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Chief Operating Officer

Position Details

  • Job Title: Chief Operating Officer
  • Department: Network
  • Job Category: Shared Services

As a national thought leader in deeper learning, Harlem Village Academies is distinguished as the only charter school network in New York offering Montessori PreK and culminating in the International Baccalaureate (IB). HVA is a community of PK-12 schools, a college support program, and a graduate school, the Deeper Learning Institute. In addition, HVA is launching a new national initiative that will build on its 20 years of work in pursuit of deeper learning.

The unique educational model at HVA focuses on independent thinking, ethical leadership, intellectual curiosity, and intrinsic motivation. Serving 98% Black and Latino students, HVA consistently outperforms the district, city, and state by wide margins, 100% of students earn admission to college each year, and 83% are the first in their families to attend college.

OPPORTUNITY

With Montessori and IB as complementary bookends to an enlightened education, students are prepared to be independent thinkers who will answer the call, “what does life expect from me?” The COO will craft an operational vision and plan in support of HVA’s deeper learning vision. The COO will be part of a team of brilliant, thoughtful, talented, kind individuals (most of whom have been with HVA for over ten years) who are deeply committed to the mission and driven to excellence.

The timing is ideal for the next level of leadership, with HVA now embarking on a new five-year planning cycle.

As an organization, HVA is the ideal combination of financial stability with a world class board and experienced leaders, as well as a warm, fun, small, caring, entrepreneurial culture with a beautiful esprit de corps.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Chief Operating Officer will design strategies to lead a multi-faceted team that is responsible for the effective operation of the organization, serving as the foundation for HVA’s groundbreaking educational model. The COO will report directly to the CEO and will have approximately 8 direct reports.

● Organizational Leadership

○ Serve on the senior leadership team to establish strategic direction, support culture, and make decisions.

○ Lead by example, mentor others, and go the extra mile as needed.

● Systems Development

○ Create a new systems infrastructure to codify best practices, improve efficiency, maximize effectiveness and drive toward excellence.

○ Set a vision for systems implementation, train all team members, and lead the implementation of the improved systems.

● School Operations

○ Set a vision and manage a team that manages operations directors and administration managers across all PreK-12 schools.

○ Design and execute on a plan to take all aspects of school operations to a best-in-class level.

● Network Shared Services

○ Lead team of department heads to execute effectively and continually improve across all shared administration services, including:

■ Talent Recruitment

■ Student Enrollment

■ Data, Compliance & Reporting

■ Human Resources

■ Finance including FP&A

■ Facility and Safety

■ Procurement

■ Technology

QUALIFICATIONS

The qualified candidate is strategic, driven, entrepreneurial, knowledgeable about school operations, and enjoys ensuring the highest level of follow through, attention to detail, efficiency, and organization. The ideal candidate will have approximately 20 years of relevant experience, including approximately 5-10 years of experience as COO or Associate/Regional COO of a charter network or multi-campus private school organization with responsibility for 5-10+ schools.

Qualities that will ensure a candidate’s success include:

● Driven to excellence and experienced in producing better work from people.

● A measured, seasoned presence and extensive experience that informs good judgment.

● Passionate about operational excellence with an exceptionally high level of organization, attention to detail, follow-up, and obsession with quality.

● Experience as a senior leader handling complex, difficult decisions and situations and can articulate the tensions they held and the strategy they deployed to address the issues.

● Highly strategic and experienced in solving complex analytical puzzles.

● Experience identifying the root of a problem and proactively developing effective solutions.

● Proven ability to build a positive adult culture while also inspiring all team members to be internally driven to excellence.

COMPENSATION

The salary range for this position is $200,000-$250,000, and is commensurate with experience and qualifications. In addition, HVA offers a competitive range of benefits.

Harlem Village Academies is an Equal Opportunity Employer and committed to diversity among our staff. Applicants of diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

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