Head of Operations / General Manager

About the Company

Drive Rite Academy has spent more than 10 years training drivers throughout New York City. The business is profitable, expanding, and focused on delivering strong instruction along with excellent customer experience. It is looking for a hands-on operational leader who can take charge of daily execution, create scalable processes, and uncover new ways to grow the company.

The Role

As Head of Operations, you will be responsible for the end-to-end running of the company’s New York locations. Leadership will concentrate on strategy and the next stage of growth, while the day-to-day execution will sit with you. You will oversee instructors and support staff, manage scheduling and logistics, track financial results, and establish the systems that keep operations efficient and student service high. The role also calls for strategic thinking around growth, including partnerships, expanded offerings, and better use of current capacity. You will report directly to the founders and have meaningful authority in how the work is done.

This is a field-based position. You must be present across the Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island locations. If you prefer to manage entirely from a computer, this role is not a fit.

Responsibilities

• Lead recruitment, development, and management of instructors and support teams across multiple locations.
• Set clear performance standards and ensure accountability across the workforce.
• Build a dependable team that performs consistently with minimal supervision.
• Run daily operations across all sites, including scheduling, vehicle use, and compliance.
• Spot inefficiencies in operations and put practical fixes in place.
• Track core performance indicators and make sure targets are being met.
• Maintain full compliance with applicable regulations and avoid violations.
• Document, simplify, and standardize important processes across locations.
• Introduce tools and systems that cut manual effort and improve accuracy.
• Create dashboards and reports that give leadership visibility without needing to be involved in daily work.
• Develop infrastructure that can support future scale.
• Take ownership of profitability across operations and help drive both revenue growth and healthy margins.
• Identify opportunities to reduce costs without lowering service quality.
• Present performance updates to leadership with analysis and actionable recommendations.
• Identify growth opportunities such as partnerships, new services, and improved use of existing capacity.
• Find ways to increase revenue per student through additional services.
• Bring thoroughly evaluated recommendations to leadership for decision-making.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of operational management experience, ideally in a service business, education setting, or a similar environment.
• A demonstrated history of scaling and expanding a business.
• Direct P&L ownership with responsibility for revenue and profitability, not only operations.
• Experience leading multiple teams or locations.
• Strong analytical ability and comfort working with data and metrics.
• A problem-solving approach with the ability to diagnose issues and implement solutions.
• Sound judgment and the ability to decide with limited information.
• A systems-oriented mindset that understands how different business functions connect.
• Strong people skills, including trust-building and accountability management.
• A strong sense of ownership, reliability, and follow-through.
• Comfort making fast decisions without lengthy approval chains.
• An entrepreneurial mindset focused on finding and pursuing opportunities.
• Interest in building something meaningful rather than joining a large brand name.
• Ability to identify and attract strong talent.
• Comfort using AI as part of day-to-day work.

Compensation

The base salary is $130,000 to $150,000, with a performance bonus of up to $50,000 per year tied to profitability growth, revenue growth, operational efficiency, and team retention. The total compensation potential is $180,000 to $200,000+.

Compensation is intended to reward results, so earnings increase as business performance improves.

Application Process

Applicants are asked to complete a 15-minute video interview. There is no cover letter requirement and no resume pile screening; every submission will be reviewed.

Work Style

This position requires an on-site, hands-on operating style across multiple New York City locations. It is not suited to someone who prefers to manage remotely or only from dashboards.

Not a Fit If

• You prefer managing from reports rather than being present on the ground.
• You need group consensus or multiple approvals before taking action.
• You tend to pass problems upward instead of resolving them yourself.
• You avoid direct conversations with underperforming team members.