Lead, Service Delivery Management
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AI Summary
Job Overview
The Lead, Service Delivery Management formerly known as 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 Lead, Service Delivery Management 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 at each school will work directly with principals, directors, and school leadership teams to ensure schools are operationally strong, well‑supported, and positioned to serve students successfully.
The Lead 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 Lead works in a number of cross-functional teams identified as key members to accomplish school goals. This includes 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.
Role Purpose
Lead operational execution across multiple schools and leadership teams.
Ensure compliance with regulations and contract requirements, operational efficiency, and sustainability at scale.
Strengthen school leader effectiveness, stability, and succession
Enable enrollment growth through operational readiness while maintaining a focus on student experience and success.
Partner with SSP to translate account strategy into disciplined, scalable execution
Support academic improvement by holding school leaders accountable to initiatives established by the Academic Outcomes team who holds academic accountability.
Ensure Connections Academy model is implemented with fidelity and overall alignment to Pearson values.
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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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—without assuming primary ownership of those stakeholder relationships.
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.
As the School Leader’s manager, 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.
6. 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.
Key Competencies
Ability to lead leaders across multiple organizations
Enterprise-scale operational judgment
Cross-functional influence and alignment
Capacity planning and sustainability thinking
Accountability-driven coaching
Risk identification and mitigation
Executive communication and partnership
Success Indicators
Multiple schools operate compliantly and sustainably year over year
School leaders demonstrate strong execution discipline and stability
Leadership teams and staff experience improved clarity, consistency, and predictability
Enrollment growth is supported by strong operational readiness
Operational risks are identified and mitigated before impacting continuity
SSP and DSO partnership results in aligned, scalable account success
Requirements
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 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. Information on benefits can be found here.
Applications will be accepted through 7/24/26. This window may be extended depending on business needs.
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 TalentExperienceGlobalTeam@grp.pearson.com.
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