Senior Director of Operations

About Ascend

Ascend is Brooklyn’s premier K–12 public charter network, committed to graduating high-achieving students who have access to boundless choice in their futures—not only through college acceptance, but through meaningful preparation for career readiness and thriving adult lives.

Across our schools, we pair rigorous academics with strong systems, supportive adult culture, and a deep belief in students’ brilliance and potential. Our work is grounded in the understanding that preparing students for long-term success requires excellence in instruction, intentional culture-building, and disciplined execution at every level of the organization.

At Ascend, adults are held to high standards because our students deserve nothing less. How we teach, lead, collaborate, and make decisions every day directly shapes the opportunities our students will have tomorrow.

Join us in shaping learning environments where curiosity is nurtured, excellence is the norm, and every student is prepared for a lifetime of boundless choice.

About the Role

Reporting to the Managing Director of Operations, the Senior Director of Operations (SDO) co-manages the Assistant Principals of Operations (APOs) alongside the Principals of Ascend schools in pursuit of operational excellence. The SDO supports, coaches, and develops the APOs, identifying and problem-solving network-wide challenges on behalf of schools. The SDO ensures that schools capture and utilize operational data, meeting both internal and external goals. They play a key role in recognizing areas where operations could be more effective, compliant, and scalable, and design and execute initiatives to address these needs.

In partnership with other members of the network team, they work to codify operational practices at the schools and support the development and enhancement of data, procurement, and other operational systems. They develop and deliver professional development programs for APOs and plan the annual summer institute for all school operational staff.

Key Responsibilities

Coaching and Managing

• Has a dotted-line managerial relationship with the schools’ assistant principals of operations (APOs) and serves as the primary coach to the school APOs. He or she is the primary resource to solve problems and identify resources to problems that the APO encounters
• Assists the school principals in writing APO performance evaluations by gathering input from other stakeholders and including their assessment

School Start-up and Readiness

• Works closely with and supports each school’s APO as their new school opens or new school year approaches to ensure that every dimension of school operations is in place for launch, including full student enrollment, transportation, the facility, student and adult furniture, supplies, and food service
• Provides on-site school support when necessary

On-call School Support

• Serves as an on-call resource to the APOs in all functional areas, providing direct support and when appropriate, referring them to a member of the network team or other operations staff member at Ascend
• Leads, executes, and supports key projects and initiatives across all operational areas
• Works closely with the APO and the Managing Director of Technology and the technology team to ensure that all schools have strong technology systems and appropriate support in this area
• Works closely with the APO and the Director of Finance, and the finance team to ensure that the school’s finance function works smoothly
• Work closely with the Director of Human Resources to ensure that the school’s APOs have the necessary resources to effectively serve as the primary point of contact for all school-level staff on HR matters
• Works closely with the APO and the Director of Facilities and the facilities team to ensure that building maintenance and custodial needs are met

Professional Development

• Designs and delivers training and onboarding for new APOs
• Designs and implements professional development sessions for school-based operational staff, including the comprehensive annual Operations Institute each summer
• Identifies professional development opportunities from third-party resources to develop APOs and provide them with growth opportunities
• Tracks operational data from the schools to identify specific areas of growth by schools; tailors PD to these deficits

Customer Service

• Creates and maintains a culture of exceptional customer service from the network (AL) to the schools across all operational practices, and ensures that this culture infuses all operational and business activities in the schools, including the telephone and website experiences, reception, food service, nursing, and building appearance.
• Quickly identifies and manages up roadblocks or bottlenecks, working closely with the MD and COO to eliminate and improve school operations

Operational Performance

• Oversees approach to operational data and evaluation, leading process for evaluations and audits as determined by the network operations team
• Identifies critical network-wide operational data needs and works closely with network teams to create the framework and infrastructure to collect and manage performance in a data-driven manner

Staff and Reporting Relationships

The Senior Director of Operations reports to the Senior Managing Directors of Operations (SMDOs).

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in Business Administration, Education Leadership, Public Administration, or related field strongly preferred
• 7–10 years of professional experience, including at least 3–5 years in operations leadership at a network, district, or multi-site level
• Proven track record of managing complex systems and driving organizational performance in a fast-paced environment
• Experience in K–12 education, charter schools, or mission-driven organizations is highly preferred
• Experience as a top-performing school Director of Operations in a public school, preferably in a charter school
• Experience in leadership development with strong consulting and coaching skills
• Effectiveness at motivating and influencing others to act, strong management skills
• Capacity to create strong relationships based upon trust, respect, effective communication, and common goals
• A mindset of excellence, customer-service orientation, attention to detail, and insistence on quality
• Creativity and a solutions mindset, the ability to recognize areas for improvement, and develop initiatives to move the organization dramatically forward operationally
• Systems-thinking: the capacity to envision, plan, and implement new systems and practices that better support school operations
• Strong strategic thinking, planning, financial analysis, and project management skills
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
• Maturity, humility, strong work ethic, sense of humor, and “roll-up-my-sleeves” attitude
• Passion and commitment to urban education and our mission of closing the achievement gap
• Alignment with the educational philosophy and core beliefs of Ascend Learning

Compensation

The salary will range between $115,000 - $160,000 annually, commensurate with the level of experience.

This full-time, exempt position offers a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer matching
• Generous paid time off and additional employee benefits