Director of Operations

About RISE

RISE STEAM Academy is a newly authorized, tuition-free, public charter school in Northeast Oklahoma City. The school will serve students in grades Pre-K through 4th grade and is scheduled to open to its first class of students in August of 2025. RISE is committed to providing all students with a rigorous, STEAM focused academic experience that prepares them for the careers of the 21st century and empowers them to positively impact their communities.

RISE is also committed to building a cohort of the most talented and effective teachers and leaders in the state through competitive compensation, strong professional development, and access to quality resources. Every aspect of our work at RISE is rooted in our core values to reflect our organizational beliefs:

Respect and Love

At RISE every student, teacher, staff member, and family is treated with kindness, understanding, and dignity. We recognize our work as “village” work and work to ensure that every member of our village is heard, seen, and cared for.

Innovation

We embrace creative teaching methods, integrate technology, and foster a growth mindset in our students and staff. We continuously seek new ways to enhance learning and our school overall.

Service and Support

We uplift one another in all we do. We have an obligation to support students, staff, families, and our community in ways that provide the resources and encouragement they need to succeed.

Pursuit of Excellence

We hold high standards for teaching, learning, and school performance. We are committed to continuous improvement and achieving the best possible outcomes for all students and staff.

Job Summary

The Director of Operations plays a vital role in ensuring the seamless day-to-day operations of the school by managing key areas such as finance, purchasing, facilities, student services, and compliance. This position collaborates closely with the School Leader, School Board of Directors, and various teams to maintain a high-functioning and efficient school environment, supporting both staff and students. This role is ideal for a highly organized individual with strong leadership skills, capable of balancing multiple responsibilities to create a thriving school environment.

Key Responsibilities: This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, knowledge, or abilities associated with this position, but is intended to accurately reflect the principal job elements. Other duties may also be assigned.

Finance & Purchasing

• Collaborate with the Finance Team and School Leader to actively manage the school’s budget and financial decision making processes.
• Lead the school purchasing process by establishing clear school systems for staff to request items. Submit purchase orders, reimbursement requests, approve purchases, and support employees with required purchases placing orders with vendors, tracking delivery, coding and submitting invoices; approves school purchases under a specific financial threshold.
• Serve as the primary school-based finance contact and work with the Finance Team to ensure financial compliance and reporting.

Facilities & Maintenance

• Oversees maintenance and facility issues, managing staff/vendors, aesthetics, shared space agreements, and campus safety in collaboration with the School Leader.
• Serve as the first school-based point of contact regarding maintenance issues and manages the custodial staff/vendors to ensure that the facility looks the best it can.
• Maintain a neat, organized, welcoming main office environment.

Student & Family Services

• Serve as the eyes and ears of the school to ensure that all school operations run seamlessly each and every day, proactively problem solving and developing systems where needed.
• Coordinate with the Food Service Management Company to coordinate breakfast and lunch schedules to ensure students receive high quality meals daily.
• Distribute, gather, and report school lunch forms and all necessary data for child nutrition.
• Serves as point person for hosting school tours.
• Manage the submission of student attendance daily.
• Ensure that all students have complete, current, and accurate student records.

Risk Management, Compliance, and People Operations Administration

• Partner with the third-party contractor on the new hire process.
• Ensure that school staff have complete, current, and accurate employee files and certifications all personnel interacting with students have background checks on file and the school complies with all areas of legal compliance (e.g. HR, FERPA, etc.)
• Collaborate with the School Leader to review, approve, or deny PTO (personal time off) requests.
• Communicate leave needs (FMLA, Parental Leaves, COVID) and critical dates to the School Leader and assists in facilitation of employee leaves and returns.
• Secure substitute teachers as needed and manages the time sheet and reporting of their work in partnership with the School Leader.

Student Recruitment & Enrollment

• Develop and implement student recruitment strategies to ensure that school begins the academic year with full classes and actively recruits to fill open seats.
• Manage student enrollment, transfer processes, and prepare accurate enrollment reports.
• Organize and execute family info sessions, school tours, and the lottery and enrollment process.

Working Conditions:

• Environment: Classroom and office settings within the school; occasional evening or weekend events may be required.
• Physical Demands: Regularly required to stand, walk, and engage in hands-on activities with students and staff; occasional lifting of materials up to 20 pounds.

Qualifications:

Required

• A deep commitment to the mission of RISE STEAM Academy and unwavering belief in the potential of our students.
• Unwavering commitment to RISE STEAM Academy’s mission and willingness to go above and beyond to meet the needs of RISE students, families, and staff.
• At least 3-4 years of full time work experience in school operations or a business of similar size and complexity.
• Demonstrated management and leadership skills.
• Pass Criminal Background Check.
• Strong project and time management skills; ability to effectively backwards plan, juggle multiple priorities with great attention to detail, and deliver consistent and timely results.
• Strong strategic and analytical skills with an aptitude for flexibility.
• Customer service mindset.
• An ability to proactively solve problems and make decisions quickly.
• Ability to be calm under pressure, especially in difficult conversations with parents and staff.
• Team player with strong interpersonal and stakeholder management and relationship building skills.
• Excellent organizational, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Excellent computer skills, including the Google suite of products.
• Desire to continuously learn and increase effectiveness as a professional.

Preferred

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Education, or similar degree.
• Minimum of 2 years of full-time teaching experience.
• Fluency in Spanish
• Experience working in the elementary charter school environment.

Benefits

Compensation is commensurate with years of relevant experience.

Our commitment to compensation is not just salary-based. RISE offers excellent benefits including:

• All supplies necessary for your work, including a laptop and high-speed internet connection
• Medical, dental, and vision plans at low cost to you
• A 403b retirement program with an employer match
• Extensive professional development and support for your role
• Generous time off

RISE STEAM Academy does not and shall not discriminate on the race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, disability, source of income, or status as a veteran in any of its activities or operations.