.

• Lead Self: You model vulnerability and coach others on self-awareness and reflection. You lead equity conversations and address systemic barriers in hiring and operations. You are a recognized expert who actively develops others' expertise.

• Lead People: You initiate courageous conversations with directness and empathy, shaping the culture and norms of your team or department. You seek stakeholder input, build coalitions, and create plans that anticipate the skills and resources required for success. You drive cross-functional workstreams with peers, aligning priorities across teams.

• Lead Results: You propose Key Results aligned to department strategy and ensure plans are feasible before moving to implementation. You synthesize complexity, weigh options with discernment, and bring clear recommendations to your Director. You create systems to monitor progress and hold yourself and your team accountable for outcomes.

Required Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading school operations or network-wide operational improvement within a multi-school public charter network, school district, or other complex K–12 organization.

• Demonstrated success improving one or more high-priority school operations outcomes, such as attendance, enrollment, family experience, compliance, or operational team performance.

• Experience building integrated talent-development systems for school-based leaders, including selection, onboarding, professional learning, performance support, and succession planning.

• Familiarity with the California public school and charter school operating context, including relevant attendance, enrollment, compliance, and student-service requirements.

• Master’s degree in Education, Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, Public Administration, or a related field.

The following details describe how this role is structured and what to expect day-to-day.

Please submit a cover letter and resume by clicking apply on this page.