Director of Operations

Job Description

Who We Are \n

Kwenda Collegiate Girls is a public, tuition-free K–8 girls' school that reimagines public education with girls at the center. Our school was born out of two values—love and liberation for BIPOC girls and young women.

We believe our students deserve safe spaces of affirmation, rigor, and healing that raise them up to become autonomous decision-makers in their own lives.

Kwenda opened its doors in Brooklyn in Fall 2026 serving kindergarten and first grade and will grow one grade at a time.

Kwenda Collegiate Girls is seeking an experienced Director of Operations (DOO) to lead the non-instructional operations of our growing school. The DOO is responsible for ensuring that the systems, people, vendors, routines, and infrastructure that support our school operate effectively and consistently every day. As a member of the leadership team, the DOO works closely with the Executive Director and instructional leadership to create an environment where educators can focus on teaching, students can focus on learning, and families experience a school that is safe, responsive, organized, and well-run. As a young and growing school, we need someone who can build what does not yet exist, manage it once it does, and step in when necessary to ensure the work gets done.

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• The DOO owns Kwenda's student recruitment strategy and is accountable for maintaining targeted enrollment throughout the school year.
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• Develop and execute a year-round student recruitment and marketing strategy across community outreach, events, partnerships, digital marketing, social media, and other channels to drive inquiries, applications, enrollment, and retention.
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• Lead recruitment efforts across community outreach, events, partnerships, digital marketing, social media, and other channels that build Kwenda's visibility and attract prospective families.
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• Build relationships with community organizations, childcare providers, and other local partners that can strengthen Kwenda's recruitment pipeline.
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• Regularly report enrollment progress, trends, and risks to the Executive Director and recommend actions needed to maintain enrollment targets.
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• Oversee enrollment, registration, student records, transportation, food service, and student information systems.
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• Ensure student records and required documentation are complete, accurate, and secure.
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• Build responsive systems for addressing family operational questions and concerns.
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• Develop systems and routines that support a strong family experience from enrollment through the student's time at Kwenda.
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• Lead, coach, and develop the school-based operations team.
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• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, goals, and accountability for results.
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• Develop standard operating procedures, cross-training, and backup coverage for critical functions.
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• Serve as the Executive Director's primary partner on school operations.
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• Identify operational risks early, bring solutions to leadership, and use data to continuously improve systems.
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• Build operational infrastructure that can scale as Kwenda grows.
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• Own the daily operational readiness of the school, including arrival, dismissal, attendance, student transitions, visitor management, and school-wide routines.
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• Oversee facilities, custodial services, maintenance, security, building access, emergency preparedness, and safety procedures.
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• Develop clear operational procedures, calendars, checklists, and systems that keep the school running consistently.
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• Lead operational planning for school events, testing, field trips, special programs, and other school-wide activities.
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• Coordinate staff onboarding and offboarding and the operational components of payroll, timekeeping, benefits, and employee records.
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• Manage purchasing, procurement, accounts payable documentation, inventory, and operational spending.
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• Maintain appropriate financial controls and approval processes.
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• Ensure staff have the technology, accounts, building access, materials, and operational support needed to do their jobs.
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• Manage key vendors, contracts, service providers, renewals, and vendor performance.
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• Oversee school technology operations, including devices, inventory, systems access, and technology vendors.
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• Maintain the school's operational compliance calendar and coordinate required documentation and reporting.
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• Ensure critical systems, relationships, processes, and institutional knowledge are documented and accessible to the organization.
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Success in this role means:

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• The school is ready for students and staff every day.
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• Operational problems are anticipated and resolved before they repeatedly become emergencies.
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• Staff understand processes, responsibilities, and where to go for support.
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• Families receive timely and accurate responses.
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• Critical functions—from facilities and transportation to payroll, purchasing, technology, and compliance—operate reliably.
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• Leadership has visibility into operational priorities, risks, spending, and progress.
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• Systems are documented and do not depend on one person to function.
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• Kwenda's operational infrastructure gets stronger as the school grows.
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You bring:

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• A minimum of three years of experience serving as a Director of Operations or in a comparable senior school operations leadership role, preferably in a charter or public school.
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• Demonstrated experience managing school operations across multiple functions.
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• Experience supervising and developing an operations team.
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• A track record of building systems and processes—not simply maintaining them.
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• Strong project-management, problem-solving, communication, and organizational skills.
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• Experience managing vendors, budgets, contracts, and external partners.
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• Comfort using data, spreadsheets, dashboards, and operational systems to drive decisions.
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• Excellent judgment and the ability to know what to own independently and what requires escalation.
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• A bachelor's degree; advanced degree or relevant operations/business training preferred.
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Most importantly, you are a builder and an operator. You understand that sustainable operations cannot depend on heroics. You build systems that allow the organization and the people around you to succeed consistently.

The starting salary for the Director of Operations is $110,000, with final compensation based on relevant experience and demonstrated expertise.

Kwenda offers comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits; retirement match; flexible PTO; a MacBook Air; a fully stocked staff lounge; relocation assistance as needed; and eligibility for an annual discretionary, merit-based performance bonus.

Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter to View email address on ziprecruiter.com.