DescriptionRole Mission: The Regional Director of Operations (RDO) serves as the operations leader for their portfolio of schools and is responsible for achieving operational excellence across non-instructional areas including front office management, attendance, student information systems, child nutrition, transportation, health services, facility maintenance, new construction management, technology coordination, and student recruitment and enrollment.
The RDO indirectly manages Assistant Principals of Operations (APOs) across their portfolio and works alongside principals and Vice Presidents of Schools or Executive Director to coach, develop, and build capacity across APOs and operations departments. Additionally, the RDO works alongside regional managers in the various operations departments to ensure quality execution accountability for compliance, board and authorizer relations, and operational excellence.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
N/A
Location:
This is a full-time on-site position located in the Houston region. Preference will be given to candidates who live in the region, or who are willing to relocate.
Travel Expectations:
Travel between campus sites and regional office required daily. Travel to IDEA training events or meetings in and out of region is required. Recruitment and enrollment activities will require travel daily and weekly.
What You'll Do - Accountabilities
Essential Duties:
- Coach and develop regional operations leaders, APOs, and campus operations staff through ongoing observations, feedback, professional development, and accountability systems that build capacity, strengthen performance, improve staff retention, and ensure operational excellence across all departments.
- Lead and execute regional enrollment, attendance, and safety strategies by establishing targeted benchmarks and short-term goals, monitoring progress through data analysis, implementing targeted interventions, and driving successful outcomes.
- Analyze and improve campus and regional performance data, operational systems, and stakeholder feedback by identifying trends, determining root causes, implementing corrective actions, and continuously enhancing operational effectiveness and the staff and student experience.
- Manage and monitor compliance with district, local, and state requirements related to enrollment, attendance, and safety through audits, training, accountability measures, and ongoing oversight of campus execution.
- Collaborate with school and regional leaders to align operational and instructional priorities, strengthen campus culture, manage crisis response efforts, and implement strategic initiatives that advance operations and organizational goals.
- Maintain effective partnerships with principals to ensure alignment of operational and instructional goals and strategies and to share development responsibilities and capacity building of APOs.
Additional Duties and Responsibilities:
• The role requires flexibility to work outside of standard business hours, including evening administrative work, evening and weekend recruitment responsibilities as needed.
• Perform additional duties as assigned by regional leaders.
• Coach and provide on-going feedback to APOs and other operations team members that builds their job capacity and ensures operational effectiveness across all departments.
• Engage with Vice President of Schools and Regional Student & Family Services Manager to prioritize student persistence and address concerns with campus culture, and coach APOs to problem solve operations-related issues.
• Manage Regional backwards plans to hit enrollment targets leading to lottery readiness and implement targeted interventions and daily mechanisms to track progress for campuses off track.
• Coach APOs through the enrollment cycle (recruitment, registration, re-registration, and onboarding) to meet 100% enrollment at all schools by deadline.
• Maintain compliance to state and local enrollment, attendance, safety, and other requirements through adherence to district policies.
• Lead strategy with regional and school leadership teams to invest, motivate, and implement effective attendance, enrollment, and persistence processes across campuses.
• Execute in-field observations regularly at all campuses on operations processes and identify strengths and gaps in execution. Coach and develop APOs and Principals on effective execution that leads to a stronger staff and student experience.
• Analyze Regional and campus data on a daily, weekly, and cumulative basis. Use data for accountability for other stakeholders and identifies trends to course correct in a targeted manner based on individual campus needs.
• Train, observe, provide feedback, and implement accountability measures to ensure adherence to the outlined average daily attendance (ADA) policy at each school, particularly official attendance taking times, period-by-period attendance submission, and the implementation of the escalation matrix.
• Identify gaps from previous Beginning of Year (BOY) execution and proactively plan to address them at campuses of concern.
• Seek feedback from various stakeholders to determine root cause and recommend adjustments to current systems for APOs to implement.
• Plan BOY professional development sessions with APOs and observe and provide feedback on the spot to ensure high-quality facilitation.
• Lead the regional safety strategy and hold all regional team members accountable for effective execution of their role in a crisis. Provides next steps and ensures quality communication to all stakeholder groups.
• Ensure all campuses comply with district, local, and state safety requirements, such as required trainings, safety drills, monthly campus crisis team meetings, and door sweeps.
• Execute required safety audits at all campuses in portfolio two times per year and analyze data to identify strengths and gaps. Coach campus leaders to close gaps and maintain compliance.
• Ensure all team members attend functional professional development to build technical skill - seek to learn and understand key skills within each department and follow-up with crucial next steps from training (accountability).
• Coach regional managers of operations to effectively engage with campus operations team members and build their capacity to meet goals through regular observations, feedback, data analysis, and accountability.
• Institute operating mechanisms that facilitate the ongoing coaching and support of all team members (APO check-ins, regional operations and APO tactical meetings, regular observation and feedback sessions).
Knowledge and Skills - Competencies
- Make Strategic Decisions:
This team member fosters an inclusive decision-making environment by encouraging diverse perspectives, managing disagreements constructively, and creating space for all voices to be heard. They clearly communicate final decisions, providing context and anticipated impact-even when choices are difficult or unpopular.
This team member builds and maintains systems to track progress toward team goals, ensuring clarity through defined roles and responsibilities. They implement structured processes that support smooth team operations and strategically allocate time and resources to drive goal achievement.
This team member uses data to assess development needs and designs learning opportunities that align with team goals and individual career growth. They model a growth mindset by being open about their own development and ensure that both personal and team-led learning initiatives are impactful and well-aligned with organizational priorities.
- Build a Culture of Trust:
This team member fosters a team culture where individuals genuinely care for one another both personally and professionally. They lead with transparency, encourage open communication, including healthy conflict-and promote reliability and consistency, while regularly seeking and responding to team feedback to enhance the collective experience.
- Communicate Deliberately:
This team member leads inclusive discussions that surface obstacles and drive actionable solutions, ensuring all voices are heard. They communicate key information clearly across multiple channels and establish feedback loops that promote open dialogue, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Additional Skills:
• Knowledge of the PK-12 education landscape, especially with charters (community schools) highly preferred
• Advanced experience with Microsoft Office, including Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, Planner, and Excel; MS SharePoint Online
• Skill in critical-thinking and problem-solving, along with the ability to coach and develop these in others
• Skill in organization, prioritization, follow-through, and attention to detail
• Skill in effective and interpersonal communication, both verbal and written, with ability to clearly explain and invest others in recruitment plans and goals
• Skill in building strong relationships and mutually beneficial business partnerships through trust, empathy, and credibility
• Ability to manage and monitor multiple projects at once, often under pressure with competing priorities and tight turnarounds while maintaining composure, ensuring quality, and achieving results.
• Ability to demonstrate sound judgment and excellent decision-making.
• Ability to analyze and interpret data and statistics to identify trends, draw conclusions, and develop strategies and tactics that that yield results and achieve goals; builds this competency in others
• Ability to advocate, influence, motivate, and hold others accountable through consistency and clarity of expectation
• Ability to manage adults to achieve results through influence rather than named managerial responsibility.
• Ability to design, evaluate, and improve existing policies and procedures to ensure maximum effectiveness and efficiency
• Ability to achieve quantifiable results through commitment, personal responsibility, and accountability
• Ability to provide, receive, and implement feedback that continually improves performance and results
Required Education and Experience:
- 8+ years professional experience
- 4+ years people management experience with at least 3 years of managing through layers within an organization
- Bachelor's degree required
Preferred Education and Experience:
- Master's degree or other advanced degree in relevant field preferred
- K-12 education experience highly preferred
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred
Physical Requirements:
• Must be able to sit for extended periods of time without being able to leave the work area.
• Must be able to travel from site to site in personal vehicle.
• Must be able to climb ladders or scaffolding, or climb and work in overhead areas
• Must be able to lift and carry or otherwise move 35 pounds regularly for deliveries
• Physical ability to work around small children including sitting, standing, running and climbing stairs.
• Must be able to lift and carry small children up to 40 pounds in case of emergency.
• Must be able to work in indoor and outdoor environments, including in times of excessive heat or cold
What We Offer:
Compensation & Benefits:
- Salaries for people entering this role typically fall between $114,257 and $135,966, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications and in alignment with internal equity. This role is also eligible for performance pay based on organizational performance and goal attainment.
- Additionally, we offer medical, dental, and vision plans, disability, life insurance, parenting benefits, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, referral bonuses, professional development, and a 403(b) plan. You can find more information about our benefits at https://ideapublicschools.org/careers/benefits/.
- * IDEA may offer a relocation stipend to defray the cost of moving for this role, if applicable.
Application process:
Submit your application online through Jobvite. Please note that applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible.
Learn more about IDEA
At IDEA the Staff Experience Team uses our Core Values to promote human connection and a culture of integrity, respect, and belonging for all Team and Family members. Learn more about our Commitment to Core Values here: https://ideapublicschools.org/our-story/#core-value
