Associate Director of Operational Leadership

Associate Director of Regional Operations, Operational Leadership

About KIPP NorCal

We are a thriving nonprofit network of 23 free, public charter schools open to all students. At KIPP, we believe all children should grow up free to create the future they want for themselves and that schools can and should be a critical factor in making that vision a reality. Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world. 

Our student community consists of over 7,100 elementary, middle, and high school students in East Palo Alto, Oakland, San Francisco, San Lorenzo, San José, Redwood City, and Stockton. 80% qualify for free or reduced price lunch, 27% are multilingual learners, and 17% receive special education services. We strive to cultivate a representative team of teachers and leaders that reflect our students’ diversity.

Role Overview

The Associate Director of Operational Leadership strengthens school operations across KIPP NorCal by delivering stronger operational results and developing Directors of School Operations (DSOs) as strategic, high-performing leaders. The role reports to the Director of Operational Leadership + Systems and connects regional priorities to consistent execution across schools.

The role has two core responsibilities:

• Improve Great Eight outcomes. The “Great Eight” are KIPP NorCal’s eight priority areas for operational excellence: 

• High Performing Operations Teams

• Thriving Attendance

• Sustainable Enrollment

• Families are Partners

• Strong Supports

• Administrative Integrity

• Safe + Well Community

• Optimal Facilities

The Associate Director owns strategy execution and results for a focused subset of these outcomes. The role identifies the drivers of performance, sets the improvement strategy, establishes effective practices, and equips schools with the tools and learning needed to execute. The Associate Director monitors results, addresses performance gaps, and adjusts the approach based on data and school feedback.

• Strengthen DSO leadership. The Associate Director owns designated components of the DSO talent and development strategy, from hiring and onboarding through ongoing leadership development and performance support. The role designs learning experiences and support structures, monitors DSO growth, and equips School Leaders to develop and hold DSOs accountable. Some components are led independently; others are led jointly with another Associate Director to create a coherent DSO experience.

The Associate Director delivers results by aligning school and regional stakeholders around clear outcomes, ownership, and expectations. The role tailors implementation support to school and leader needs while maintaining consistent regional standards. Within the department strategy, the Associate Director owns a defined set of Key Results and decides how to achieve them. When progress depends on broader changes to strategy, systems, or resources, the Associate Director brings the Director a clear diagnosis and recommendation.

Success in this role means that priority operational outcomes improve, DSOs grow as leaders, and schools have practical, sustainable systems that support strong teaching and learning.

Core Responsibilities

Great Eight Strategy and Performance

• Owns strategy and results for a focused subset of the Great Eight.

• Analyzes performance across schools to identify meaningful variation, root causes, and the highest-leverage opportunities for improvement; translates these findings into clear outcome measures, milestones, and leading indicators.

• Designs and oversees a regular performance-review cadence that enables school and regional leaders to identify gaps early and maintain focus on the actions most critical to results.

• Diagnoses performance gaps, determines the appropriate school-level or regional response, and aligns responsible stakeholders on agreed-upon actions and monitors follow-through.

• Evaluates whether strategies are producing meaningful and sustainable improvement and recommends changes to the Director when progress depends on shifts to policy, resources, systems, or broader department direction.

School Implementation and Improvement

• Translates Great Eight strategies into clear school-level expectations, roles, routines, timelines, and measures of quality.