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Chief Operating Officer

Employer
Mastery Charter Schools
Location
Philadelphia, PA, United States
Salary
Competitive

Job Details

About Mastery:

We believe educational inequity is the most pressing social problem facing our country and the civil rights issue of our day. Mastery exists to help solve this problem. Our ultimate goal is to create a model urban school district that serves all students with excellence. We are organized around one driving mission: All students learn the academic and personal skills they need to be truly prepared for postsecondary success and able to pursue their dreams. To fulfill this mission, we attend to the whole child - academically and emotionally - matching high expectations for students with high levels of support.

Mastery Charter Schools is a nonprofit network of more than 24 schools serving over 14,000 students in Philadelphia and Camden. We are the largest turnaround school operator in the nation and have been lauded by President Obama and the US Department of Education for our ability to dramatically boost academic achievement in historically low-performing schools.

We know neighborhood schools matter, all students deserve access to a great education, and the people in our building can grow and develop sustainably to make the biggest impact possible in this work.

Mastery's Equity Vision:

We believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to achieving our mission.

We strive to be an anti-racist school district that eliminates the inequities in academic achievement that limit our students' choices; that cultivates classrooms where every student is affirmed, supported, and held to high expectations; and that nurtures a diverse organization where students, staff, and families are valued, respected, and included .

The Opportunity:

Mastery Charter Schools is seeking a Chief Operations Officer (COO) to lead the operations, facilities, and enrollment functions across the enterprise. Reporting to the CEO, the COO will serve as a key member of the senior leadership team focused on building a high performing organization that serves as a model for school districts. The COO will serve as the senior leadership team's management/systems process guru, specifically ensuring the senior management team processes, organization-wide communications and work processes, and central office-school level processes are best in class. The COO will serve as a critical partner to the CEO to ensure the systems and structures that will shape the future of the organization and set Mastery up for continued success.

This position represents a compelling opportunity to be part of a charter management organization that is addressing perhaps the most difficult and important problem facing public education - the systemic failure of public school district to truly serve high poverty communities of color.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The COO will be responsible for developing the vision, strategy, and implementation in these primary areas:

· Operations

o Set a clear, coherent vision for Mastery's operations across the enterprise; ensure operations are executed at a consistent, high quality level across the network. Create processes and operational metrics aligned with the operational goals of the organization.

o Manage centralized services (food service, waste, supplies, security, nursing, etc.).

o Ensure all schools maintain physical environments standards.

o Ensure front desk staff are warm, effective and friendly to parents, students and staff.

o Train Associate Principals of Operations (APOs).

o Oversee APO hiring.

· Facilities

o Set a clear, coherent vision for Mastery's facilities across the enterprise; ensure facilities function is executed at a consistent, high quality level across the network.

o Manage and execute capital plan. Mastery is initiating a $50+ million capital program.

o Ensure all facilities are maintained at standard.

o Ensure emergency and security systems are functional.

· Enrollment

o Design and execute a marketing and operational student enrollment strategy that enables all schools to reach their enrollment budget targets.

o Oversee marketing and communication campaigns for enrollment plans.

o Train school-level staff in enrollment tactics and strategy.

o Support school-level enrollment initiatives and intervene when necessary to ensure success.

· Management and Organizational Process

o Ensure that Central Office is high performing and an exemplar of large organization/district management.

o Champion and manage process improvement across the organization.

o Ensure senior management systems are high functioning.

o Create and revise management processes to ensure team effectiveness.

o Implement management development programming to develop skills of central office and school-level operations leaders.

· Organizational Leadership and Special Projects

o Serve as active and effective part of Mastery's senior leadership management team.

o Manage mission critical special projects and initiatives. Develop ideas into implementable projects (including projects outside of operations domain).

Desired Experience:
    • A track record of success leading in a large, well-run, complex organization that includes experience in change management.
    • Possessing a proven ability to analyze program effectiveness and recommend appropriate adjustments.
    • Possessing a track record of exceptional project management for an organization similar in size and complexity; possesses the ability to scale programs across large organizations.
    • Ability to build relationships with key central office and school-based leaders across the organization and leverage to advance operational strategy.
    • Proven ability to provide effective coaching to team members.
    • Proven experience as a master at execution with a passion for it.
    • A track record of successfully managing and developing high performing teams. including developing more junior staff for senior leadership roles within the organization.
    • Possessing a focus on quality with the highest standards for products and materials.
    • Possessing the ability to take the necessary precautions to ensure the safety, health and welfare of students and staff.


Desired Personal Characteristics:
    • A strategic thinker with the ability to think out of the box and reflect on system and process improvement.
    • Possessing an understanding of how systems work at scale.
    • An analytical thinker with the ability to understand root cause, logic flaws, etc.
    • Possessing an understanding of the marketing function including the ability to leverage, when necessary.
    • Ability to establish clear direction and priorities, hold others accountable for successful outcomes.
    • Superior organizational skills; able to keep personal and team's work on schedule.
    • Strong written and verbal communications skills with excellent interpersonal and multidisciplinary project skills.
    • Flexible and adaptable with a demonstrated ability to lead in a nimble, lean organization.
    • A leader who is self-reflective and approaches the COO role with a degree of humility.
    • Mission-driven; possessing an affinity and passion for education choice, access, and Mastery's overall mission.


Requirements:
    • Minimum 8 years of senior management experience.
    • Experience in a large organization environment.
    • Expertise/experience in the field of operations in a large organization setting.
    • Proven track record of achieving results in a large organization setting.
    • Project management experience with budgetary responsibility.
    • Project management certification is a plus.
    • Experience in the private sector or a high performing non-profit is a plus. Experience in education and/or non-profit field is not required.


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

UPDATE AS OF MARCH 2021 - Please review Mastery's Back to School Plans here to learn about our response to COVID-19 for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. For ongoing positions, Mastery roles are designated as in-person, with regular on-site responsibilities, unless otherwise noted. As such, Employees must be able to support Mastery Schools' academic plan and business strategies on-site - at a Mastery campus - as required.

Exceptions to this requirement will be considered on an individualized basis.

Company

We believe educational inequity is the most pressing social problem facing our country and the civil rights issue of our day. Mastery exists to help solve this problem. Our ultimate goal is to create a model urban school district that serves all students with excellence. We are organized around one driving mission: All students learn the academic and personal skills they need to be truly prepared for postsecondary success and able to pursue their dreams. To fulfill this mission, we attend to the whole child – academically and emotionally – matching high expectations for students with high levels of support.

Mastery Charter Schools is a nonprofit network of more than 24 schools serving over 14,000 students in Philadelphia and Camden.   We are the largest turnaround school operator in the nation and have been lauded by President Obama and the US Department of Education for our ability to dramatically boost academic achievement in historically low-performing schools.

We know neighborhood schools matter, all students deserve access to a great education, and the people in our building can grow and develop sustainably to make the biggest impact possible in this work.

Company info
Website
Telephone
2158669000
Location
5700 Wayne Avenue
Philadelphia
PA
19144
US

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