Director of Operations

We are at an exciting moment in Ark Schools’ evolution. With a strong network of great schools, we are looking to grow and need to make sure that our support to schools is of the highest quality, enabling principals to focus on continuing to drive up outcomes for every child. The Ark Schools Director of Operations will be responsible for the oversight and leadership of all operating systems and organisational structures necessary to ensure excellent services and operational support is provided to our schools, across IT, HR and estates.

The Director of Operations will report into Managing Director of Ark Schools. This role is located in EdCity, West London with flexible working arrangements on a permanent basis working full time.

Please note that the deadline is Monday 16^th June at 9am, with in-person interviews the following day or on Tuesday 24^th June.

Key Responsibilities:

• Ensure effective, efficient and high-quality operational services are delivered to the network of schools
• Leadership of a large team, including each head of department/area, to ensure smooth delivery of the day to day running of each operational area
• Lead the implementation of annual organisational goals and objectives for the operations teams, ensuring these are clearly communicated and understood
• Lead the strategic overview and design (including change management) of the operating models and organisational structures across the network
• Lead the strategic development of core processes, systems and services across the network, ensuring they are of an excellent standard and meet the needs of schools and the central function
• Work closely with the CEO, CFO and other senior team members to ensure the appropriate division of responsibilities across the Ark and Ark Schools
• Report to the Ark Schools Board and Risk and Audit Committee on operational issues and strategic changes

Key Requirements:

• Right to work in the UK
• Qualified to degree or equivalent
• Minimum 5 years’ experience at director level across a multi academy trust or equivalent
• Experience of overseeing the operations of a limited company or charity including IT/technology and/or human resources
• Experience of leading high-performing cross-functional teams
• Experience of developing and delivering efficiencies and challenging ways of working to identify ways to achieve this
• Strategic mindset with the ability to innovate, continuously improve and ensure the organisation is always improving and developing
• Strong analytical and numerical skills; ability to quickly assimilate and interpret financial and non-financial data and use it for strategic thinking
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proven influencing and negotiation skills
• An experienced and confident senior leader with a proven ability to lead and implement change effectively and sustainably
• Ability to probe, challenge and question appropriately and strive for continual improvement with the confidence and experience to make commercial judgements
• Enjoys working in a fast-paced, ambitious organisation

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays.
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year.
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year.
• Our flexitime policy allows you to work your hours around our core hours of 10.00 - 16.00, helping you prioritise your work-life balance and personal commitments. In addition to our current flexible working arrangements, employees can request to work fully remotely for up to 10 consecutive working days a year, whether this be in the UK or abroad.
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform.
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests.

Ark is an education charity that exists to make sure that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a great education and real choices in life. Our network of 39 schools reaches traditionally underserved communities in Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth. We educate 30,000 pupils and have nearly 3,000 teaching staff across our network. We also incubate and scale innovative ventures, which we roll out beyond our network of schools for the benefit of teachers, pupils and the education system as a whole. Current Ventures include Ark Curriculum Plus, which equips teachers with the subject expertise needed to ensure students succeed, and Ark Start, a growing chain of nurseries offering affordable, high-quality early years education.

Recently, Ark moved to new offices at EdCity – a unique not-for-profit development in West London, in partnership with Hammersmith & Fulham council. EdCity is designed to bring mission-aligned organisations together to focus on improving the lives of children, especially through education. It offers leased offices, a range of venues for training and events, and an innovation hub for the education sector to connect, collaborate and learn together.