Bilingual (Spanish/English) School Operations Manager

About KIPP New Jersey

KIPP New Jersey is part of the nationally recognized “Knowledge Is Power Program” network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students for success in college and in life. In 2002, KIPP New Jersey first opened its doors in Newark’s South Ward as a single class of 80 fifth graders and has since grown to educate 7,035 students in grades K-12 across 16 schools in Newark, Camden and Paterson. More than 90% of KIPP New Jersey students currently qualify for free or reduced meals. To learn more, visit www.kippnj.org.

Here's what you need to know:

The School Operations Manager (SOM) manages student information systems, student and family records and compliance, student recruitment, registration, attendance, and enrollment while delivering excellent communication and customer service to families and visitors. The SOM creates, owns, and executes on projects in support of key responsibilities and school-wide operations and reports directly to the Director of School Operations.

Student Registration and Enrollment   

• Coordinate all activities related to student registration, transfer, withdrawals, maintenance of student records, and family engagement
• Respond to inquiries regarding registration and student records
• Verify student enrollment for various local or state agencies, as required
• Prepare transmittals or transfers for students leaving school due to promotion or address change; receive transcripts for incoming students and verifies home address
• Prepare and type correspondence, memoranda and reports as required
• Serve as custodian of student records; review the retention of student records and ensures compliance with State, District regulations pertaining to the same; transfer and receive files from previous schools and new schools
• Manage and maintain progress reports (such as report cards, attendance, behavior reports), including printing, distributing, and archiving
• Manage administrative responsibilities including preparing and maintaining student files and generating progress reports and transcripts
• Publicize and attend student recruitment events for the school
• Manage enrollment processes for all new students
• Manage collection of all compliance documents and enrollment files for incoming, current, and transferring students and work with regional offices to ensure enrollment records are accurate and up to date
• Collaborate with other school-operations staff to ensure enrollment compliance, including collection of health records
• Create an environment and interact with families in a way that is aligned with our school culture priorities
• Develop and leverage trusting relationships with families in the support of the school and the child’s best interests
• Engage in critical conversations with families who are considering transferring out, and escalate to other key stakeholders as needed
• Maintain Student Information System
• High School: manage and coordinate KIPP Through College supports for students who have transferred out

School Operations Projects and Communication         

• Build and implement enrollment project plan, including events, documentation, and family communication
• Build and implement supply management plan, including overseeing inventory and ordering
• Manage student transportation systems, including school-based busing and bus tickets, and support the special education team with communication and monitoring of individualized transportation based on IEP-eligibility
• Manage student data on SIS and monitor tier 1 data inquiries
• Manage school-wide collection of nutrition documentation, including applications and verifications, and oversee plan for fee collection
• Develop and execute project plans related to school-wide operations, such as technology, testing, nutrition, special events, field trips
• Create and implement plan for family surveys
• Build and implement parent engagement strategy and events
• Serve as the primary source of information for families including generating all-calls, newsletters, and other communications, as needed
• Develop school-based marketing and messaging materials for visitors, teacher recruits, and families
• Manage incoming and outgoing paperwork for students and families
• Manage any part-time employees to support school operations in an efficient, effective, and customer service-oriented capacity and ensure all administrative tasks completion and office information is up to date and accurate
• Liaison on a day to day basis with any vendors who interface with families, including but not limited to Food and Nutrition and Transportation
• Serve as liaison between parents, students, and staff with exemplary customer service skills in order to actively engage and build relationships with stakeholders

Attendance     

• Develop and implement incentive and intervention systems to increase student attendance
• Make daily attendance calls to absent students and support family concerns as needed to successfully reach families and impact attendance
• Track student attendance to maintain high data accuracy and high student attendance
• Work to ensure staff are consistently and accurately entering attendance records
• Collaborate with the Student Support Team to identify students needing additional supports and design support plans and next steps
• Maintain high communication with families and staff to problem solve and support around attendance issues
• Lead weekly chronic absenteeism meetings

Must Haves:

• Proficient in Microsoft Office, specifically Excel
• Database management and reporting
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strong organization skills and meticulous attention to detail
• Superb customer service skills and love and support for families and children
• Demonstrated ability to work with a team on collaborative projects
• Ability to remain calm and solutions-oriented in high-stress situations.
• Commitment to do whatever it takes to ensure our teachers and students have what they need to be successful
• Ability to proactively problem solve; anticipate challenges before they occur
• Ability to identify inefficiencies and generate creative solutions
• Ability to develop and manage multiple projects simultaneously and comfortably with ambiguity
• Ability to troubleshoot and manage high stress situations with a calm and positive demeanor

Nice-to-Haves:

• Previous experience in a customer service-oriented role
• Previous experience in an educational or non-profit setting

Location

This is a hybrid role. At this time, we typically work on-site 2 days per week and work remotely 3 days per week. Therefore, this role requires teammates to live within commuting distance of one of the three cities within which we work: Newark, NJ, Camden, NJ, or Miami, FL. Candidates who can work from our Newark office will be given preference for this role.

Compensation & Benefits

The salary range for this role is $60,000 - $85,399. Salary ranges at KIPP are set based upon the role level and function using benchmarks in the education and non-profit sector and allow for growth within the role.  Individual compensation within this range will be set  based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to: relevant professional experience and qualifications; education, skills and training; and market conditions.  

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a generous benefits package including, but not limited to, the following:  

• Robust benefits that include medical, dental, and vision 
• Optional participation in the KIPP NJ 403b retirement plan, including matching contributions
• An organization-issued laptop
• Generous Time-Off policy
• Up to 12 weeks 100% parental leave for primary caregivers
• Employer paid life insurance
• Extensive optional ancillary benefits including, short term and long term disability and accident and hospital indemnity

Our organization is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender, age, religion, national origin, citizen status, marital status, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Our organization will make a reasonable accommodation to known physical or mental limitations of a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the organization. No questions on this application are asked for any unlawful purpose.

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