Assistant Principal of Operations

Overview

In partnership with Ascend principals, the assistant principals of operations (APOs) set the bar for operational excellence and help create vibrant school communities. They implement school-wide visions, evaluate and improve systems, processes and procedures, maintain and manage their school facilities, demonstrating an ability to navigate competing priorities with urgency and a high-level of attention to detail. Our APOs are passionate about developing all non-academic school-based operations staff and rally their teams to achieve ambitious school goals with a high bar of excellence. APOs report directly to Ascend principals and have a dotted line coaching relationship with their respective network directors of operations. In collaboration with principals and the network, APOs maintain financial sustainability, support students and staff with mission-critical, lead ambitious student efforts, and support staff recruitment efforts. They develop enduring and joyful relationships with students, teachers, APO peers, parents, community members, and other network teammates, and they build and help maintain a strong presence for their schools within our local communities.

The APO role is an ideal opportunity for a collaborative and flexible thinker eager for feedback and professional development to play a central leadership role in growing and shaping one of our high-performing public charter schools. As an Ascend assistant principal of operations, you will assume a critical leadership role in a broader network committed to ensuring our students have the knowledge, confidence, and character to succeed in college and beyond.

Why extraordinary leaders lead at Ascend

Ascend is a network of K-12 public charter schools serving 5,700 students in 15 schools across Brooklyn—New York’s most populous borough. Our undertaking is to lead our students on a great intellectual adventure, provide them with an exceptional college preparatory education, and place them firmly on the path to success in college and beyond.

We guide our students to think critically and independently and to enjoy education as an end in itself. We teach a rich and rigorous liberal arts curriculum that nurtures students’ natural curiosity about the world. We foster a positive, non-punitive school culture where students feel connected, empowered, and safe to take academic risks. Even our school buildings are designed to reflect our high aspirations for teaching and learning and the notable accomplishments that occur within our walls.

To create this kind of vibrant learning community, we invest heavily in our faculty by providing ongoing professional training and support, and encourage our educators to collaborate closely and push each other to achieve great outcomes. Leading at Ascend means growing deeply in your career, expressing your voice, and playing a defining role in the future of your students, your school, and the Ascend network.

Ascend is committed to building a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist community, both through our hiring practices and our focus on creating a culture and environment where diverse perspectives, ideas, and identities are valued and integrated into our way of working and educating students. Ascend staff represent a wide diversity of racial, socio-economic, gender, religious, and national identities—opening a window to the entire Ascend community on the richness of humanity. We welcome all applicants who share our mission and vision to join us in our deeply consequential work.

Learn more about the Ascend approach by visiting our website.

Responsibilities

Operational management

• Creates and executes systems and processes to support the short- and long-term goals of the school and supervises the effective use of resources
• Owns and executes all systems and processes to drive smooth day-to-day operations
• Ensures compliance with health and safety mandates, emergency protocols, and state and federal workplace regulations
  
  
  

School culture

• Partners in leading a culture that results in a love of learning, student agency, and full range of student learning and growth
• Builds an engaged, diverse, and inclusive school community
• Plans events and systems aligned to the principal's vision that celebrate scholars, families, and staff
  
  
  

Racial equity mindset

• Creates and sustains a race equity culture, including skill building and leading self and others through awareness, growth, and development
• Continuously strengthens personal and staff knowledge and expertise in effective operational practices with diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism considerations
  
  
  

Strategic leadership

• Leads all aspects of school’s operational management in partnership with the principal
• Works collaboratively and thinks flexibly to support and improve systems and decision-making processes that strengthens outcomes
• Supports the school’s vision for achieving goals and positive student outcomes
• Supports and strengthens a data-driven culture that relentlessly seeks continuous improvement
• Creates, strengthens, and maintains academic and culture systems and procedures
  
  
  

Effective teaming

• Establishes, manages, and develops strong teams that collaborate, communicate, and work together for Ascend students and community
• Fosters and facilitates positive relationships and collaboration with network and school-based leaders to advance efforts that support achievement for all students and to advance Ascend’s mission and goals
• Observes and coaches operations staff leading to professional growth and student achievement
• Sets high expectations and holds team accountable while creating a culture of valuing team feedback
• Executes and evaluates diagnostic assessments, plans, coaching, and evaluations to ensure development of operations staff
  
  
  

Whole student focus

• Fosters and sustains a culture of academic success and social-emotional development through partnerships with students, families, and community
• Fosters and sustains a warm, welcoming, and inclusive environment for scholars, families, and staff
• Engages families and the community in support of each child’s learning and the school’s learning goals
• Partners with principal in launching, strengthening, and sustaining partnerships with community-based organizations
  
  
  

Technological fluency

• Selects, uses, and coaches others in the use of effective technological tools to strengthen school results and student achievement
• Leverages technology platforms to inform planning and decision-making in support of school goals and operations
  
  
  

Staff and reporting relationships

The assistant principal of operations reports to the principal and supervises the operations staff. Network directors of operations (NDOs) have a dotted line coaching relationship with APOs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree, with advanced degree (MPA, MBA, or equivalent experience) is preferred
• Three to five years professional experience, preferably in an educational organization or a school
• A hunger for feedback and self-improvement
• Relentless drive to set and achieve ambitious achievement goals
• A high level of ownership over the overall outcomes of the scholars they lead
• Strong collaboration, interpersonal, and communication skills, including working effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse perspectives
• Strong organizational, self-management, and problem-solving skills with the ability to handle many responsibilities simultaneously
• Self-awareness, demonstrating an accurate idea of one's own strengths and weaknesses and an ability to treat all members of the school's community with respect
• Strong project management skills
• Dependable, with excellent follow-through
• Alignment with the educational philosophy and core beliefs of Ascend Learning
  
  
  

Compensation

Initial salary offers for this position range from $90,000 - $115,000. Salaries are determined using an equitable compensation scale that accounts for years of experience and levels of attained education.

Diversity at Ascend

Ascend is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community, both through our hiring practices and our focus on creating a culture and environment where diverse perspectives, ideas, and identities are valued and integrated into our way of working and educating students. Ascend staff represent a wide diversity of racial, socio-economic, gender, religious, and national identities—opening a window to the entire Ascend community on the richness of humanity. We welcome all applicants who share our mission and vision to join us in our deeply consequential work.