Director Of Business Operations, Office Of Teaching & Learning

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600+ schools and employing approximately 40,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.
The Office of Teaching and Learning (T & L) provides school administrators and teachers with the professional learning and resources needed to engage students in rich and rewarding learning experiences. The Office is comprised of various academic and support departments, which work collaboratively to support student growth and progress in meeting or exceeding state standards for academic excellence.
Job Summary:
The Director of Business Operations will support the Chief of Teaching & Learning (T&L) in ensuring sound office operations. This position will lead all T&L policy and operations-related responsibilities across departments and will provide oversight to all T&L-related budgets, staffing and procurement processes, and board items. The Director of Business Operations will lead a team of direct reporting staff, including Business Operations and data professionals, providing budget, procurement, payroll, data and communications support to departments across T&L. Additionally, the Director of Business Operations will participate in and facilitate the Office's strategic planning and continuous improvement processes. This position will report to the Chief Teaching & Learning Officer.
The Director of Business Operations will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Oversight of all T&L (and related sub-department) budgets, including monitoring budget spending, budget creation, and procurement requests
• Oversight of T&L position management processes, including but not limited to -
  • Partnering with T&L leadership to track vacancies, manage position numbers, maintain T&L org charts, facilitate Chief reviews and approvals
  • Partnering with the Talent, Budget Management, and Law offices to ensure compliance with all relevant policies and practices
• Lead office-related procurement processes, including supporting T&L department leaders in:
  • Gathering business requirements and information to develop and support quotes and/or bids/public requests (ie: RFP, CPOR, RFQs, etc.)
  • Partnering with Procurement to produce well-written scope documents for quotes and/or bids/ public requests (ie: RFP, CPOR, RFQs, etc.)
  • Establishing priorities and target dates with key stakeholders (e.g., department managers, Procurement, and the Law Office) to ensure projects are completed on time
  • Managing supplier contracts, performance, compliance and continuous improvement initiatives, in partnership with contract owners, to reduce costs, receive better service, and eliminate waste
  • Proactive identification of strategic initiatives for purchasing forecasts and the potential transition of terminating agreements
• Lead Office policy processes, including but not limited to:
  • Serve as process subject matter expert for T&L department-level policy owners
  • Serving as the main point of contact for cross-office policy-related communication
  • Supporting the development of systems to monitor policy implementation
  • Managing all steps related to the drafting, revising, and approval of policy
• Lead, develop, and manage the performance of a team of Business Operations, data, and communication professionals, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement
• Facilitate strategic planning and continuous improvement (CI) processes across T&L departments
  • Manage usage of the districtwide CI platform and ensure department leads regularly progress monitor goals
  • Ensure office and department-level goals are aligned to budget and staffing allocations
  • Provide quarterly progress monitoring updates for the Senior Leadership Team
• Other duties or workstreams as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Director of Business Operations must possess the following qualifications:
Education Required:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
• Advanced degree in a related field is strongly preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum of seven (7) years of professional operations, budget, and procurement management experience, including the following, is required:
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience within a large, complex organization
• Minimum of three (3) years of supervisory/management experience with responsibility for leading a team of direct reports

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• High levels of operational expertise, integrity, honesty, credibility, and the courage to make difficult yet necessary decisions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to facilitate presentations to a variety of audiences
• Strong leadership and team building skills, e.g. ability to develop high-performing teams united around a clear vision for meeting individual and collective goals and achieving departmental success
• Ability to articulate a vision, set high standards, and effectively guide schools and principals in the realization of expectations set
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with a variety of constituent groups, including external partners, to ensure the entire system operates in the most effective manner possible
• Effective prioritization and time management capabilities, including the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail, driving them to completion and achieving success with high-quality results
• Excellent project management skills; capable of meeting established deadlines, adapting/responding to problems and changes, and exceeding customer expectations
• Strong knowledge of procurement processes; capable of producing scope documents for Bids or RFXs following quality writing standards including readability, consistency, and tone.
• Effective strategic planning capabilities, including the ability to establish long-term vision and goals in alignment with the district's priorities, and align/manage activities toward goal fulfillment.
• Knowledge of operations, budget/finance, management, and organizational development.
• Ability to define problems, analyze data, and outline valid conclusions and action steps
• Keen awareness of the moral imperative to work in the best interest of all children

Conditions of Employment
As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. "Up-to-date" on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.