Regional Head of Operations

Job Description

Regional Head of Operations

Purpose of Role

The Regional Head of Operations is the single-point operational authority for a group of schools in India, responsible for ensuring safe, compliant, cost-effective, and interruption-free operations aligned to Indian statutory requirements and ISP standards.

The role safeguards student wellbeing, statutory compliance, operational readiness, and parent confidence, while enabling Principals and academic leaders to remain focused on teaching and learning.

Key Responsibilities

1. Regional Operations Ownership & School Readiness

• Own day-to-day operational performance of all schools in the assigned region, spanning facilities, administration, transport, security, housekeeping, food services, health & safety, and front-office operations.
• Act as the escalation point for operational disruptions, ensuring rapid issue resolution with minimal impact on students, staff, and parents.
• Ensure 100% school readiness at the start of each academic year and term - infrastructure, staffing, contracts, statutory approvals, and vendor mobilisation.
• Drive consistency in operational standards across schools while accommodating legitimate local/regional realities.

2. Facilities, Maintenance & Asset Management

• Oversee effective facility operations and maintenance across schools, including civil assets, MEP systems, playgrounds, classrooms, and common areas.
• Ensure preventive and reactive maintenance plans are in place, tracked, and executed to avoid downtime during school hours.
• Monitor asset condition, lifecycle planning, and refurbishment requirements; work closely with projects/construction teams on upgrades and expansions.
• Drive energy efficiency, water conservation, and sustainability initiatives across campuses.

3. Health, Safety & Safeguarding Compliance

• Own implementation and monitoring of Health & Safety frameworks across schools, including child safety, fire safety, evacuation readiness, and emergency response protocols.
• Ensure strict compliance with safeguarding standards, statutory norms, and ISP expectations.
• Conduct regular safety audits, mock drills, and incident reviews; ensure corrective actions are closed.
• Partner with school leadership to maintain a safe, respectful, and well-managed physical environment for children and staff.

4. Vendor, Transport & Service Management

• Manage regional vendor ecosystem: transport providers, security agencies, housekeeping, catering, maintenance contractors, AMCs, and service partners.
• Define SLAs, KPIs, cost benchmarks, and performance scorecards; conduct structured reviews and corrective actions.
• Ensure student transport operations are safe, compliant, punctual, and parent-confidence-building.
• Lead vendor empanelment, rationalisation, and replacement decisions where service quality standards are not met.

5. Cost Control, Budgets & Financial Discipline

• Own operational budgets for the region in partnership with finance and school leadership.
• Track budget vs actuals; identify variance drivers and implement course correction without compromising safety or service quality.
• Drive cost optimisation through standardisation, contract renegotiations, and smarter operating models.
• Review and approve major operational spends, ensuring ROI and alignment with ISP principles.

6. Statutory, Regulatory & Audit Compliance

• Ensure all schools meet statutory requirements: fire NOCs, trade licences, labour compliances, transport regulations, food safety norms, and local authority approvals.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation across schools; support internal and external audits.
• Track renewals, inspections, and compliance calendars with zero tolerance for lapses.
• Liaise with local authorities when required, supporting principals while protecting the organisation’s interests.

7. Crisis, Incident & Risk Management

• Act as crisis lead for operational incidents - safety issues, infrastructure failures, transport incidents, regulatory escalations, or reputational risks.
• Ensure proper incident reporting, investigation, communication, and closure.
• Build preventive risk registers for schools and regions, reducing repeat failures.
• Support school leaders with calm, structured, and decisive operational leadership during critical situations.

8. Stakeholder & Parent Experience

• Ensure operational processes support a high-quality parent and student experience - safety, hygiene, responsiveness, and reliability.
• Partner with school leaders on parent complaints related to operations, transport, safety, or facilities.
• Balance service quality with cost control, keeping student wellbeing as the non-negotiable priority.

9. Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Build and lead regional operations teams, including facilities managers, operations heads, transport coordinators, and support staff.
• Coach school-level operations leaders to operate with ownership, data discipline, and accountability.
• Set clear KRAs, review performance regularly, and build succession pipelines.
• Drive adoption of standard SOPs, templates, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms.

10. Reporting, Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Implement structured operational reporting: dashboards, risk trackers, compliance status, and monthly regional reviews.
• Provide clear, fact-based updates to leadership on operational health, risks, and decisions required.
• Identify systemic issues and drive regional and group-level process improvements.
• Feed operational learnings into new school setups, expansions, and future planning.

Key Requirements

Education

• Graduate degree (Engineering, Facilities Management, Operations, or equivalent).
• Post-graduate qualification in Operations / Facilities / Project Management is a plus. Experience
• 12-18+ years of operations leadership experience, preferably in schools, hospitals, campuses, retail chains, or large multi-site environments.
• Proven experience managing 10+ sites with diverse stakeholders.
• Strong background in safety, compliance, vendor management, and cost control.

ISP Principles

Begin with our children and students. Our children and students are at the heart of what we do. Simply, their success is our success. Wellbeing and safety are both essential for learners and learning. Therefore, we are consistent in identifying potential safeguarding

and Health & Safety issues and acting and following up on all concerns appropriately.

Treat everyone with care and respect. We look after one another, embrace similarities and differences and promote the well-being of self and others.

Operate effectively. We focus relentlessly on the things that are most important and will make the most difference. We apply school policies and procedures and embody the shared ideas of our community.

Are financially responsible. We make financial choices carefully based on the needs of the children, students and our schools.

Learn continuously. Getting better is what drives us. We positively engage with personal and professional development and school improvement.

ISP Commitment to Safeguarding Principles

ISP is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All post holders are subject to appropriate vetting procedures, including an online due diligence search, references and satisfactory Criminal Background Checks or equivalent covering the previous 10 years’ employment history.

ISP Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

ISP is committed to strengthening our inclusive culture by identifying, hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing teammates regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender expression, age, disability status, neurodivergence, socio-economic background or other demographic characteristics. Candidates who share our vision and principles and are interested in contributing to the success of ISP through this role are strongly encouraged to apply.