Job Description
Chief of Operations
Position is for the 2026�2027 school year
CATEGORY: Administration / Executive Leadership
LOCATION: District Wide
RESPONSIBLE TO: Superintendent
CONTRACT: To be determined
SALARY: Executive Director pay scale / Board-approved salary schedule
Job Goal
Ensure that every CIPS school and department operates safely, reliably, efficiently, and with the systems, facilities, technology, transportation, nutrition, policies, and crisis-response capacity necessary for excellent teaching and learning.
Key Leadership Outcomes
- Safe, clean, welcoming, and instruction-ready campuses with preventive maintenance, capital planning, and rapid issue resolution.
- Reliable transportation, nutrition, technology, field-trip, and operational services measured through clear standards and user feedback.
- A secure, interoperable, and responsible technology ecosystem, including a district AI and systems strategy with strong privacy and cybersecurity controls.
- A coordinated non-mental-health crisis management system with current plans, trained teams, accurate contacts, and after-action improvement.
- Clear policies, procedures, contracts, inventories, compliance calendars, and continuity plans that reduce organizational risk and single points of failure.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in operations, business, public administration, engineering, technology, education leadership, emergency management, or a related field; master's degree preferred.
- At least five years of progressively responsible leadership in school district operations or a comparable multi-site public-service organization.
- Demonstrated experience supervising complex functions, vendors, capital or maintenance work, technology systems, safety planning, and cross-functional projects.
- Knowledge of public procurement, school safety, facilities, transportation, food service, information security, records, and regulatory compliance.
- Relevant Kentucky administrative certification or professional credentials preferred where applicable to final position classification.
- Such alternatives to the above qualifications as the Superintendent and Board may find appropriate and acceptable.
Essential Responsibilities
The following statements describe the primary work of the position but are not an exhaustive list of every duty. The leader is expected to exercise sound judgment, collaborate across functions, respond to emerging needs, and perform other duties assigned by the Superintendent.
District Operations and Strategic Planning
- Develop and execute a multi-year operations strategy, annual department plans, service standards, compliance calendars, and business-continuity plans aligned to district priorities and fiscal constraints.
- Lead cross-functional readiness for the opening and closing of school, severe weather, major events, construction impacts, and other operational transitions.
- Establish work-order, escalation, and incident-management systems that provide schools with timely status updates and transparent accountability.
- Prepare operational recommendations, risk assessments, contracts, and Board agenda items; communicate significant matters promptly to the Superintendent.
Information Technology, AI, and Systems Strategy
- Provide executive leadership for infrastructure, devices, networks, enterprise applications, cybersecurity, data privacy, help desk, and vendor performance.
- Develop a district AI and automation strategy that supports teaching, learning, and operations while addressing governance, bias, privacy, security, and responsible-use expectations.
- Lead systems integration and workflow modernization so staff can access reliable data and reduce duplicative, paper-based processes.
- Maintain technology replacement cycles, licensing inventories, access controls, incident-response protocols, and staff cybersecurity awareness.
Facilities, Maintenance, and Capital Planning
- Oversee facilities management, custodial services, preventive and corrective maintenance, grounds, utilities, accessibility, and facility-use processes.
- Maintain a prioritized long-range facilities and capital improvement plan grounded in condition assessments, life-cycle costs, safety, and enrollment projections.
- Ensure required inspections, permits, and corrective actions are completed and retained, coordinating with state and local authorities as needed.
- Develop emergency procurement and continuity plans for critical building systems, utilities, and vendor interruptions.
Transportation and Field Trips
- Oversee safe, efficient, compliant student transportation, including routing, driver staffing and training, fleet maintenance, and contractor performance.
- Use routing, ridership, attendance, safety, and cost data to improve service and align transportation decisions with school schedules.
- Establish and monitor field-trip procedures covering approvals, accessibility, supervision, consent, and fiscal controls.
- Coordinate transportation continuity plans for driver shortages, vehicle failures, inclement weather, and major schedule changes.
Food Service and Nutrition
- Provide executive oversight of child nutrition programs, meal quality, food safety, staffing, procurement, and federal/state compliance.
- Partner with instructional and engagement leaders to increase participation, reduce stigma, and strengthen culturally responsive menus.
- Ensure monitoring reviews, corrective action plans, claims, and vendor contracts are accurate, timely, and audit-ready.
Safety, Security, and Non-Mental-Health Crisis Response
- Lead district safety planning and operational crisis response for threats, severe weather, fire, hazardous materials, active assailant situations, and other non-clinical emergencies.
- Coordinate campus security, school resource officers, law enforcement, emergency management, access control, and drills.
- Clarify authority, information sharing, roles, and performance expectations through current agreements with law-enforcement partners.
- Lead after-action reviews following drills, incidents, and significant operational disruptions; partner with the Assistant Superintendent of Student and Family Supports on mental-health components.
Policy, Compliance, and External Affairs
- Coordinate the district policy and administrative-procedure lifecycle, including annual reviews and version control, in partnership with the Superintendent and legal counsel.
- Manage operational relationships with municipal, county, state, utility, and regulatory partners, and represent the district in assigned external meetings and projects.
- Oversee operational open-records retrieval, insurance/risk interfaces, and records needed for audits or legal response, and maintain an operations compliance calendar that promptly alerts the Superintendent to emerging or high-risk requirements.
Leadership Competencies
- Operational excellence and reliability
- Crisis leadership and calm judgment
- Technology and systems fluency
- Risk management and compliance
- Cross-agency relationship building
- Project and vendor management
- Clear communication under pressure
- Continuous improvement and customer service
Districtwide Expectations
- Model CIPS values and maintain a relentless focus on student success, equity, safety, service, and organizational trust.
- Serve as an active member of Cabinet; bring forward risks, decisions, tradeoffs, and recommendations early enough for effective action.
- Translate strategy into clear goals, milestones, owners, measures, budgets, and communication plans; monitor implementation and adjust when results fall short.
- Develop people through clear expectations, regular feedback, coaching, accountability, and succession planning.
- Maintain accurate records, calendars, procedures, and continuity documentation so essential work does not depend on one individual.
- Protect confidential information and comply with applicable laws, regulations, ethical requirements, and Board policies.
- Build respectful relationships with students, families, employees, labor partners, community organizations, public agencies, and the Board while preserving appropriate roles and decision rights.
- Participate in evening, weekend, emergency, and community responsibilities as the role requires.
Physical Demands and Work Environment
The position requires the ability to communicate effectively, use standard office and technology equipment, travel among district sites, attend meetings and events outside regular business hours, and respond during emergencies. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. Specific demands may be finalized through the district's classification and legal review process.
Evaluation
Performance will be evaluated by the Superintendent in accordance with Board policy, applicable law, the approved job description, annual goals, leadership competencies, and evidence of progress toward the key outcomes of the position.
Application Process
Complete the district's online application through Covington Independent Schools � Frontline Recruitment. All applications will be evaluated and screened. Final posting language should include current contacts, application deadlines, and any required supplemental materials.
95-2627-000 (1514)
Covington Independent Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer.
Covington Independent Public Schools
25 East Seventh Street Covington, KY 41011
o 859-392-1000 | f 859.292.5916 | tty 859.292.5801 | www.covington.kyschools.us
