Associate Director, Operations Support

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Aloha mai!  Mahalo for your interest in Kamehameha Schools.  If you are looking for an opportunity to utilize your skills and talents and grow in your profession, while serving and strengthening our Native Hawaiian community, we would love to have you join our ʻohana!

Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi is a mission-driven organization, dedicated to education, well-being and success. We are seeking an experienced, collaborative, and solutions-oriented leader to serve as Associate Director of Operations Support. This role is instrumental in ensuring a safe, efficient, and well-maintained campus environment that supports the success of our students, faculty, staff, and broader school community.

The Associate Director supports our Director of Operations by providing day-to-day leadership and strategic oversight across Facilities, Grounds & Custodial Services, Security, Transportation, Emergency Preparedness, and Operational Standards of Care. In partnership with department managers and campus leadership, this position helps shape operational strategy, strengthen organizational effectiveness, and foster a culture of service, accountability, and excellence.

Other  qualities and experience that come to mind….

We are seeking a leader who:

• Leads with integrity, humility, and accountability.

• Builds trust and develops strong teams.

• Thrives in complex operational environments.

• Balances strategic thinking with practical execution.

• Values & encourages collaboration, continuous improvement, and service to others.

• Can navigate change while maintaining strong relationships across diverse stakeholder groups.

Ideally, someone with:

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in operations (facilities, security, transportation) within public works, education, hospitality, military, government, or related environments.

• Experience leading multiple departments, functions, or workgroups.

• Demonstrated success in budget stewardship, compliance management, program development, and organizational improvement initiatives.

• Strong knowledge of leadership principles, human resources practices, and operational management systems.

Job Summary

The Associate Director is a key member of the Operations Support leadership team, and as such, must possess the judgment, interpersonal skills, expertise, and accountability to lead the division in the absence of the Director.

• Identifies, develops, analyzes, and implements new programs and initiatives that improve safety, increase service quality and reliability, and maximize overall value for KS.
• Leads multiple work groups to execute daily services for transportation, facilities maintenance and repair, custodial services, grounds keeping, recreational facilities, dining, and a wide range of other service offerings that meet and exceed client expectations, streamlines business processes, and reduces costs or increases overall value.
• Utilizes best practices management skills and models valued behaviors to motivate and guide the entire Operations Support workforce, manage individual and team performance, and resolve conflicts when they arise.
• Prepares, recommends and manages annual budgets, authorizes expenditures, explains variances and oversees the daily operations of the departments.
• Ensures compliance with all county, state and federal occupational safety, health and environmental laws, regulations and guidelines as well as with KS environmental, health and safety policies and procedures.
• Meets with a wide variety of campus community constituents to gather input and feedback, outline new initiatives, address complaints and concerns, and represent KS in the best light.

Essential Responsibilities

Innovative and Collaborative Management

• For all functions in the Associate Director's kuleana, innovates and develops standards for safety, service quality, productivity, individual and team performance, and costs to fulfill campus needs, and develops and executes the strategies for achieving them.
• Utilizes a wide range of resources, including KS full-time, part-time, and on-call employees, vendors, and contractors, and must determine the optimum and appropriate combination of resources to meet client service needs and attain other value-added objectives.
• Works in partnership with other campus and KS departments to ensure strategies are consistent with KS policies, reflect KS values, enhance KS reputation and brand, and minimize risks and liability. Is accountable for his or her kuleana and business results, including work performed by other groups that contribute to the Associate Director's programs and initiatives.
• Serves as a valued colleague and partner to other campus or KS departments by fulfilling requests for assistance and reliably delivering on expectations and service requests.

Tactical and Daily Operations

• The Associate Director understands the KS vision and strategic plan and aligns Operations Support programs and initiatives to deliver on these goals. Monitors tactical plans to ensure they are proceeding as scheduled, identifies potential risks, and develops and executes contingency plans to mitigate risks as needed to attain optimum results.
• Appropriately delegates authority for execution of tactical plans to his or her team of managers, and monitors their progress and performance to ensure optimum results. Provides course corrections as needed through best practices performance management skills and by applying teachable points of view.
• Ensures day-to-day operations and services are executed safely, reliably, timely, at a high level of quality, and cost effectively.

Policies and Confidentiality

• Familiarizes himself or herself with all KS policies, codes, regulations, statutes, and internal KS resources relating to his or her kuleana to ensure high levels of ethics and compliance. Ensures confidentiality of sensitive information and protects the privacy of students and employees, as well as maintains the confidence of colleagues and clients in the execution of his or her responsibilities.

Fiscal Management

• Develops, forecasts, manages and monitors the budget associated with the functions under his or her direction to ensure responsible requests for funding, appropriate expenditures, and predictable year-end budget results.

Position Requirements

Minimum Qualifications - An equivalent combination of education and experience may substitute for the requirements listed.

• High School Diploma
• Experience as a business owner or 10+ years in a related field with proven leadership experience and business results.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience may substitute for the requirements listed.
• Ability to use management best practices to motivate employees to achieve high standards of inclusion and performance.
• Excellent judgment for prioritizing work to meet competing needs and resolve conflicts.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and assignments, set priorities, and execute appropriate action.
• Proven analysis experience.
• Proven experience in visioning and implementing change for increased efficiency and effectiveness.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to work successfully with a diverse range of internal and external individuals and groups.
• Excellent verbal and written skills to communicate effectively with all levels of staff, meet and resolve community and neighbor concerns, and to prepare written reports and correspondence on behalf of the Operations Support Division.
• Proven ability to effectively supervise and/or direct the work of subordinates, peers, and contractors.
• Thorough knowledge of management and supervisory principles and practices.
• Ability to work flexible hours to meet the needs of the division.

Preferred Qualifications

• Over 5 years of experience as a business owner.

Physical Requirements

• Frequently sits, perform desk-based computer tasks and grasp light or fine manipulation, talk or hear.
• Occasionally stand and/or walk, write by hand, and lift and/or carry, push and/or pull objects that weigh up to 10 pounds.
• Rarely twist, bend, stoop, squat, kneel, crawl, climb, reach or work above shoulder, or grasp forcefully.

Working Conditions

• This position may involve traveling to various locations, including neighbor islands to conduct business.
• Work is conducted in an office/school environment and may require work to be conducted in non-standard workplaces.
• Work is typically conducted Monday through Friday at normal business hours but evening and weekend hours are often required to meet goals and objectives.

Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by incumbents assigned to this job. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the responsibilities, duties and skills required. The incumbent may be expected to perform other duties as assigned.

For internal use only: #LI-CAR

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities.  Please contact us at [email protected] or 808-534-8040 if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job.  Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.

KS does not accept unauthorized solicitations of candidate referrals from third-party vendors (i.e. Staffing Agencies, Executive Recruitment Firms).  Any third-party vendor who has interest in supporting KS's recruiting efforts must be authorized by Human Resources prior to the vendor’s candidate applying with KS.  

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Compensation and Benefits

At Kamehameha Schools (KS), we recognize that compensation is just one facet of a fulfilling employment experience. Our commitment lies in fostering a positive work environment and equipping employees with the necessary resources to excel every day. Our Total Rewards Program embodies KS's dedication to the physical, mental, and financial well-being of our employee ʻohana. Explore our comprehensive Benefits Summary for more information.

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