<p>Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 340,000 students in 600 schools and employing nearly 36,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.</p> <p>The department of Nutrition Support Services (NSS) offers all CPS students breakfast, lunch, and afterschool meals at no charge. Meals are offered every school day, during Saturday-school programs, and during the summer. Meals comply with nutrition standards set forth in the USDA's Child Nutrition Program meal patterns. The department of Nutrition Support Services provides a healthy, high quality meal program that supports a joyful and equitable daily learning experience for all students.</p> <p>Job Summary:</p> <p>Reporting to the Executive Director of Nutrition Support Services, the Director of Business Operations directs, supports, and develops the operational and financial strategy, processes, and continuous improvement of NSS including but not limited to the areas of finance, procurement and vendor management, communications, staffing and employee support, and data reporting and technical systems support. This role is responsible for supporting procurement activities and supporting vendor relationships and implementing financial and operational process improvements.</p> <p>The Director, Business Operations will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Directly manages the NSS budget and oversees all supporting business operations activities, including but not related to all NSS operational, financial, procurement, talent, and data processes.</p> </li><li> <p>Oversees the NSS position management processes. Partners with Staffing Manager and NSS leadership to track vacancies and manage position numbers from a budgetary perspective; Maintains NSS organizational charts and position descriptions; Facilitates Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer budget reviews and approvals</p> </li><li> <p>Supervises, develops, and manages the performance of the NSS business operations team; Ensures the business operations team adheres to all NSS and District policies, procedures, and standards</p> </li><li> <p>Ensures adherence to audit procedures for meal claiming and counting, such as providing supporting documentation for financial audits and those required by Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and/or the USDA</p> </li><li> <p>Creates and distributes financial and operational reports and data visualizations for diverse uses and audiences, including senior District leadership and the public view</p> </li><li> <p>Oversees the submissions process of grant applications, grant management, and ensures fiscal compliance with grant rules and regulations, including but not limited to overseeing the processing of monthly claims, providing programmatic data to support the department's dashboard and survey reporting requirements, and providing financial support for programmatic audits from the state</p> </li><li> <p>Ensures the department has the correct operational systems in place and each system and business process is set up to maximize claims and revenue while streamlining processes, such as directly overseeing the development and maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and systems; Trains, plans and coordinates with the team to maintain the department's technology roadmap in partnership with ITS; Develops and maintains the department's dashboard(s) and the point of sale (POS) system</p> </li><li> <p>Oversees the analysis of department data to inform decisions and monitor progress; Drives improvements to data infrastructure and resources; Develops and maintains indicators to measure the success of nutrition initiatives in the District</p> </li><li> <p>Partners with the Executive Director to facilitate strategic planning and continuous improvement processes across NSS; Manages NSS usage of districtwide CI system; Ensures department level goals are aligned to budget and staffing allocations</p> </li><li> <p>Other duties and workstreams as assigned</p> </li></ul> <p>In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Director of Business Operations must possess the following qualifications:</p> <p>Type of Education Required:</p> <ul> <li>Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in accounting, finance, business administration or related field </li></ul> <p>Type of Experience Required:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Minimum of seven (7) years of experience in business operations including budget development and management</p> </li><li> <p>Minimum of three (3) years of management experience, supervising a team a direct reports</p> </li><li> <p>Experience in leading the implementation of cross-functional projects</p> </li><li> <p>Experience in the food and nutrition industry with multi unit site management, strongly preferred</p> </li><li> <p>Experience with grant and/or contract administration preferred</p> </li></ul> <p>Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Ability to understand, explain, and adhere to CPS policies and procedures</p> </li><li> <p>Ability to develop and implement strong business plans</p> </li><li> <p>Strong communication skills (speaking - including presentations - listening, and writing)</p> </li><li> <p>Effective strategic planning capabilities, including the ability to establish long-term vision and goals, and align/manage activities toward goal fulfillment</p> </li><li> <p>Strong leadership and team building skills, e.g. ability to influence others and develop high performing teams united around a clear vision for serving schools and achieving student success</p> </li><li> <p>Expert knowledge of operations, budget/finance, management and organizational development</p> </li><li> <p>Ability to build collaborative relationships with a variety of constituent groups, including external partners, to ensure the entire system operates in the most effective manner possible to support schools and principals</p> </li><li> <p>Exceptional organizational, time management, and project management skills</p> </li><li> <p>Ability to define problems, analyze a variety of data, outline valid conclusions and action steps, and create compelling and accurate reports and data visualizations</p> </li><li> <p>Ability to streamline and implement new structures and roles that create speed, efficiency, and support rapidly shifting business demands</p> </li><li> <p>Strong working knowledge of industry regulations and legislative guidelines</p> </li></ul> <p>Benefits:</p> <p>Health & Wellness: Your Care, Your Choice</p> <p>CPS is committed to providing comprehensive health coverage to our employees and their eligible dependents. You'll have access to a variety of choices to best fit your needs:</p> <p>Medical Plan Options</p> <p>Pharmacy</p> <p>Dental</p> <p>Vision</p> <p>Behavioral Health & EAP</p> <p>Employee Wellness Program</p> <p>Financial Security: Planning for Today and Tomorrow</p> <p>We understand the importance of financial stability, which is why CPS offers strong retirement and savings options:</p> <p>Basic Life Insurance</p> <p>Life and Disability Insurance</p> <p>Pension Plans</p> <p>Supplemental Retirement Plans (403(b) and 457(b))</p> <p>Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)</p> <p>Spot Pet Insurance</p> <p>Work-Life Balance: Supporting Your Personal and Professional Life</p> <p>CPS values the well-being of its employees and offers competitive paid time off policies:</p> <p>Paid Leave</p> <p>Sick Leave</p> <p>Vacation Days</p> <p>Parental Leaves</p> <p>Short-Term Disability</p> <p>Religious Holidays</p> <p>Leaves</p> <p>Reference the Chicago Public Schools: A Comprehensive Benefits Overview or the benefits handbook for comprehensive details.</p> <p>Conditions of Employment</p> <p>As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:</p> <ul> <li>Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois. </li></ul>