About KIPP Texas

KIPP Texas Public Schools is a network of 57 public charter, open-enrollment, pre-k-12 schools educating nearly 34,000 students across Austin, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Together with families and communities, our mission is to create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose - college, career, and beyond - so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

Founded in Houston in 1994, and operating as KIPP Texas since 2018, our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism in our classrooms, in our offices, and in the communities we serve is unwavering. We are looking to hire a diverse team of dynamic, collaborative, and dedicated individuals with an unyielding belief that every child will succeed. Join our Team and Family and champion equity, chase excellence, persist with purpose, bring joy, and help us rise together.

KIPP Public Schools is a national network of public charter schools that prepares students with the skills and confidence to create the future they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. We are a network of 280 schools, nearly 15,000 educators, and 175,000 students and alumni.

The goal of the KIPP Texas Transportation Department is to provide on-time and safe transportation services for all KIPPsters to and from school daily through a cost-effective and fiscally responsible program while maintaining compliance with local, state, and federal regulations. The Senior Director of Transportation will oversee transportation services for all KTX regions: Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. The Senior Director of Transportation will lead Regional Directors and Managers in driving efficient daily operations, leveraging creative routing strategies, optimizing resources, maintaining high ridership levels, and delivering cost-effective, seamless transportation services while upholding vendor accountability and prioritizing exceptional stakeholder management and customer service. 

The Senior Director of Transportation will manage a fleet bus contract, ensuring compliance with KIPP Texas’ terms and conditions, oversee Key Performance Indicators for operational efficiency, and ensure the timely submission of annual reports to the Texas Education Agency TEA).   

Key Responsibilities

Oversee transportation services for KTX regions:

• Leading, managing, and developing Regional Directors and Managers across all KTX regions

• Owns and manages the transportation service contracts, ensuring full compliance, effective communication with providers, and the timely resolution of issues to maintain high-quality and cost-effective transportation services  

• Collaborates with Student Recruitment and Enrollment teams during the enrollment season to gather ridership data in preparation for the accurate planning and optimization of transportation routes.  

• Oversee processes for route development and optimization ensuring a standardized and efficient service delivery model  

• Ensure routing and accountability services are compliant for all transportation services (General Education, Special Education, and McKinney Vento)

• Oversee and evaluate daily operations to ensure bus services are executed efficiently and cost-effectively, aligned with standard operating procedures, policies, and guidelines

• Oversees Radio Frequency Identification  (RFID) processes to ensure all bus riders are equipped with RFID tags and that all buses maintain fully functional scanning capabilities at all times 

• Actively participates in operations-focused meetings with team members and school-based personnel to strengthen relationships, collaborate on process improvements, and streamline transportation services

• Lead the development and implementation of policies, procedures, system upgrades, and service standards across the state, focusing on innovation, driving continuous improvement, and aligning with best practices for all areas of transportation services 

• Maintains a strong support structure for schools and students by ensuring timely responses, proactive communication, promptly addressing concerns, and fostering collaboration to meet transportation needs and enhance overall service quality 

• Adjust and recommend transportation schedule modifications during periods of inclement weather or other disruptions ensuring continued service focused on safety 

•  Participates in various task force initiatives and performs other duties as assigned

Lead budget management for transportation service:

• Provides data and analysis to support accurate budget forecasting annually to Finance 

• Oversee and manage the state budget, ensuring strict adherence to annual budget allocations and proactively addressing any budgetary discrepancies to prevent overages 

• Reviews monthly invoices to ensure accurate billing, verifies charges, and authorizes payments per contract terms 

• Meets monthly with Finance to review YTD actuals plus projections for all transportation services (General Education, Special Education, and McKinney Vento) 

• Leads the RFP processes for all transportation services per contract terms, collaborating with Procurement and Finance to ensure alignment and compliance as vendors transition in or out of KIPP  

• Continuously seeks innovative solutions and leverages new technologies to drive cost reduction and enhance transportation services, aiming for continuous improvement and program efficiency thus elevating the bus experience for KIPPsters  

• Develop strategies to support future growth or reduction of bus services, aligning with KIPP Texas’ long-term plans

Develops, tracks, and reports KPIs and other metrics of performance:

• Reviews and submits annual reports assessing transportation actuals and performance to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) 

• Analyze state trends of ridership, rider behavior, cost, and route efficiency to elevate the impact of transportation services, inform decision-making making, and drive for operational efficiencies  through continuous improvement 

• Ensures the accuracy and compliance of dashboard metrics (KPIs), maintaining oversight of data systems to ensure the reliability and integrity of data

Skills and Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5 years of experience managing student transportation services for schools

• Proven experience managing a large-scale budget with a focus on cost efficiency and financial oversight 

• 7 years of experience managing teams and proven impact collaborating with various departments

• Routing scheduling software management skills; knowledge of the principles and practices of pupil transportation planning, scheduling, and route development

• Knowledge of safety standards, laws, codes, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures relating to pupil transportation

• Skills integrating special education ridership needs 

• Exceptional project management skills, with an ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously 

• Excellent interpersonal skills and an energetic attitude; ability to work effectively with all levels of the organization and quickly build rapport

• Meticulous attention to detail with an ability to produce high-quality work in a dynamic environment

•  Excellent written and verbal communication skills

•  Passionate about the KIPP Texas mission

•  Service-oriented, able to adapt to a changing environment while applying flexibility to work under pressure and remaining calm in the midst of competing demands

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) and Google applications (Sheets, Docs, Google Drive), with the ability to quickly learn new technologies (Slack, video conferencing apps, etc) 

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; work experience in pupil transportation services can be substituted in place of a degree 

• Must have reliable transportation to travel between campuses

• English fluency is required

Compensation & Benefits

The starting salary for this position is 90k and placement in the salary range is commensurate upon experience and internal equity.

As a full time KIPP Texas employee you are eligible to participate in all KIPP Texas’ benefit plans. KIPP Texas offers a robust variety of benefits choices with competitive rates, including medical, dental, and vision options, as well as life insurance and disability plans.

KIPP provides equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.