[Hiring] Lead, Service Delivery Management @Pearson

Role Description

The Lead, School Operations Manager aka: Director of School Operations (DSO) is a senior, enterprise‑level leader responsible for driving operational excellence across a portfolio of Connections Academy schools. This role partners closely with school leaders to ensure schools are compliant, sustainable, and positioned to deliver strong student outcomes—at scale.

The DSO is a leader of leaders, directly managing school principals and working alongside leadership teams to strengthen execution, build leadership capacity, and ensure the Connections Academy model is implemented with fidelity. This is a highly visible, high‑impact role requiring strong judgment, the ability to operate across multiple schools simultaneously, and comfort navigating complexity in a fast‑moving environment.

The DSO works in close partnership with cross‑functional teams—including School Success, Academic Outcomes, Finance, HR, and Operations—to translate strategy into disciplined, scalable execution while maintaining a strong focus on student experience and long‑term sustainability.

What You’ll Do

• Lead Portfolio‑Level School Operations
  • Directly manage and coach multiple school principals across a portfolio of virtual schools
  • Establish clear operational expectations and accountability across schools while honoring local nuances
  • Monitor operational health, compliance indicators, and engagement trends to proactively identify risks
  • Hold school leaders accountable for execution of:
    • Academic improvement initiatives
    • Compliance, charter, and contract requirements
    • School‑year milestones and operational deliverables
  • Provide structured, data‑informed coaching to strengthen leadership effectiveness and execution discipline
• Enable Operational Sustainability & Enrollment Growth
  • Partner with schools to ensure operational readiness to support enrollment growth
  • Assess leadership capacity, staffing models, onboarding processes, scheduling, and systems readiness
  • Identify operational constraints that could impact growth, persistence, or staff sustainability
  • Strengthen retention‑supporting practices that improve student and staff experience
  • Proactively identify and mitigate risks related to charter stability and renewal readiness
• Drive School‑Year Readiness at Scale
  • Ensure consistent execution of school‑year cycle activities across multiple schools, including:
    • School calendars and handbooks
    • Annual policy and process reviews
    • Summer school planning
  • Identify pressure points impacting leaders and staff and coordinate mitigations across the portfolio
• Build Leadership Capacity & Succession
  • Serve as a leader of leaders, managing principals responsible for large, complex organizations
  • Set clear performance expectations tied to operational excellence and strategic initiatives
  • Conduct performance evaluations and support ongoing leader development
  • Lead hiring, onboarding, and succession planning for school leaders
  • Facilitate leadership development that cascades through leadership teams and staff
• Support Boards, Authorizers & External Partners
  • Support school leaders in engaging effectively with boards, authorizers, districts, and partners
  • Prepare leaders for meetings by supporting agenda development, data review, and performance narratives
  • Contribute to formal school leader performance reviews presented to boards, ensuring clarity and evidence‑based evaluation
• Lead Change & Continuous Improvement
  • Support schools through operational change as new products, services, and systems are introduced
  • Drive adoption of enterprise processes while minimizing disruption to schools
  • Contribute to continuous refinement of the School Operations operating model

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of proven leadership experience as a Principal or equivalent senior school leadership role
• Advanced degree in Education, Educational Leadership, or Management
• Demonstrated ability to lead leaders and operate effectively across multiple organizations
• Strong operational judgment and experience managing complexity at scale
• Excellent communication, executive presence, and relationship‑building skills
• Data‑driven mindset with a focus on results and accountability
• Comfort working in a technology‑enabled, virtual environment
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading or supporting virtual or blended schools
• Experience working with charter schools, authorizers, or boards
• Background in large‑scale or multi‑site educational operations

Benefits

• Compensation at Pearson is influenced by factors including skill set, experience, and location.
• The full-time salary range for this role is $140,000 - $150,000.
• This position is eligible for Pearson’s annual incentive program.

Company Description

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. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing [email protected].