SY 25-26 Founding Director of School Operations

Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA) Charter High School is a community high school in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We opened our doors in August 2013 and we now have 498 students in grades 9-12. We graduated our first class of seniors in June 2017 and our cumulative graduation rate is 94%. Our students come from more than forty different middle schools, including traditional public, parochial, and public charter schools. Some are advanced students coming from magnet schools; others are beginning English Language Learners. What they all have in common is a desire to succeed; MESA students come to school every day, ready to work.

As an organization, MESA is entering a new phase. Based on its success, MESA is proud to be entrusted with opening a second school in District 20. Serving the diverse families of Borough Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Sunset Park, and Dyker Heights, MESA 2 will be the first public 9-12 school built in the area in over 80 years.

We are welcoming 125 9th graders in August of 2025 and will "grow up" with them by adding subsequent grades each year. We need a rockstar Director of Operations to launch our South Brooklyn campus with a preference for someone who wants to found a school and humbly serve this community for years to come.

What makes us different is our staff. This year, 42% of staff will be in at least their fifth year at MESA! MESA teachers believe…

• that the greatest contribution we can make to social justice is to give a young person control of their destiny
• committed people, when given autonomy, will find innovative and creative ways to make change
• that being a great educator takes intellectual preparation and a strong sense of personal accountability to produce high quality work.

What makes us different is our model:

• Intentional Grading—MESA uses a standards-based grading system, which makes data understandable and accessible. This enables teachers to create targeted, focused instruction, and helps students understand and track their own progress. MESA teachers love data or at the very least, aren’t afraid of it!
• Intentional Support—MESA teachers have a minimum of rote administrative duties in order to better focus on planning and instruction. Teachers receive ongoing coaching while dedicated time for co-teaching, department and grade team planning are built into the school schedule.
• Intentional Professional Development—MESA has a comprehensive professional development calendar that includes sessions on instructional practices, school culture as well as diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
• Intentional School Culture—MESA’s advisory model connects small groups of entering freshmen with a teacher-advisor for all 4 years of high school. Advisors provide guidance on academic progress and are mentors, facilitators and positive influencers. Students are recognized by their teachers regularly for academic achievement and effort and are incentivized to meet school expectations around attendance, punctuality and preparedness.
• Intentional Relationships—MESA knows that all caregivers want their children to succeed. MESA enlists families as partners in their child’s education through regular communication, workshops, and access to student attendance information and grades. More than 85% of MESA caregivers attend the initial parent-teacher conference of the school year.
• Intentional Scheduling—MESA’s school day starts and ends later than most DOE schools, as research indicates that a late start helps high-school students succeed. The calendar and earlier start allows for “Intersession,” during Spring Break where students receive enrichment, skill remediation, or Regents preparation.

Job Responsibilities

The Director of Operations reports directly to the Principal and is responsible for ensuring the effective management of the non-instructional functions of the school. The Director of Operations manages admissions, facilities, student records, food services, Human Resources, Vendors, as well as all academic scheduling and grades. The Director of Operations serves on the Leadership team and supervises the operations team as it grows over time. Responsibilities include:

• Maintains system to address facility needs.
• Manages all classroom spaces, including set-up and break-down at beginning and end of year, respectively.
• Oversees school environment to ensure that it is ready and safe for students on a daily basis.
• Works closely with the Principal and finance team to ensure development of and adherence to annual budget.
• Ensure Operations team maintains warm “customer service” atmosphere, welcoming to teachers, families, and visitors.
• Oversees all standardized testing at school.
• Oversees all scheduling and programming of classes, manage all academic data, generate report cards.
• Works closely with the Principal to organize and analyze academic data.
• Manages contracted services including finance and technology. “Owns” relationships with these partners and is responsible for ensuring that MESA’s standards of quality are maintained.
• Manages all student records, including enrollment and lottery protocol.
• With School Director and Co-Executive Directors, manages MESA’s annual report.
• Serves as MESA’s lead on annual audit, working with contracted finance office and accounting services.
• Manages school meals
• Ensures compliance with Department of Health standards
• Oversees all compliance report via NYCDOE and NYSED, including BEDS reporting. Tracks information and announcements from Charter Schools Weekly email and ensures prompt follow-through on those.
• “Owns” relationship with Powerschools, e-file, cabinet or any other SIS vendor, working closely with Senior Manager of Data and Analytics. Responsible for all exporting of data, maintenance of data systems, and troubleshooting.
• Oversees handling of all Human Resources administration, including all paperwork for new hires and exit interviews and paperwork for terminations
• Selects and manages relationships with vendors/brokers and manages enrollment of health plans and retirement plans for all staff
• Selects and manages relationships with vendors/brokers for school-wide insurance policies per approval by the Co-Executive Directors
• Manages all compliance responsibilities including Titles I-V, teacher certification and fingerprinting, safety, fire drill coordinator, health, software compliance, COBRA letters, student lottery, annual Sexual Harassment seminar, and any legal issues
• Manages compliance related to By-Laws and charter renewal
• Other duties, as assigned by the Principal

Qualifications:

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree, Master’s Degree or other advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in operations leadership roles, with direct experience in NYC school operations.
• Self-starter with unparalleled sense of initiative. You welcome the opportunity to solve thorny problems that have bedeviled others.
• Deep sense of personal accountability and willingness to foster accountability in others. Eagerness to “own” all of MESA’s operations across all domains.
• Strong ability to communicate and develop relationships.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across multiple campuses and teams.
• Proven track-record of leading and developing employees and teams.
• Proven track-record of high achievement across operational functions (e.g. HR, finance, compliance) and commitment to accountability.
• Belief in and alignment with MESA’s core beliefs and educational philosophy.
• Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Fujianese speakers are a strong plus.

Salary: $100,000 - $125,000 based on experience.

To apply: Please email your resume and cover letter explaining specifically why you would be a good fit for MESA to Arthur Samuels, Executive Director, at hiring@mesacharter.org with the subject heading “25-26 Founding Director of Operations” APPLY BY EMAIL ONLY. Due to the nature of the position and the volume of applications received, MESA will not be able to reply to all submissions. MESA will contact candidates with next steps.

MESA is committed to attracting, hiring and retaining a diverse and inclusive staff. It is MESA’s policy to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, national origin, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status, uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.