Operations Manager - Customer Success and Strategic Support (Pupil Transportation)

Location - Remote

Starting Salary $67,500-70,500 Per Year

Whats in it for you (benefits will vary if not hired for full-time permanent):

• Health insurance

• PTO (120 hours accrued per year starting)

• 13 Paid company-wide Holidays

  • Please note that you may occasionally be required to work on some of the standard paid holidays (e.g. Labor Day or MLK Day) if we have routes running, but you will be compensated by being able to take a day off of your choosing at a later time

• 401k plan

• An annual $250 stipend to support any home office needs

• Competitive salary, commensurate with experience

• Work in an inclusive, caring and values driven environment

• Make a critical difference for children, families and educators

Weekly Hours: 40-55 Hours/Week

General Shift Hours: Preferred standard schedule is approximately 9:00am-5:30pm Central Time to support Eastern, Central, and Western US time zones. However, specific hours will shift depending on business and coverage needs and could be an 8-9 hour shift anywhere from 6:00am Eastern Standard Time to 6:00pm Pacific Standard Time

We are seeking an Operations Manager Customer Success & Support who will provide high-level leadership across our operations department. This person will join a high-growth, high-volume, fast-paced business and play a critical role in helping us to ensure exceptional daily service for hundreds of children and school districts, as well as a fulfilling and sustainable employment experience for drivers and supporting staff. This role carries responsibility for ensuring results in routing, dispatch, and customer success where assigned.

The Customer Success & Support Manager may be assigned to a geography, project, or function depending on business needs; for example, covering a region during an absence, strengthening routing performance within a particular geography, or leading escalations and follow-through with districts. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring operational expertise, customer-facing strength, and flexibility to step into high-need areas. This role requires a strong leader who thrives in ambiguity, communicates clearly, and can quickly earn trust with staff, drivers, and district partners.

We are seeking a core values-aligned, goal-driven, and enthusiastic operations manager who is comfortable in a remote small business environment. This person should be a proven manager and team leader, have a high standard of excellence, strong analytical thinking, exceptional written and verbal communication skills, and a deep connection to our mission of providing access to opportunity for all students.

This position reports to the Director of Operations, and you will collaborate regularly with other managers, and the operations team as a whole. This role does not currently include direct reports but provides leadership, direction, and accountability across multiple teams.

Who you are:

• A strong leader who is confident in giving direction and setting expectations, even without direct reports

• Flexible and adaptable, thrives in environments where priorities shift daily

• Customer-focused, with strong relationship-building skills and the ability to restore confidence following service issues

• Ambitious and eager to grow within the company, open to taking on increasing levels of responsibility

• Calm under pressure, detail-oriented, and driven to deliver results and exceed metrics

• Calm but urgent problem-solver; sees solutions where others see problems

• Strong attention to detail and impeccable follow through

• Tech-savvy and comfortable with navigating multiple online platforms

• Energetic, enthusiastic, connector who forms relationships and earns genuine trust quickly, even when working with a diverse, distributed team and customers

• Role model the company core values and hold others accountable for doing the same; builds community across functional teams and roles

• Able to exhibit our company competencies at the manager level (review by clicking here)

• Travel required annually at a minimum, may be more to train new staff members or attend meetings with key district partners

What youll do:

• Work closely with the Director of Operations to analyze data across the department and develop a weekly action plan to achieve ambitious goals, including fulfillment rate, on time arrivals, district and driver satisfaction, and more

• Step into regions as needed to provide manager-level leadership when a manager is out, the workload is high, or extra support is required

• Provide direction, feedback, and accountability to assistants, coordinators, and specialists to ensure goals are met and customers are satisfied

• Lead escalations during on-call shifts with districts, guardians, or drivers, ensuring concerns are addressed promptly and relationships remain strong

• Support routing and change requests when needed, ensuring new and existing student rides are implemented smoothly

• Collaborate with other managers and the Director of Operations on strategic initiatives and process improvements

• Support recruitment, screening, onboarding, and training of new Operations team members ranging from administrative assistants to managers

• Model calm, solutions-oriented leadership and coach staff through conflict resolution

• Serve as a member of Operations Leadership Team, including contributing to department-wide strategic plans and decision making, including critical budget and forecasting decisions/strategy

Required Qualifications

• At least 5 years of relevant experience; at least 3-5 years of leadership or management experience (ops, logistics, etc)

• Bachelors Degree or higher in a relevant field

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Proficiency with online platforms, data tracking, and remote team tools.

• Demonstrated ability to provide feedback and coaching across levels.

• Have a working computer with a camera and microphone

• Have a reliable internet connection

• Exhibits all competencies up to Manager (Application) level on Core Competencies

• Ability to travel up to 30% of the time

Preferred qualifications:

• Master's Degree in a relevant field

• Strong knowledge of pupil transportation industry processes and regulations

• High level routing and dispatching experience

• Experience in customer service or account management

• 2+ year of full-time remote work experience (remote experience related to COVID or hybrid do not meet this criteria )

Start date: Negotiable within 2 weeks of offer

About Us:

At BuckledIn, we eliminate transportation as a barrier to childrens success. We do this by mobilizing outstanding adults who want to have a positive impact on children. Our drivers transport many school-age students experiencing homelessness, living in foster care, living with mental or emotional special needs, or other circumstances that make traditional yellow school buses a poor transportation option. Thats where we come in.

We match each student with a part-time driver who takes that student to and from school every day. Many of our drivers are current or former teachers, nurses, nannies, babysitters, personal caregivers, nursing home aides, social workers, parents, and grandparents who are eager to be a positive influence in their students lives.

Our values:

• Excellence Everywhere - We dont settlewe set the standard. From safety to service, we exceed expectations to protect and support students at every turn.

• Driven to Learn - Curious, open-minded, and always improving. We embrace feedback, seek new ideas, and grow so we can serve better every day.

• Trust is Everything - We earn trust through consistency, respect, and follow-through. Our words and actions align, every time.