About the Role

The Director of Operations & Team Management (internally known as Leader of CAP Team Management & Operations) leads and develops the team of CAP Associates and Financial Aid Managers who are responsible for all aspects of the college application process, including scholar-work and family inputs (e.g., financial aid information) across all high school campuses. This role is accountable for team performance and day-to-day execution, ensuring that work is delivered with clarity, urgency, consistency, and a high bar for quality across the full college access process.

This leader sets and reinforces expectations, accelerates improvement in staff performance, and ensures fidelity to the CAP model through consistent oversight, coaching, and intervention. They manage the team’s daily and weekly work, translating CAP’s broader timelines into clear priorities, tracking deliverables through completion, managing caseloads and capacity, and adjusting execution when scholar needs, school conditions, or deadlines shift.

Because CAP’s work is delivered within schools, this leader must understand and operate effectively within a fast-paced, high-accountability school culture. They ensure the team meets the expectations for professionalism, responsiveness, scholar engagement, classroom management, and adult accountability. They build credibility with School Leaders and navigate competing priorities and high-stakes situations with steadiness, sound judgment, and authority.

The Leader of CAP Team Management & Operations ensures that staff execute against the standards defined by the Leader of CAP Operations, Systems & Standards. They serve as the first line of quality assurance—reviewing materials as they are developed, identifying gaps, and requiring necessary revisions before the work advances to final review.

This role is also responsible for scholar and family engagement throughout the college access journey and manages complex related escalations, including admissions and financial aid issues.

Key Responsibilities

People Leadership & Performance

• Lead, coach, and develop CAP Associates and Financial Aid Managers, ensuring strong performance and consistent outcomes across campuses and scholar cohorts.
• Conduct regular observations, provide actionable feedback, and lead performance conversations to strengthen practice and accelerate improvement.
• Set clear expectations, address gaps quickly, and hold staff accountable for results.
• Ensure staff demonstrate strong scholar insistence, professionalism, responsiveness, organization, and follow-through.
• Build and model a culture of excellence, urgency, and accountability aligned with Success Academy’s winning adult culture.
• Identify individual and team development needs and partner with the Leader of CAP Systems & Standards on targeted training and craft-focused coaching.

Team Operations and Day-to-Day Delivery

• Own the day-to-day delivery of CAP work across all campuses and the full college access lifecycle.
• Translate CAP’s integrated timelines into clear daily and weekly priorities for CAP Associates and Financial Aid Managers.
• Monitor scholar and team deliverables for accuracy and timely submission.
• Oversee caseloads, staffing, and workload distribution to ensure consistent, high-touch scholar support.
• Adjust schedules and priorities when scholar needs, school conditions, or external deadlines change.
• Identify risks early and intervene before they cause missed deadlines or substandard work.
• Maintain clear priorities and rapid issue resolution during peak application, financial aid, and college commitment cycles.

Quality Oversight & Accountability

• Ensure CAP Associates and Financial Aid Managers consistently execute against the standards established by the Leader of CAP Operations, Systems & Standards.
• Conduct first-line reviews, identify gaps, and require timely revision before deliverables advance.
• Hold staff accountable for accuracy, timeliness, and adherence to established standards.
• Use recurring issues to inform coaching, training, and performance management.
• Ensure staff use AI-enabled tools in alignment with established workflows and without compromising accuracy, authenticity, rigor, or judgment.

Scholar & Family Engagement 

• Sustain scholar engagement and family investment throughout the CAP process.
• Ensure families understand CAP deliverables and reinforce scholar accountability at home
• Serve as the primary escalation point for scholar and family matters, addressing them directly and effectively.
• Ensure a consistent, high-quality scholar and family experience across campuses

School Partnership & Alignment 

• Build credible, productive partnerships with School Leaders, aligning on scholar support, classroom expectations, family engagement, and campus priorities while maintaining clear ownership of CAP execution.
• Ensure CAP Associates maintain strong classroom insistence and productive learning environments.
• Centralize school-facing CAP communication and provide School Leaders with clear visibility into scholar progress and emerging risks.
• Resolve areas of misalignment directly while maintaining a unified focus on scholar outcomes.

AI Integration & Continuous Improvement 

• Lead team adoption of AI-enabled tools and redesigned workflows.
• Ensure staff follow established protocols and use new systems effectively.
• Partner with the Leader of CAP Operations, Systems & Standards to resolve implementation challenges and identify opportunities for improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 5–8 years of management experience leading teams in fast-paced, high-expectation environments, including oversight of 10–15+ staff responsible for direct, front-line delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, develop, and rapidly improve staff performance, including setting clear expectations, addressing gaps quickly, and driving consistent outcomes.
• Track record of managing complex day-to-day execution in matrixed environments spanning several campuses, teams, workstreams, stakeholders, functions, and deadlines.
• Experience working in high-performing school environments or similarly demanding cultures with strong behavioral, professional, and performance expectations.
• Demonstrated ability to establish credibility with senior school-based and organizational leaders and navigate competing priorities, pushback, and difficult stakeholder dynamics with composure, sound judgment, and authority.
• Experience managing complex escalations involving scholars, families, clients, or other external stakeholders.
• Highly organized and execution-driven, with a disciplined approach to monitoring progress, identifying risks, and ensuring follow-through.
• Experience using data to monitor staff and scholar performance, identify gaps, and drive targeted interventions.
• Experience implementing or operating within AI-enabled or technology-supported workflows, with the ability to promote adoption while maintaining rigor and sound judgment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills across staff, families, senior leaders, and cross-functional partners.
• Mission-driven, with a demonstrated commitment to scholar outcomes and team performance.