Chief Operating Officer (COO) Job Description

We believe all children can learn, regardless of the challenges they face outside of school. At Haven Academy—the nation's first school designed specifically for children navigating the foster care or child welfare systems—we bring that commitment to life by combining trauma-informed instruction, rigorous academics, and social-emotional curricula to support all our students.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is responsible for the effective and compliant design and implementation of Haven Academy's multiple operational and strategic functions. The COO supervises the Operations Manager, HR Coordinator, School Nurses, and Director level positions and several major vendors.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) reporting directly to the Head of School/Executive Director, the Chief Operating Officer (COO ) will play a key role in leading and optimizing the school's operations and will serve as a vital thought partner to the Head of School/ED and other senior leaders. This individual must also be willing to roll up their sleeves and do what's necessary to help realize the school's mission.

Strategic Planning and Execution

• Collaborate with the Head of School/Executive Director and other members of the SLT to establish, refine and execute the organization's growth.
• Translate strategy into a clear and shared vision for excellent operations and partner with leaders on their team to translate that vision into actionable plans for delivering/optimizing on all operations-related priorities.
• Take real ownership and pride in data management and presentation, and help to manage the operational and administrative staff to think about new ways to gain efficiency, build brand and support the mission.

Business Operations and Financial Reporting

• Understand and supervise the business functions of the school, including budgeting; monitoring and reporting income, expenses, investments, and cash flow; maintenance of appropriate records; and assisting the school's auditors.
• Support all employment and human relations matters, such as salaries, benefits, job assignments, job orientation, performance evaluation, retentions and dismissals, personnel records, employee handbooks, etc.
• Work with the Board of Directors, Executive Director, Principals, legal counsel and other key stakeholders to ensure that operational policies, practices and procedures are in place to ensure compliance and to maximize organizational effectiveness.

Program Operations

• Provide leadership, guidance, and coaching to organizational leaders responsible for school-based operations (facilities, facilities maintenance, safety, supplies, food services, transportation, external affairs, human resources).
• Provide guidance and oversight to the HR Director to ensure that all HR systems, including hiring and onboarding of staff, benefits selection and management, employee payroll data, maintenance of HR records and staff handbook are effective and efficient.
• Work with the Operations Team and other Haven Academy staff to design and implement highly effective communication systems that positively impact organizational effectiveness, staff relations and constituent satisfaction.
• Provide guidance and oversight to Haven Academy' school nurses to ensure that practices and procedures are in place which provide for a safe and healthy learning environment.

Talent and Workforce Development

• Support Director of Recruitment to design and implement highly effective staff recruitment and onboarding systems, with a strong commitment to mission and educational equity.

• Support recruitment for the organization, building connections and tapping into a variety of networks in order to build a pipeline of high potential candidates.

• Collaborate with senior leaders to establish career pathways within the organization and provide level definitions for each team so that all staff members have a sense of their potential to grow within the organization.

• Work strategically across teams to implement and support efforts focused on retention and succession planning.

Advancement and Partnerships

• Supervise the school's development efforts in identifying, cultivating, thanking, and communicating with past and prospective donors (in partnership with NY Foundling Development Team)
• Promote and actualize points of partnership with NY Foundling.
• Strategize to connect the organization with other like-minded organizations and child welfare agencies.
• Establish Haven Academy's presence at local and national conferences and be responsible for building the organization's brand.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree Required, Master's in a related field preferred.
• Minimum 7 years' professional work experience and demonstrated success in business or non-profit management.
• Exceptional communication skills and proven ability to design and implement solutions to complex problems involving multiple stakeholder groups.
• Demonstrate ethical behavior and confidentiality of information about students and staff in a school environment and in the community.
• Firm commitment to building a team culture of high expectations, support, inclusion, and continuous learning; able to solicit and incorporate feedback and ideas from team members at all levels
• Demonstrable track record of developing, implementing, and managing business systems and processes to support a complex, and growing organization
• Ability to exercise excellent judgment in decision-making by leveraging stakeholder input and data

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Salary and benefits will be competitive and commensurate with experience.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

At Haven Academy, diversity, equity, and inclusion are a matter of mission. We stand for voice and choice.

We strive to create empathetic educational spaces that serve as playgrounds for exploration and self-discovery, so that we can more fully engage in critical reflection of the larger world and fashion one that is more inclusive, responsive, and equitable for all.

We believe that our team should reflect the vast diversity of the communities we serve, and that diverse voices should be elevated and intentionally integrated into our work.