Director of Operations Fellow

At Uncommon Schools, we know running exceptional schools takes more than great

instruction—it also takes exemplary operations! Uncommon Schools' operations leaders work passionately to ensure that our faculty maximizes time and energy on student achievement. They design, implement, and refine systems that anticipate the needs of the school community. As service-oriented leaders, they tackle problems, share standard methodologies across campuses, and respond to urgent needs. They partner to build an academic and cultural environment that supports our ultimate goal: ensuring that every student will earn a college degree.

The Director of Operations Fellow is a full-time position that prepares you to become a Director of Operations (DOO) of an Uncommon school. As DOO, you will lead a school in partnership with the Principal, working together to ensure your students receive an exemplary education.

The DOO Fellowship is based on a foundation of four core elements that are aligned to the competencies of Uncommon leaders. Each element is designed to build Fellows’ capacity towards becoming effective DOOs. These include Professional Development, Experiential Learning, Practical Application and Reflective Practice.

The DOO Fellowship typically lasts one year; however, the length of time will vary based on open positions and DOO Fellow readiness. Fellows should expect to work in multiple locations and gradespans within the region. Fellow placement is based on the region’s needs as well as Fellows’ growth areas and matching them with host DOOs to best support their development.

Professional Development

All Fellows will attend a series of professional development workshops throughout the

Fellowship. The subject matter of these workshops is grounded in the leadership competencies that DOOs are evaluated and developed on.

Experiential Learning

Feedback and coaching, especially when individualized, are critical tools that will support the Fellow’s growth as a leader. Fellows will engage in experiential learning activities, and receive feedback targeted at their individualized areas of growth. Experiential learning activities include: submission of weekly deliverables; on-site coaching with real-time feedback; and practice clinics where fellows will engage in case studies, role plays, and problem solving exercises.

Practical Application

Fellows are placed at an existing Uncommon school and serve as full-time members of the school's operations team. They engage in operations work at their host school, tackle school or regional-based operations projects, and conduct observations and analysis of operational systems. Fellows are responsible for completing a variety of pre-determined deliverables that expose them to all of the key components of DOO work. Practical application includes an Immersion in which the Fellow acts as DOO in place of their host DOO for 4-6 weeks. During this time, their host DOO is offsite and the Fellow is acting DOO and co-leads the school alongside the Principal.

Reflective Discourse

The Fellowship will create space at in-person sessions for reflective discourse, so that Fellows can learn from their own experiences and those of others in the cohort. Fellows will also be supported in developing a reflective practice, where they will codify their learning through written reflections and create plans to make their growth and development actionable.