Operations Specialist Jobs in Arlington, VA

WHO WE ARE

In 2020, 11.6 million children in the U.S.—16% of all children nationwide—lived in poverty, and those children were disproportionately children of color. Students living in poverty often have physical and mental health, social-emotional, cognitive, and identity development needs that schools are not equipped to support. Rooted in community for more than 45 years, Communities In Schools (CIS) strives to bring community resources inside public schools, where they are accessible, coordinated, and accountable. CIS Co-Founder Bill Milliken said, “It’s relationships, not programs, that transform children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children.”

Bill Milliken’s vision is alive through a strong network of trained CIS staff imbedded in schools nationwide building support and relationships inside schools. Today, CIS serves more than 3,500 schools, the overwhelming majority are Title I-eligible schools across two channels: (1) independent affiliates and (2) licensed partnerships. Grounded in the power of transformative relationships to unlock a young person’s potential, CIS has a national, research-based history of delivering local results that support improved student relationships with adults, better-quality relationships with peers, and increased engagement and sense of belonging. These outcomes lead to improved attendance, improved academic success, and improved on-time high school graduation rates.

MISSION AND VALUES

Communities In Schools (CIS) is “all-in” for kids. It is our passion—it is our mission. At the National Office, CIS collaborates with local affiliate organizations to provide resources and create communities of caring adults who work hand-in-hand with educators to make sure young people have the tools they need to stay in school and achieve in life. We are the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization, and we achieve our mission by hiring bright, creative, and innovative team members who demonstrate a passion for what they do.

‘Within the national office, we foster a culture inspired by our mission, our values of integrity, accountability, equity, collaboration, and excellence, and a commitment to Equity, and Inclusion. Our culture is centered on three core tenants:

• We acknowledge contributions and perspectives.
• We collaborate across roles and departments.
• We honor a whole-person approach and encourage balance.

We aim to create a psychologically safe environment where relationships matter, and mutual respect is paramount.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Are You Ready to Enhance the Employee Experience Through Technology?

The Specialist, Technology Support Operations is a key member of the Infrastructure and Operations team, reporting to the Sr Director, Technology Operations. This role independently manages technology support activities, resolves routine and complex technical issues, coordinates service delivery with the organization’s managed service provider, and helps maintain a reliable, secure, and effective technology environment.

The Specialist provides responsive, customer-focused support while ensuring services align with established standards, policies, and procedures. The ideal candidate brings strong technical judgment, problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage competing priorities independently.

Important: This hybrid position requires a minimum of two days per week onsite in Arlington, VA, with additional in-office days as business needs require. Candidates must reside within the DMV area to support in-office technology operations.

PRIMARY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Technology Support and Service Delivery

• Independently provide responsive, high-quality technology support, owning assigned issues through resolution while maintaining reliable and secure systems.
• Manage support requests received by phone, email, and ticketing systems; assess priority, troubleshoot hardware, software, network, and application issues, and drive tickets to timely resolution.
• Diagnose routine and complex technical problems, determine appropriate solutions within established standards, guide users through troubleshooting, and verify successful resolution.
• Prioritize and manage incidents based on impact and urgency; maintain complete and accurate ticket documentation, coordinate follow-up, and escalate high-risk, security-related, or organization-wide issues as appropriate.
• Install, configure, maintain, and audit hardware, software, peripherals, and related technology; coordinate updates and patches and identify corrective actions to support performance and security.
• Communicate clearly and professionally with staff regarding support requests, planned maintenance, known issues, outages, and service changes.
• Provide practical guidance on applications, tools, system usage, security protocols, and best practices to improve productivity and reduce recurring issues.

Technology Onboarding and Offboarding

• Serve as the primary owner of the end-to-end technology onboarding and offboarding process for employees and contractors, ensuring timely, secure, and well-coordinated access to equipment, systems, and support.
• Coordinate with Human Resources, hiring managers, and technology teams to confirm timelines, equipment, access, and role-specific requirements.
• Plan, prepare, configure, test, deploy, and track laptops, peripherals, and other technology equipment for new hires and device refreshes, resolving readiness issues before start dates.
• Coordinate and validate account, license, security group, application access, and role-based permission changes in accordance with security and least-privilege requirements.
• Deliver new-hire technology orientation and initial support.
• Manage offboarding activities through completion, including access removal, data and ownership transfer, record preservation, equipment recovery, documentation, and approved security, efficiency, and automation improvements.

Project and Workstream Coordination

• Coordinate assigned Technology Office projects and workstreams, maintaining plans, documentation, stakeholder communications, and follow-through to support successful delivery.
• Develop and maintain task plans, schedules, testing activities, implementation communications, and project documentation.
• Track milestones, dependencies, risks, decisions, and action items; follow up with owners and escalate issues that may affect scope, schedule, or service readiness.
• Prepare status updates, meeting materials, implementation communications, and completion documentation for stakeholders.
• Coordinate with vendors and internal stakeholders, validate deliverables and next steps, and maintain accurate project information.

Operations, Documentation, and Continuous Improvement

• Analyze recurring support trends, service gaps, and administrative inefficiencies; recommend and implement approved improvements that strengthen service delivery, security, and user experience.
• Own assigned knowledge articles and operational documentation, ensuring common issues, solutions, and procedures remain accurate, current, and accessible.
• Coordinate with IT teams, departments, and vendors to resolve complex issues and support technology upgrades, deployments, and service improvements.
• Maintain current knowledge of technology trends, tools, and industry practices through training, workshops, and self-directed learning, applying relevant knowledge to assigned work.
• Contribute specialist knowledge and lead follow-through on assigned operational improvements and initiatives.

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE THE FOLLOWING SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable differently-abled individuals to perform the essential functions.

Required skills & qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant professional experience.
• CompTIA A+ and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) certifications.
• 6+ years of progressively responsible help desk or technology support experience, including technical and project support.
• Strong knowledge of computer systems, hardware, software, applications, and network troubleshooting.
• Experience using ticketing and service management systems to document, prioritize, track, and resolve support requests.
• Experience supporting business applications and platforms such as Zoom, Monday.com, DocuSign, Adobe Acrobat Pro, online form tools, and SurveyMonkey.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office Suite, with experience using technology to analyze data and improve processes.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, organizational, and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated customer-focused and empathetic approach to providing high-quality technology support.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with colleagues, departments, vendors, and managed service providers.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to build relationships, deliver training, and communicate effectively with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience managing system access and confidential information in accordance with security, confidentiality, least-privilege, and escalation requirements.
• Demonstrated commitment to customer service, operational excellence, continuous improvement, and a collaborative, learning-oriented culture.

TRAVEL

Travel of up to 25% may be required, including domestic travel within the United States and occasional overnight stays.

ABOUT US

CIS staff continue to work in a virtual environment; however, the national office is open and available for staff to use as appropriate.

To ensure the health and safety of staff and job applicants, all interviews will be conducted by phone and/or video conference.

BENEFITS & PERKS

Work that makes a difference—the opportunity to contribute to an important mission!

Competitive and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including:

• Five weeks of Paid Time Off
• Generous 403b Retirement Savings Plan contribution
• 10 Paid Holidays
• 90% of employee health care premiums paid by the organization
• Summer Work Schedule and Winter Break
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term income replacement programs, and much, much more!

Communities In Schools is committed to a workforce that is representative of the varied communities we are privileged to serve. We provide a work environment that does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable law. CIS prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

For more information on Communities In Schools please visit our website.