Description
Baker Demonstration School, an independent progressive PK-8 school on Chicago’s North Shore, is seeking an exemplary Associate Director of Operations. The ADO plays a critical and strategic role in advancing the mission of the School. The ADO is responsible for the following: Day-to-Day Operations, Human Resources, Facilities, IT, and Risk Management. The ADO is a member of the Finance and Operations Leadership Team. The role works closely with appropriate Board committees, the Business Associate, Director of Finance, Business Office Associate and Director of Admissions. As importantly, we seek candidates with a demonstrated commitment to developing one's own cultural competency, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
General Duties and Responsibilities
- Collaborates with the Advancement team to ensure all gifts and pledges are recorded accurately and distributed appropriately.
- Provides accurate and timely operations and Facility reports to the Head of School, Leadership Team, Board Committees and the Board of Trustees, enabling them to make decisions for the good of the school.
- Leads the efforts and coordinates with appropriate school leaders to implement financial and operational risk management policies and maintain appropriate levels of insurance to protect the property and cover the liability of the school.
- Identifies areas of opportunity for continuous improvement and leads large scale project initiatives for efficiency improvements through the utilization of technology and streamlined processes.
- Participates in department and school task forces and committees as needed.
- Oversee updating NAIS & State of Illinois surveys and managing the databases.
- Performs other duties as required.
Operations
- Reviews vendor and facilities contracts with appropriate leaders (i.e. janitorial, HVAC).
- Collaborates with the Director of Admissions regarding tuition assistance / family scholarship grant allocations.
Human Resources
- Drives strategic planning around faculty retention and recruitment.
- Partners with the Associate Director of Finance to provide oversight for HR responsibilities.
Facilities & IT
- Supervises the outsourced facilities and maintenance crew.
- In collaboration with the Facilities Manager and Head of School, develops long term and preventative maintenance plans, ensuring that safety is the top priority.
- Oversees the IT professional who manages the school’s technology assets and infrastructure and helps develop technology acquisition cycle.
Requirements
- Ability to simultaneously manage a wide variety of issues, situations and people.
- Detail-oriented, with excellent time-management skills.
- Ability to be autonomous, self-motivated, and driven, as well as having a team approach.
- Outstanding communication skills, ability to communicate with all constituents including: Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, maintenance staff, families, vendors, etc.
- Technologically adept with advanced skills in MS Office Suite products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, etc.), web applications such as Google Suite, video conferencing software, and database management software, knowledgeable about QuickBooks and Paylocity is a plus; ability to master common automated systems, and confidently learn new technology.
- Open and collaborative management style with a commitment to relationship building with faculty and staff.
- A high degree of integrity and ethics, with an unwavering commitment to confidentiality.
- Strong customer service orientation and the ability to represent Baker in a professional manner.
- Growth-oriented, flexible, unafraid of innovating.
Organizational Relationships/ Reporting Structure/ Salary Range
The Associate Director of Operations reports to the Business Office Associate and Head of School.
Salary Range $55,000-65,000
The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements.
Qualifications & Skills
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university in Business Administration or related field required.
- Experience with non-profits or independent schools is highly desirable.
- Strong experience in budgeting, partnership development, and grant writing.
- Strong attention to detail and understanding of nuanced school environment situations.
- Previous supervisory experience required/strongly preferred.
- Possesses high energy, a strong work ethic, and a positive attitude.
- Collaborative team member.
- We seek candidates with a demonstrated commitment to developing one's own cultural competency, equity, inclusion, and belonging
School Information
Founded in 1918, Baker Demonstration School is an independent day school committed to providing an exemplary Preschool, Elementary and Middle School progressive education to our 200 students. Our students come from Chicago, Evanston, Wilmette and other North Shore communities. We believe that children learn best in an inclusive, creative community that encourages individual risk-taking and values learning by doing. Baker’s experiential approach nurtures the development of the whole child enabling each student to be fully prepared for intellectual, artistic, physical and social/emotional challenges well beyond Baker.
At Baker:
- We cultivate our students’ intrinsic motivation to learn and their active participation in the learning process
- We foster excellence through critical thinking and integrated connections across academic and artistic endeavors
- We promote collaboration while developing leadership capacity
- We foster citizenship by encouraging students to develop self-awareness and compassion for others
- We celebrate individual, familial and cultural identities and graduate students with an understanding and respect for diversity, equity and inclusivity
Application Materials
Candidates should submit a letter of interest, resume and three professional references to employment@bakerdemschool.org.
Non-Discrimination and Disability Policy
Baker Demonstration School is an equal opportunity employer and makes all employment decisions, including those related to recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, and recognition of individuals on the basis of their ability and job related qualifications and without regard to race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or any other classification prescribed under applicable federal, state, or local law. We actively seek diversity among faculty and administration as well as among students. The school complies with the law regarding reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application/interview process are requested to contact the School in order to arrange such accommodation.
Job Types: Full-time, Contract
Pay: $55,000.00 - $65,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Employee discount
- Flexible schedule
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Professional development assistance
- Tuition reimbursement
- Vision insurance
Schedule:
Experience:
- Operations management: 3 years (Required)
Work Location: In person