Operations Manager

VOICE Charter School (http://www.voicecharterschool.org/) is an elementary and middle school located in Long Island City, Queens that serves about 650 students across grades K-8. We are located just minutes from Manhattan (two stops outside of Manhattan on the F, N, and W train lines). We are looking to identify extraordinary educators and administrators committed to urban education who wish to join a dynamic professional learning community.

Our mission is to create a safe and healthy learning environment that will nurture, motivate and challenge all of our children to achieve the highest level of academic excellence and to develop into mindful, responsible, contributing participants in their education, their community and the diverse society in which we live.

What makes VOICE different?

At VOICE, it’s not just about the music. It’s about the people. It’s about what you can be. It’s about using your passion. It’s about relationships. It’s about having the opportunity to choose. It’s about caring enough. It’s about each individual child and adult.

We believe in efficacy. At the core of our academic culture is the idea that all students are capable of doing well in any discipline. At VOICE, all students will learn – being smart is not something that you are, it is something you become. At VOICE, you will be pushed to become more.

We support and develop the effectiveness of our teachers. We believe that teachers need time to collaborate to build their practice, so we provide our team with over two hours of planning time a day as well as additional days for collaborative thought partnership and planning during the school year.

We promote participation in music and the arts. As music and art help develop problem solving and critical thinking skills and open children's imaginations, all VOICE students participate in and learn from daily activities in the arts including rigorous choral training. We design our arts-integrated curriculum to bring joy and wonder to the lives of our children, providing them with the skills necessary to forge their own path.

All Staff at VOICE:

• Love and nurture all of our students as they become deeply caring and responsible individuals;
• Take personal responsibility and work collaboratively to ensure that all students achieve and grow, understanding that the performance and progress of our students is directly under our control;
• Ask questions and empower students to exercise curiosity and wonder about the world around them;
• Hold themselves to the highest standards;
• Push and support themselves, their students, and their colleagues;
• Proactively seek and incorporate feedback;
• Help each individual child gain the opportunity to choose what his or her future will be.

Position Responsibilities:

The Operations Manager leads the school-based operations team to ensure high levels of customer service to students, staff, and families. The Operations Manager is responsible for overseeing and streamlining the daily functioning of VOICE’s middle school; planning and implementing VOICE’s programming for staff, students, and families; supporting VOICE’s parent community; and implementing effective operational and communications-related policies and procedures.

Major Responsibilities:

School Operations:

• Ensure operational excellence and high level of detail in all areas of operations from school aesthetics to school health and safety protocols

• Develop and refine systems and procedures that streamline campus functions
• Recommend and ensure the implementation of internal-run and external-facing events for students and families
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with facility teams including custodians, School Food, and School Safety
• Identify and implement systems around communication to increase efficiency, effectiveness, and the satisfaction of students, families, and staff
• Approve school-to-home parent communications and internal staff-wide communications
• Develop and coordinate a standard process for book ordering, storage, and distribution in close collaboration with the finance and operations departments
• Develop and coordinate a process for inventorying resources for curriculum development
• Ensure execution of interim assessments in collaboration with the Elementary Operations Manager and School Deans, including coordinating the calendar and ensuring smooth assessment process of NYS ELA, math, science, and ESL assessments
• Coordinate logistics of internal professional development sessions and days
• Manage budgets for events and external professional development for school staff
• Prepare and/or delegate drafts of documents as triggered by central operations
• Oversee change proposal process with a focus on non-instructional and on instructional changes with operational impact

Team Management:

• Manage a team of school operations professionals in overseeing all logistics for school-wide events, parent communications, and inventory management
• Engage in weekly one-on-one meetings with team members and weekly team meetings to closely monitor and address professional and personal growth, build relationships, and cultivate team culture
• Supervise team members, offering support, coaching, and training when necessary
• Ensure team members are aligned on VOICE policies and professional expectations/job responsibilities
• Manage, train, and support staff around creating a safe and welcoming environment for parents and visitors to ensure consistency across campuses
• Ensure sufficient coverage for the school office

School Leadership:

• Advocate for all policies, procedures, and communications across the school community to drive student outcome
• Provide training for staff on, and support the enforcement of, school policies and procedures
• Contribute to VOICE’s staff culture by planning and implementing events that build relationships across campuses
• Serves as a member of school-wide operations team and work with central operations to ensure cohesion across K-8 and to meet all compliance needs
• Fully participate in all administrative meetings, designated school functions outside of school hours, and opportunities for individual and school-wide professional development

Community Engagement:

• Establish and maintain successful relationships within all members of the VOICE community in close collaboration with central operations

Position Qualifications:

You may be an ideal candidate for this role if:

• You are an inspiring leader who continually pushes yourself and others to higher levels of achievement
• You have an incredibly high bar and keen eye for detail, and can manage your school and team to reflect the same
• You will deeply embed yourself into the community of the school, ensuring strong relationships, high engagement, and great operational results
• You are a champion of our belief that in order to educate at a high level, every member of the school community needs to be an active participant
• You are a resourceful problem-solver who proactively shares best practices that drive our operational excellence
• You have a growth mindset

Other Qualifications:

Behavioral Qualifications

• Unwavering commitment to VOICE mission, vision, and values
• Models high standards of integrity, trust, openness, and respect for others
• Seeks to understand and meet and/or exceed the needs and expectations of customers and clients
• Builds and maintains positive relationships with team members
• Identifies and seeks to resolve and prevent problems
• Approaches new challenges as opportunities to improve skills and abilities, seeking advice to constantly improve
• Seeks opportunities for personal and professional learning

Skills and Knowledge

• Exercises discretion regarding sensitive personal and legal information
• Effectively prioritizes tasks in order to meet deadlines
• Responds to requests in a professional manner, even in difficult circumstances; provides accurate and timely service
• Writes clearly and concisely; listens attentively to others and responds appropriately; takes into account the audience and nature of the information
• Implements solutions for problems
• Manages up and laterally by proactively providing supervisors, other leaders, the board, and clients support and solutions to move work and projects forward
• Creates long-term plans and goals up to three-years out as demonstrated by flows of work, goals, and project plans
• Manages complex projects, including delegating, holding others accountable to deadlines, soliciting and incorporating feedback during and after project implementation, and communicating out results
• Creates effective teams; builds relationships with and between team members, motivates team members and creates a positive team culture, and provides professional development, coaching, feedback, and support to team members
• Keeps abreast of new research and best practices in the field to maintain the school at an optimal level
• Demonstrates complex risk analysis before diving into change
• Previous experience with project planning tools, research, and report writing
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Google Drive applications

Educational Background and Work Experience

Education  

• Required: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
• Preferred: Master’s degree in a related field from an accredited college or university

Experience

• Required:
  • 3-5 years of experience working in events, operations, and/or communications with increasing responsibilities and achievements
  • Clear understanding of office organization
• Preferred:
  • Experience managing and developing individuals
  • Experience working in a nonprofit organization or school

Compensation and Benefits: 

Salary range is $70,000 to $100,000. Compensation is competitive and based on experience and education. We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including participation in a pre-tax commuter benefits program and partial reimbursement for monthly commuting expenses, gym reimbursement, cultural enrichment reimbursements, participation in the Teachers Retirement System pension program, frequent access to baked goods, and many opportunities to get to know your VOICE colleagues!

VOICE Charter School is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In its employment decisions, VOICE does not discriminate on the basis of an applicant or employee’s race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by law.