Job Description
Job DescriptionChief Operating Officer
Join Our "Relationships-First" Team:
We invite you to be a part of a team whose mission-aligned culture offers sustainable, rewarding career paths in teaching, operations, and leadership, built on collaboration and mutual support. Experience the difference at a workplace that celebrates and cultivates each team member's passions, skills and multi-disciplinary interests as we build a brighter future together, one student at a time.
Why Educators Choose S2:
- A "Relationships-First" culture where you're valued, supported, and included
- Collaborative planning time and mutual support
- Opportunities to lead initiatives that strengthen student growth at every stage of their PreK–12 education
- Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits including offering a competitive compensation package, including a strong benefits program and a 401(k) with a 6% organizational match
- A bilingual, community-rooted model serving Washington Heights and Inwood including a pantry partnership, Bachata Nights, multicultural festivals, and a reading initiative.
Our Chief Operating Officer:
Our Central Office at School in the Square exists to support and strengthen our schools: our Early Childhood Center, our Elementary School, our Middle School, and our growing High School (9th through 11th for SY 26-27). The Central Office is responsible for delivering high quality academic, operational, talent, human resources, financial, and community engagement services and resources that enable school leaders and teachers to focus on student learning and success. We are looking for dedicated, mission-aligned Central Office staff who will work closely with school-based staff to provide guidance, resources, and problem solving support that will advance instructional quality, organizational effectiveness, and student outcomes.
School in the Square is seeking a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to lead the design and implementation of the School in the Square operational vision and quality across all schools in the organization. This position reports to our Executive Director, and serves as the organization's senior operational leader who oversees the Central Office Operations team and school-based operational leaders. The COO is responsible for spearheading a vision of and strategy for operational excellence by building tight, dependable systems that deliver the services and resources schools need so that school leaders, teachers and students can focus on learning. The COO has the primary authority and accountability for operational performance and continuous improvement of high quality service and resources across the network to ensure our schools can run efficiently and effectively.
The COO will co-lead the organization's day-to-day work alongside the Chief Academic Officer, ensuring that our academic priorities and operational systems reinforce one another, and supports school leaders with the resources and services they need for executing with clarity and consistency. A core responsibility of the COO is to lead the Talent and HR team that provides best-in-class human resources and talent initiatives to deliver quality services and resources including talent acquisition, onboarding and people systems supporting employee experience and retention, as well as instructional improvement. The COO will directly manage and collaborate with school-based operations leaders on key operational decisions and strategy. The COO will also directly manage the Central Office Operations Team: the Director of Building and Facilities, the Director of Data and Finance and the Talent and HR Team.
Who You Are:
- Competencies and Attributes:
- Strategic thinker who has a proven track record of resolving complex problems anchored in a high level of integrity and judgment.
- Highly organized, conscientious and execution oriented, including exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
- Comfortable and successful in navigating ambiguity and complexity.
- Collaborative mindset where they use strong emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills to actively partner with peers and stakeholders to share ideas and listen to diverse perspectives to align on and make decisions.
- Deep alignment with organizational values and mission.
- Experience and Background:
- At least 10 years of experience in PreK-12 education, with demonstrated success leading operational strategy at school in NYS charter schools.
- Experience in Human Resources and/or Talent Acquisition preferred.
- A graduate of a Master's Degree in business, operations, education administration, or other related focus. A doctorate is strongly preferred.
- Proven success as leader in education administration, operations management or related industries.
- Demonstrated experience building and improving systems, processes, and team capacity across multiple schools
- Demonstrated experience in navigating complex regulatory expectations and ensuring compliance.
- Strong data literacy and experience leading data-driven improvement cycles.
- Exceptional people leadership, coaching, and change-management skills.
Key Responsibilities:
- Operational visionary who, in partnership with their Director of Operations Cabinet, sets and implements an operational strategy that delivers high quality service and resources to the schools and the central office.
- Directly manages and coaches each school-based Director of Operations to execute on organizational wide priorities, including but not limited to day to day operations, school safety,facilities, budgeting, operational staff development and community engagement.
- Directly manages and coaches the Central Office Operations Teams in providing schools high quality service and resources, including but not limited to building and facilities management, budgeting, human resources, and talent acquisition.
- Implements organization-wide operational staff professional development vision.
- Monitors and improves operational performance across all schools using advancement strategies that ensures the continual improvement of the standards and quality of all operational functions.
- Collaborates with the Chief Academic Officer to ensure the day-to-day organizational wide and school operations support academic priorities.
- Leads and facilitates external operational initiatives, including ensuring operational compliance with all relevant regulatory and legal requirements, and serving as the primary operational liaison with the NYS charter authorizers to support renewals, site visits and operational reporting are in compliance.
What Can You Expect From Us
At S2, we take as much care of our staff as we do of our students. S2 is committed to supporting our staff by helping them build sustainable, rewarding careers that center on each individual's passions and multi-disciplinary interests. All of our faculty and staff are valued professionals and we are proud to provide team-building and collaboration, comfortable and friendly working conditions and more, to ensure our team members have the tools they need to succeed.
In addition to meaningful and rewarding work, School in the Square provides competitive salaries. Expected salary range for this role is $220,000 - $250,000, depending on experience, level of education, required certifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role.
Additionally, we provide opportunities for supplemental compensation, an excellent benefits package with:
- a 401K program with a 6% organizational match
- 93% coverage of healthcare coverage
- longevity bonus
- generous paid time off
- and a supportive work environment.
School in the Square understands specific groups are subject to marginalization. We believe these powerful groups should be centered in our community and are highly encouraged to apply. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.