Job Description

_ Position Overview:_

The Chief Schools Officer (CSO) is KIPP NYC’s quarterback and force-multiplier - responsible for driving school performance, supporting a rigorous, joyful culture for both staff and students, developing exceptional leaders, and ensuring organizational coherence across 18 schools serving nearly 10,000 students.

The CSO leads a team of Managing Directors of Schools and other senior leaders to ensure every KIPP NYC school is a place where excellent teaching, strong leadership, and joyful learning thrive every day.

This leader will guide school management across a complex, high-performing network that includes a multi-campus high school serving more than 2,600 students and multiple governing boards. The CSO will build coherence across schools, invest in principals, strengthen leadership pipelines, and ensure that systems, supports, and culture are aligned to deliver exceptional outcomes for students.

This is a pivotal moment for KIPP NYC. With strong academic foundations, a highly tenured staff, and an evolving leadership team, the CSO will inherit a thriving yet complex system poised to reach the next level of excellence and equity.

The right leader will bring the discipline of a systems builder, the empathy of a leadership coach, and the commitment of a servant leader. Their values will require them to center students and families first, holding themselves and KIPP NYC to an uncompromising standard of excellence. This leader sees challenge and opportunity as one and the same, and will help KIPP NYC elevate its legacy while laying the groundwork for its next decade of impact.

Reporting Structure & Location

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and serving as a core member and fulcrum of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the CSO will join a team of experienced executives who prioritize collaboration; value vulnerability, humility, and direct feedback; and view themselves as collectively responsible for the organization’s talent, culture, long-term organizational health, results, and broader impact. The SLT prides itself on holding the nuance and complexity of leading a large organization at scale, while understanding the importance of proximity to change leadership. Recognizing the centrality of their role, this leader partners effortlessly and instinctively to build alignment from vision to execution at scale. This is a full-time, in-person role based in New York City.

** Specific responsibilities include:**

School Leadership & Management

• Lead the Managing Directors of Schools and Principals to deliver strong academic, cultural, operational, and equity outcomes across all campuses.
• Provide clear vision, coaching, and accountability for systems and school leaders, ensuring alignment with network goals and values.
• Build systems of support and performance management that promote continuous improvement, collaboration, and excellence.
• Balance the complexity of systems leadership at scale with the proximate needs of schools, by frequently and rapidly changing altitude from individual classrooms to organizational data and decision-making.

Organizational Systems & Change Management

• Strategize to embed KIPP NYC’s Graduate Aims as a measurable north star of student success.
• Strengthen organizational systems for decision-making, communication, and accountability, ensuring KIPP NYC’s structures promote clarity, consistency, and effective execution across schools.
• Ensure consistent, equitable application of systems across schools while respecting the unique contexts of individual campuses and communities.
• Build cross-functional alignment with Academics, Talent, Operations, and Finance to ensure schools are fully supported to focus on ambitious outcomes.
• Lead change with transparency and empathy, helping teams adapt to evolving structures and expectations.

Collaboration & Strategic Leadership

• Work in close partnership with the CEO to align school performance and management with KIPP NYC’s long-term vision for elevating student and community power.
• Partner closely with the Chief Academic Officer to co-lead academic systems, professional development, and academic performance management.
• Collaborate with other senior leaders to integrate academics, equity, talent, and operations into a coherent strategy for school success.
• Serve as a visible ambassador for KIPP NYC in schools, community forums, and board meetings.
• Provide strategic counsel to the Senior Leadership Team on network health, leadership pipelines, and school performance.

Talent Development & Culture

• Recruit, develop, and retain exceptional school leaders, building pathways for Principal and Managing Director growth.
• Invest in adult culture by modeling trust, collaboration, and open communication across teams.
• Promote leadership behaviors that create healthy, high-performing teams and a culture of joy and accountability.
• Build the capacity of Managing Directors to be strong managers of people and stewards of culture.

Key Priorities in the First 12-18 Months

The first chapter of this leader’s tenure will focus on trust-building, alignment, and systems design while tackling critical priorities that will shape the next era of KIPP NYC’s schools.

Key Priorities:

• Build trust and visibility across all KIPP NYC schools through consistent school visits, transparent communication, and authentic partnership with Principals and Managing Directors.
• Lead the expansion and execute the redesign of KIPP NYC’s multi-campus high school (serving more than 2,600 students), ensuring a clear instructional vision, strong school culture, and smooth student transitions between campuses.
• Tackle persistent and complex challenges, from 9th-grade GPA and college matriculation metrics to enrollment and retention, through targeted interventions and stronger systems of accountability and support.
• Strengthen leadership team collaboration by aligning systems and shared accountability among senior leaders, particularly with the Chief Academic Officer, President, and Chief Information Officer.
• Clarify systems and roles by establishing clear decision-making structures, communication, and performance management processes for school leaders.
• Invest deeply in leadership development, with a particular focus on coaching and growing Principals and Managing Directors of Schools, while building sustainable pipelines for future leaders.
• Advance adult culture and morale by modeling relational leadership, reinforcing clear expectations, and recognizing excellence across teams.
• Drive student outcomes through strong school leadership, ensuring that each campus delivers excellent instruction, a robust culture, and consistent results.
• Model visible, community-centered leadership that keeps KIPP NYC grounded in its mission, values, and deep commitment to students and families.

*How to Apply: KIPP NYC has engaged JoHo Talent Network to lead the search for our Chief Schools Officer. To apply, please complete the application here by December 22, 2025.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressively senior leadership experience in education, including school and system-level roles (e.g., Superintendent, Chief of Schools, Managing Director of Schools, or similar).
• Experience as a successful Principal is required, along with direct experience coaching, supervising, and developing Principals and other senior leaders.
• Proven success managing multiple schools and leading through organizational change.
• Proven ability to drive excellent results through others, consistently improving outcomes across a multi-school portfolio, especially as a manager of senior leaders.
• Sophisticated data fluency across academic, cultural, and operational indicators (student outcomes, attendance, retention, discipline, enrollment, and staff experience), and the ability to use data to drive system-wide strategy and school-level action.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, and retain strong principals and leadership teams.
• Experience overseeing complex systems and multiple governing boards.
• Deep understanding of instructional leadership, operations, and talent management in public or charter schools.
• Strong strategic thinking, organizational, and communication skills.
• Master’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.

Leadership Approach

• A collaboration-first leader who understands that the SLT is their “first team,” and believes the most important part of their title is the “Chief,” and not its functional modifier.
• A relationship-centered, visible leader who earns trust through presence, transparency, and integrity.
• A seasoned coach and manager of school leaders who develops Principals and Managing Directors through clarity, feedback, and authentic partnership.
• Balances urgency for results with empathy for people - building a culture where feedback and care coexist.
• Systems-oriented, with the discipline to create clarity and the flexibility to adapt.
• Collaborative and humble; values diverse perspectives and creates space for others to lead.
• Deeply aligned with KIPP NYC’s mission of joyful, high-expectation education for all students.

Additional Information

Compensation and Benefits:

KIPP NYC offers a competitive salary ranging from $280,000 - $300,000. Salary ranges at KIPP NYC are standardized based on role level and role function. Individual salaries are determined through a lens of equity, accounting for years of experience relevant to the role and scope of responsibilities, and are benchmarked against others within the same salary band.

KIPP NYC offers a generous benefits package, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Robust benefits that include medical, dental, and vision.
• 403(b) retirement plan with a 50% match after 6 months.
• Generous Time-Off aligned with the school calendar
• Up to 12 weeks of 100% parental leave.
• Bright Horizon Back-up Child and Elder care.
• Employer-paid Life Insurance and Short-term / Long-term disability.
• Employee incentives include an 8-week paid Sabbatical after 10 years, annual professional development funds, and tuition reimbursement.

_ This description is intended to describe the type of work being performed by a person assigned to this position. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities required by the employee._

_ This is a full-time, in-person role based in New York City and will require travel to our schools. If you relocate outside of a commutable distance or out of the state of NY, your employment will be subject to review, which may include separation from KIPP NYC. You must notify HR if you move or have plans to relocate._

_ KIPP NYC LLC does not offer visa sponsorship or work authorization._

_ KIPP NYC LLC is committed to creating a welcoming environment that includes employees with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We believe that enables us to better meet our mission and values while serving students and families throughout New York City._

_ KIPP NYC LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. KIPP NYC LLC is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment._

*How to Apply: KIPP NYC has engaged JoHo Talent Network to lead the search for our Chief Schools Officer. To apply, please complete the application here by December 22, 2025.