Director of Operations

POSITION: Director of Operations

TYPE: Home Office

LOCATION: Home Office positions work at our school sites across the Seattle-Tacoma area (Tukwila, WA, South Seattle, WA, Renton, WA, Tacoma, WA, Des Moines, WA)

SALARY: $97,381-$116,380 annualized based on aligned experience up to 9 years

STATUS: Full time, benefits eligible, exempt, hybrid position

START: Hiring happens on a rolling basis. Start date will be determined as a part of the offer process

REPORTS TO: CFO/COO

Who You Are

• You have a strong belief in and are deeply committed to Impact Public Schools' mission and educational model, focused on closing the opportunity gap and preparing diverse students for college success and community impact.
• You are an analytical and strategic operations leader with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, acute attention to detail, and a passion for building systems from the ground up.
• You excel at complex problem-solving, logistics, and project management, especially in a start-up or founding environment.
• You possess strong communication and management skills, the ability to analyze data and information quickly, and excel at designing, implementing, monitoring, and refining systems that ensure organizational efficiency for a successful school launch.
• You thrive in a collaborative environment, believing in the power of teamwork, but are also highly effective working independently and flexibly to meet founding year goals.
• You are excited by the challenge of establishing the operational foundations necessary to support the delivery of rigorous and engaging content to founding 6th and 9th-grade scholars.
• You align with Impact Public Schools’ core values (Bold Ambitions, Brave Solidarity, Team WA, Everyone Grows, Play Big, Intention) and share an unwavering belief that every child, regardless of identity or needs, can thrive and achieve ambitious goals.
• You possess the ability and desire to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic, and sometimes unpredictable start-up environment.
• You bring maturity, humility, a strong work ethic, a sense of humor, and a proactive, "roll-up-your-sleeves" attitude essential for a founding team member.
• You are enthusiastic about joining and shaping a growing organization from its foundational year.

Key Skills & Characteristics:

• Strong belief in the IPS mission and educational model, including experience implementing personalization and social emotional learning into instruction
• Optimism and growth mindset towards the development of colleagues
• Acute attention to detail coupled with the ability to think and act strategically and creatively
• Communication and management skills necessary to handle many diverse projects at one time
• Ability to create, monitor, and maintain systems that enhance organizational efficiency
• Strong research and problem-solving skills
• Comfort reading government texts, policies, and regulations
• Comfort with Google Sheets and Excel, strong quantitative skills, and demonstrated ability to quickly learn new technology systems
• Ability and desire to work in a fast-paced, highly disciplined, but sometimes unpredictable school environment
• Willingness to work autonomously, collaboratively, and/or under the direction of senior staff, as needed
• Strong belief in the IPS mission and educational model

Why this is a Unique Opportunity

The Director of Operations will collaborate with the CFO/COO to ensure that Impact Public Schools has excellent operational systems, both in the home office and in IPS schools, and support the growth of Impact Public Schools. This Director of Operations leads, coaches, and supports the Director of School Operations at every Impact school site.

Core Job Functions

Team Leadership & Coaching

• Managing and coaching to ensure that each Director of School Operations is growing and supporting their teams to achieve excellent results, including hiring and onboarding new DSOs
• Partner with the Principals and school leadership teams to ensure DSOs and site operational system effectively support each school’s academic program
• Build cohesion among Directors of School Operations so that they can provide strong partnership and support to one another
• Plan, lead, and facilitate professional development for Directors of School Operations
• Oversee the planning, execution, and use of task tracking and accountability systems to support consistent implementation and continuous improvement
• Partner with Director of Outreach and Enrollment on enrollment training and management, coordinating responsibilities and aligning approaches where scopes overlap

Ensure Strong School Site Operations & Enrollment

• Lead school excellence walkthroughs to ensure each school is succeeding on key operational metrics
• Build and maintain a complete library of increasingly efficient standard operating procedures, how-to resources, and tools to support Directors of School Operations for new and growing schools
• Ensure that all schools meet operational and compliance requirements
• Proactively follow up to address issues and creatively problem-solve challenges that arise

Strategic Network-Wide Project Leadership

• Serve as the lead operational project manager for high-impact, network-wide initiatives at economies of scale from conception through implementation.

• Partner with home office teams, school leaders, and cross-functional working groups to define project scopes, set milestones, allocate resources, and ensure timely, high-quality deliverables.
• Lead change management and operational communication across all school sites to ensure smooth rollouts and adoption of network-wide initiatives.
• Continuously evaluate organizational workflows, identifying operational bottlenecks across the network and designing scalable solutions.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Minimum 2-4 years general management and/or school operations experience
• Minimum 2 years school or school-related operations experience
• Minimum 2 years experience coaching and developing others, with great results
• Proven experience in developing, implementing, and managing systems and processes
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines effectively

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters in Business, Public Administration, Education, or related field
• Previous start-up experience and/or experience in a high-performing school
• Ability to speak Amharic, Spanish, Somali, or Tigrinya
• Personal and professional experience in and around the Puget Sound area
• Experience working in a middle or high school setting
• Experience managing budgets and procurement
• Familiarity with student information systems and other school-based technology

License / Certification

• Must have or be eligible to obtain a food handler certification

Physical Demands

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. This position is active and may require standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, and crouching throughout the day. Frequent light lifting and carrying (less than 15 pounds) with occasional heavy lifting (up to 50 pounds). The employee must have sufficient hand, arm, and finger dexterity to operate a computer keyboard and other office equipment. Work is primarily inside but has daily responsibilities outside (exposure to sun, heat, cold, and inclement weather).
• Active role requiring local travel between school sites in the Seattle-Tacoma region.

Non-negotiables

• Offer is contingent upon passing a fingerprint and background check
• Must complete SafeSchools trainings

What We Offer

• Competitive pay and generous paid time off package including paid holidays, vacation and personal time;
• Medical, dental, vision, life insurance benefits;
• Retirement account with employer contributions;
• Eligible employees can access our earned wage access program through myFlexPay;
• Free mental health support + more through our employee assistance program;
• Flexible work-from-home schedule options on non-site support days;
• Growth pathways for increased levels of leadership.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Impact Public Schools is committed to providing a work environment free of unlawful discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment. Click here to review Impact’s Employee Non-discrimination Policy for Impact Schools.

Non-Discrimination Statements

Impact Public Schools does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Click here to review Impact’s designated leaders responsible to handle all questions and complaints of alleged discrimination at each of Impact’s schools.

Warm and Welcoming Community

Every Impact team member is known, valued, and respected. We actively strive to build connections among teachers, leaders, and Home Office staff.

Emphasis on Growth

One of our core values is “Everyone Grows.” This isn’t just a value for scholars - it applies to adults as well! Impact teachers receive regular 1:1 coaching from an instructional expert and collaborate weekly with grade-level team colleagues. Impact also supports Teaching Fellows in applying to and paying for a teacher certification program!

Unwavering Belief That All Scholars are Exceptional

Joining Impact means joining a diverse team that authentically believes in each and every child and their ability to thrive.