Director, Business Operations
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 340,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 36,000 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 department of Nutrition Support Services (NSS) offers all CPS students breakfast, lunch, and afterschool meals at no charge. Meals are offered every school day, during Saturday-school programs, and during the summer. Meals comply with nutrition standards set forth in the USDA’s Child Nutrition Program meal patterns. The department of Nutrition Support Services provides a healthy, high quality meal program that supports a joyful and equitable daily learning experience for all students.
Job Summary\:
Reporting to the Executive Director of Nutrition Support Services, the Director of Business Operations directs, supports, and develops the operational and financial strategy, processes, and continuous improvement of NSS including but not limited to the areas of finance, procurement and vendor management, communications, staffing and employee support, and data reporting and technical systems support. This role is responsible for supporting procurement activities and supporting vendor relationships and implementing financial and operational process improvements.
The Director, Business Operations will be held accountable for the following responsibilities\:
Directly manages the NSS budget and oversees all supporting business operations activities, including but not related to all NSS operational, financial, procurement, talent, and data processes.
Oversees the NSS position management processes. Partners with Staffing Manager and NSS leadership to track vacancies and manage position numbers from a budgetary perspective; Maintains NSS organizational charts and position descriptions; Facilitates Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer budget reviews and approvals
Supervises, develops, and manages the performance of the NSS business operations team; Ensures the business operations team adheres to all NSS and District policies, procedures, and standards
Ensures adherence to audit procedures for meal claiming and counting, such as providing supporting documentation for financial audits and those required by Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and/or the USDA
Creates and distributes financial and operational reports and data visualizations for diverse uses and audiences, including senior District leadership and the public view
Oversees the submissions process of grant applications, grant management, and ensures fiscal compliance with grant rules and regulations, including but not limited to overseeing the processing of monthly claims, providing programmatic data to support the department’s dashboard and survey reporting requirements, and providing financial support for programmatic audits from the state
Ensures the department has the correct operational systems in place and each system and business process is set up to maximize claims and revenue while streamlining processes, such as directly overseeing the development and maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and systems; Trains, plans and coordinates with the team to maintain the department’s technology roadmap in partnership with ITS; Develops and maintains the department’s dashboard(s) and the point of sale (POS) system
Oversees the analysis of department data to inform decisions and monitor progress; Drives improvements to data infrastructure and resources; Develops and maintains indicators to measure the success of nutrition initiatives in the District
Partners with the Executive Director to facilitate strategic planning and continuous improvement processes across NSS; Manages NSS usage of districtwide CI system; Ensures department level goals are aligned to budget and staffing allocations
Other duties and workstreams as assigned