Senior Vice President, KF People & Operations

About the Organization 

KIPP Public Schools is a national network of tuition-free public charter schools that prepares students with the skills and confidence to create the future they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. We are a network of 279 schools, nearly 16,500 educators, and nearly 210,000 students and alumni.

Our mission: Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world. 

Our vision: Every child grows up free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities. 

The KIPP Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports KIPP public charter schools across the country. The KIPP Foundation helps to develop outstanding educators to lead KIPP schools; provides tools and resources for excellent teaching and learning; promotes innovation; and facilitates the exchange of insights and ideas across KIPP and other public schools and organizations. 

About Our Values: 

Excellent Results for Students: We value results over effort and know that our work is not finished until all students thrive. We maintain high expectations for self, team, and students. We drive outcomes by operating with agility, removing barriers, differentiating support, and prioritizing student-centered solutions—especially for those at the margins. 

Collective Impact: We are one team. We win together. We embody a one-team mindset by working collaboratively across teams, aligning goals, and leveraging the strengths of all teammates. We build trust-based relationships and ensure inclusive decision-making by engaging those closest to the work. We provide clarity through simple, repeatable systems and goals that enable transformational outcomes. 

Courageous Action: Our belief in what we can achieve is unwavering, fueling our optimism and commitment to overcome any challenge. We demonstrate an unwavering belief in students' potential and a commitment to addressing systemic inequities. We approach challenges with resilience, a solutions-focused mindset, and adaptability. We foster a psychologically safe environment centered on trust and accountability where feedback is encouraged. We leverage data to reflect on progress, own setbacks, celebrate successes, and continuously improve to maximize impact. 

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About The Position 

The Senior Vice President (SVP), KF People & Ops is the senior leader responsible for the talent systems, norms, and operating practices that underpin a best-in-class performance culture at the KIPP Foundation—one that sets a high bar, holds leaders accountable for results, and equips teammates to thrive in meeting it. Partnering with executive leadership, the SVP designs and runs the systems that embed high performance into how KF hires, develops, evaluates, and rewards its people, enabling KF leaders to attract, develop, and retain top performers in their professional domains in support of the network's mission to deliver nation-leading educational outcomes for students. 

The SVP also leads KF operations and Network event functions that ensure the smooth planning, coordination, and execution of Network convenings that connect leaders across KIPP and design and execute the core processes required for KF as the coordinating body of the Network to function effectively. 

This role oversees three teams: KF Talent, Event Operations, and two Senior Directors of KF Operations, and ensures that KF talent & culture, Network events and organizational operations are tightly aligned to KIPP’s strategic priorities. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the SVP plays a critical role in shaping how the KIPP Foundation operates as a high‑functioning organization in service of regions, schools, and students, ensuring that teams have the clarity, capacity, systems, and support needed to do their best work. 

Responsibilities 

Set Organizational Vision and Strategy for Talent & Operations 

• Define and lead a cohesive strategy for KF culture, talent, and operations that builds a best-in-class performance culture and advances KIPP Foundation priorities in support of the One KIPP strategy across the KIPP Network. 

• Drive a performance culture through talent systems and growth and development work across KF; ensure talent systems effectively support attracting, developing, and retaining high‑performing, mission‑aligned staff. 

• Monitor organizational health indicators (e.g., employee engagement, skill development, process adoption, regional leader satisfaction, etc.) and drive improvements based on data and feedback  

• Serve as a thought partner to the COO and Leadership Team on organizational effectiveness, capacity, and long‑term sustainability. 

• Steward KIPP Foundation culture to ensure high quality talent is hired, retained, and thrives to serve KIPP regions and students; set vision for and drive the KF cultural moments (All Staff calls and convenings, comms, etc).  

• Manage and oversee KF Ops work through two Senior Directors including governance of 2030 plan, annual planning, and design and implementation of KF and Network processes (network feedback loop, KIPP Pulse, contact management, etc). 

Executive Leadership and Team Management 

• Lead, coach, and develop team members to ensure leaders set clear vision for their bodies of work and teams attain their goals. 

• Build a culture of accountability, learning, and continuous improvement across Talent and Operations teams. 

• Partner closely with Executive Team leaders to ensure all teams embody and drive toward the vision for a thriving KIPP Foundation.  

• Ensure alignment and tight coordination across KF Talent, KF Ops, and Event Operations workstreams in pursuit of Foundation-wide goals. 

Personnel Leadership, Risk Management, and Escalations 

• Serve as the senior escalation point for complex or high-risk personnel issues 

• Exercise sound judgment and decision-making authority on complex people matters, escalating to the COO and/or General Counsel when issues carry enterprise, legal, or reputational risk.  

• Identify systemic people risks or patterns across teams (e.g., capacity strain, role clarity, leadership gaps) and proactively address them through organizational or talent strategy adjustments. 

Change Leadership and Enterprise Execution 

• Serve as the primary people-and-operations leader for major KF shifts (strategy, structure, ways of working), ensuring change is well-sequenced, communicated, and sustained. 

• Anticipate risks and remove barriers to execution across teams and functions. 

• Represent teams you manage as well as the larger KF team in executive decision‑making forums. 

Skills and Mindsets 

• Mission and Student Focus: Demonstrates passion and commitment to KIPP’s mission and possesses the desire and ability to uphold KIPP’s core values (Focus on Excellent Results, Collective Impact, and Courageous Action)  

• Self-Management: Demonstrated record of setting and achieving ambitious goals for their departments in complex or ambiguous environment; uses data, research, and analysis to set a high bar of excellence for goal setting; effectively distributes and redistributes work among direct reports, teammates, and teams to optimizes goal attainments; effectively sets and fosters a culture that enables and celebrates teammates’ achievements and goals attainment. 

• Work Management: Sets a clear vision that ensures alignment of the teams work to organizational goals. Effectively prioritize and deliver work products that ensure sustainability and scalability of work.  Develops and implements agile project plans that ensure cross functional collaboration and resource sharing to ensure achieving organizational goals; create and ensure systems are in place for knowledge management. 

• People Management & Development: Effectively ensures strong professional development and coaching for teammates directly and through layers.  Proficient in the mechanics of succession management and performance management for teammates.  Able to coach manager of managers and skilled at fostering a positive team culture in which teammates feel ownership and accountability for their own and the broader team’s work and results..   

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Effectively uses data to shape teamwide decisions and the learning agenda or evaluation of a function or significant initiative.  Able to generate, implement, and evaluate solutions with a focus on scalability and sustainability. 

• Communication and Change Management: Effectively articulates case for change to multiple functions, teams, and/or offices through clear and compelling presentations, tailoring communications and engagement approach for different audiences.  Effectively translates vision into actionable plans among across team stakeholders; Champions KF and networkwide change with all stakeholders. 

Experience and Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred. 

• 12+ years of experience leading in a complex organization with at least 10+ years experience in Talent and/or Operations functions; must have at least 5 years overseeing Talent function. 

• Proven track record of overseeing multiple functions and senior leaders in a matrixed environment. 

• Strong experience operating as a senior partner to executive leadership. 

Work Conditions 

• Travel requirements: High Travel: 21-30% (40-60 days per year) 

• Job Type: full-time exempt 

Location 

It is preferred, but not mandatory for this role to be based out of a KIPP Foundation office. This role has the option of working from a remote office full-time. KIPP Foundation offices are in NYC and Chicago. 

Compensation and Benefits 

In compliance with local law, we are disclosing the compensation, or a range thereof, for roles in locations where legally required. Actual salaries will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, and relevant experience. The salary range for this position is$249,600-$295,000. In addition, KIPP Foundation provides a variety of benefits to employees, including:  

• 25 holidays for + 18 days additional flexible PTO days (flexible PTO increases to 23 days for years 3 and 4 and to 28 days for years 5+). 

• 100% paid parental leave 

• 100% coverage of the premium for employee and 75% for employee + family’s medical/dental/vision plans. 

• Wellness benefits such as fitness reimbursements, discounted tickets to theme parks/attractions, backup care support for children and adults/elders, and our employee assistance program 

• Finance Security benefits include such as a 401K retirement plan with 4% match, employer-sponsored legal plans, life/disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts