Job Description – Director of Operations 

About CANO

Community Academies of New Orleans (“CANO”) is a charter school management organization that runs and operates Esperanza Academy and Foundation Preparatory Academy, with a mission to cultivate schools that nurturestudents’ character and critical thinking ability in responsive learning environments, thereby equipping them to be impactfulcommunity leaders. CANO’s vision is to build a system of exemplary schools, deeply influenced by our students, families, and communities, withgraduates who are committed to being community advocates and leaders. CANO will strive for academic performance at its schools while securing partnerships and programmingthat use community assets to support students.

CANO’s Values are: 

• INTEGRITY. We always do the right thing. 

• TEAMWORK. We work and grow together. 

• PASSION. We love our students; our community; our work. 

• DIGNITY. We value and respect every member of our community. 

• COURAGE. We approach challenges with optimism and confidence.

About the Role 

The Director of Operations oversees school and regional operations within the network and all student transportation in the CANO school portfolio. The Director of Operations is responsible for ensuring that the schools in the network operate at the highest level, with systems in place that allow teachers and Principals to focus on instruction and academic achievement and ensuring that students travel safely and efficiently to and from school and school‐related activities. The Director of Operations is responsible for all vehicles, drivers, routes, and stakeholder communications. The position can require extended or on-call work hours due to emergencies or extenuating circumstances related to safety or operational routine.

Essential Job Duties 

Leadership & Collaboration

• Partner with the Executive Director of Systems and Operations to ensure consistent implementation of operations priorities

• Serve as the liaison between schools and leadership teams to identify issues and implement sustainable solutions

• Serve as an exceptional role model as a leader and manager, investing deeply in supporting and developing team members and growing their capacity to learn, contribute and engage in the work of the team and organization

• Build relationships with vendors, maintaining contracts, audits, and addressing immediate issues as they may arise to solve them. 

• Mitigating bus transportation issues from a high level, with strategic planning to resolve issues 

Transportation 

• Works closely with the Chief Finance Officer to drive the mission, vision, and a set of measurable objectives for the Transportation Team.

• Holds the Transportation Team accountable for meeting their objectives and conducts formal performance evaluations by CANO.

• Presents progress reports to the Executive Director of Systems and Operations weekly.

• Ensures that the Transportation Team complies with federal statutes and regulations, state laws, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education rules and regulations, Orleans Parish policies and procedures, and relevant contractual obligations.

• Develop an efficient, cost‐effective transportation schedule that brings students to and from their destinations in a timely and safe way.

• Assigns work, and schedules employee work shifts, overtime, and time off requests via the HRIS system.

• Establishes and executes transportation plans for emergencies.

• Resolves transportation‐related incidents and complaints while ensuring all providers deliver high-quality services.

• Investigate all bus accidents or near accidents to determine causes and prevent recurrences.

• Ensures accurate and timely communication regarding transportation news and incidents with key stakeholders, including principals, teachers, parents, and students.

• Ensures all student transport vehicles are inspected on schedule, receive maintenance as scheduled and needed, and meet safety standards.

• Establishes, trains and executes on policies and practices to ensure the safety of students and transportation personnel while students are in transit.

• Trains or oversees training of employees in work procedures, standards, and safety practices, and monitors operations for compliance with safety standards, including classroom training.

• Interviews and recommends selection of job applicants, appraises employee performance, conducts informal counseling on work issues, and prepares documentation and recommends discipline and improvement plans for deficiencies.

• Coordinates with site administrators, program coordinators, and others regarding regular and special population student transportation needs and field trips.

• Drives a school bus over assigned routes in emergencies (must meet all school bus driver position requirements).

• Works closely with the Executive Leadership to prepare and administer the annual Transportation Department budgets and exercises proper financial controls.

• Carries and answers phone before, during, and after normal work hours, as well as on weekends and holidays due to emergencies or extenuating circumstances related to safety or operational routine.

• Performs other duties as assigned by the Executive Leadership.

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s Degree (Suggested) 

• Detail‐oriented, independent self‐starter with a demonstrated unwavering commitment to raising student achievement and a proven record of high performance in challenging situations.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to serve as an effective change agent and culture-creator that can inspire and motivate in multiple work settings..

• Strong analytical and problem‐solving skills, with an ability to use quantitative and qualitative data to make decisions and recommendations.

• Collaborative management style, with a proven track record of working with diverse individuals at all levels to drive decision‐making and results.

• High degree of professionalism, with the ability to manage multiple competing priorities, while consistently demonstrating sound judgment and disciplined thinking.

• Working knowledge of various computer/software applications.

• Desirable Qualifications:

• Class B CDL with P,S Endorsements required or must obtain within 30 days of employment (Desired) 

• Knowledge of the school system policies and procedures.

• Extensive experience in student transportation activities.

Physical Demands

• Regularly and frequently required to sit, stand, walk, talk, hear, and operate a laptop or desktop computer, hand-held devices and other office equipment, inside the classroom and school building.

• Occasionally reach with hands and arms and must lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.

• Regularly ascend and descend stairs to migrate throughout the workspace.

• Must have the ability to provide their own transportation to schools, work locations, and meeting sites. 

• Mobility skills necessary to access a variety of work locations.

More about CANO

CANO Schools offer competitive salaries commensurate with experience and a comprehensive benefits package. Aside from extensive professional development, all of our instructional staff members are equipped with a laptop computer, email, and all necessary supplies. We also require all employees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of the COVID-19 vaccination within 30 days of the date of hire. 

EEO Statement

CANO believes in the importance of being a diverse, equitable and inclusive organization that enables our students and staff to thrive. We are committed to building a talented team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students. "We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Community Academies of New Orleans is an EEO employer and prohibits discrimination, harassment or retaliation in accordance with federal, state and local laws."