[Hiring] Manager, Service Delivery Management @Pearson

Role Description

The Director of School Operations (DSO) is a senior, enterprise-level leadership role responsible for operational excellence across a portfolio of Connections Academy schools. The DSO focuses on strengthening the effectiveness of school leaders and leadership teams through hands-on partnership, coaching, and operational problem-solving. This role directly manages the primary school leader and works directly with principals, directors, and school leadership teams to ensure schools are operationally strong, well-supported, and positioned to serve students successfully.

The DSO uses a multi-layer leadership model to ensure alignment and execution of school operations to PVS standards and values. This is accomplished by supporting operational systems, compliance structures, and leadership accountability through school-based leadership teams. The scope of this role is inherently complex and high-impact, requiring a majority of time spent working directly with schools, the ability to lead leaders, operate at scale, and balance competing priorities across multiple schools and PVS simultaneously.

The DSO works in a number of cross-functional teams identified as key members to accomplish school goals, including close partnership with the School Success Partner (SSP), who holds overall accountability for school/account success and continuity of operations. In addition, they provide critical support to operationalize and hold leaders accountable for academic improvement strategies identified by the Academic Outcomes Teams.

Core Responsibilities

• Portfolio-Level School Operations Leadership
  • Directly manage and coach multiple school leaders across a portfolio of schools.
  • Indirectly support and influence entire leadership teams and school staff through strong systems, expectations, and execution discipline.
  • Establish consistent operational expectations across schools while allowing for local nuances where required.
  • Hold school leaders accountable for execution of:
    • Academic action plans and initiatives
    • Compliance and charter/SOA requirements
    • School year cycle milestones and operational deliverables
  • Monitor operational health, engagement trends, and compliance indicators across schools to identify risks and required interventions.
  • Provide structured, data-informed coaching to leaders to improve execution at scale.
• Operational Sustainability & Enrollment Enablement
  • Work closely with schools to ensure they are operationally prepared to support enrollment growth.
  • Validate leadership capacity, staffing structures, onboarding processes, scheduling, and systems readiness at each school.
  • Identify school operational constraints that could limit growth, persistence, or staff sustainability.
  • Strengthen retention-supporting school practices that indirectly impact student and staff experience.
  • Identify risks to charter stability and renewal readiness and work across PVS departments to mitigate risks.
• School Year Cycle & Operational Readiness at Scale
  • Ensure consistent execution of school year cycle activities across multiple schools, including:
    • Calendar and handbook alignment
    • Annual policy and process reviews
    • Summer school planning
  • Identify strain points affecting leaders and staff and coordinate mitigations across the portfolio of schools.
• Leadership Management & Capacity Building
  • Serve as a leader of leaders, managing school principals responsible for large, complex organizations.
  • Establish clear performance expectations tied to operational excellence, compliance, and execution of strategic (academic, financial, etc.) initiatives.
  • Conduct performance evaluations and manage development plans for school leaders.
  • Lead hiring and onboarding of school leaders.
  • Drive succession planning to ensure leadership stability across schools.
  • Facilitate leadership development that cascades through leadership teams and school staff.
• Board, Authorizer & External Partner Support
  • Establish and maintain working relationships with boards, authorizers, districts, and other key partners as a key account team member, supporting the school leader and SSP by reinforcing trust, continuity, and effective communication.
  • Support school leaders in effectively engaging with boards, authorizers, districts, and other key partners.
  • Partner with school leaders to prepare for board, authorizer, and key partner meetings by supporting agenda development, data review, school performance narratives, and follow-up actions.
  • Support and contribute to the delivery of formal performance reviews of the school leader to the board, ensuring reviews are evidence-based, clearly articulated, and aligned to agreed-upon goals and governance expectations.
• Change Management & Continuous Improvement
  • Support operational change across multiple schools and leadership teams as PVS launches new products and services.
  • Ensure adoption of enterprise systems, processes, and initiatives while working to minimize disruption to all stakeholders.
  • Contribute to continuous refinement of the School Operations operating model.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years proven leadership experience as a Principal or equivalent level required
• Advanced degree in Education or Management is required
• Virtual school leadership required
• Flexible
• Innovative
• Comfortable with technology
• Strong communications skills
• Data-driven and results-focused
• Ability to travel frequently

Compensation

Compensation at Pearson is influenced by factors including skill set, experience, and location. The full-time salary range for this role is $130,000 - $140,000. This position is eligible for Pearson’s annual incentive program.

Application Information

Applications will be accepted through 11/13/26. This window may be extended depending on business needs.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law.

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