Deputy Director, Educator Preparation Program Technical Assistance (Director I)

Job Description

MISSION: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) will improve outcomes for all public-school students in the state by providing leadership, guidance, and support to school systems.

Core Values:

• We are Determined: We are committed and intentional in the pursuit of our main purpose, to improve outcomes for students.

• We are People-Centered: We strive to attract, develop, and retain the most committed talent, representing the diversity of Texas, each contributing to our common vision for students.

• We are Learners: We seek evidence, reflect on success and failure, and try new approaches in the pursuit of excellence for our students.

• We are Servant Leaders: Above all else, we are public servants working to improve opportunities for students and provide support to those who serve them.

New hires, re-hires, and internal hires will typically receive a starting salary between the posted minimum and the average pay of employees in their same classification. Offers will be commensurate with the candidate's experience and qualifications and will thoughtfully consider internal pay equity for agency staff who perform similar duties and have similar qualifications. The top half of the posted salary range is generally reserved for candidates who exceed the requirements and qualifications for the role. The maximum salary range is reserved for candidates that far exceed the required and preferred qualifications for the role.

This is a 10-day posting, which will close on February 19, at 11:59pm.

Position Overview: The Deputy Director of Educator Preparation Program (EPP) Technical Assistance will play a transformative role in improving educator effectiveness in Texas. By leading the statewide EPP technical assistance strategy, the Deputy Director will help educator preparation programs and partnerships meet and exceed the quality criteria and requirements outlined in statute and State Board for Educator Certification policy.

The Director of EPP Technical Assistance will work nimbly across TEA teams to support the development, rollout, and implementation phases of support for educator preparation programs to successfully develop and address high quality preparation that meets the requirements to participate in the PREP Preservice Partnership Programs. The director will also lead the partnership technical assistance for the state Grow Your Own Strategy and expansion of the PREP Preservice Program. They will lead the design of the strategy's vision and execute on its implementation, including management of contracted technical assistance providers to design and deliver EPP training. The Director of EPP Technical Assistance, will play a pivotal role in supporting the Texas Education Agency's strategic priority to recruit, support, and retain teachers and principals. This position performs advanced (senior-level) managerial work providing direction and guidance in strategic operations and planning.

This position will report to the Director of Educator Preparation Program Field Supports and Operations.

Flexible work location within the state of Texas may be considered for qualified candidates.

Please note that a resume, tailored cover letter, and short answer responses are required attachments for applying to this position. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants who are strongly being considered for employment must submit to a national criminal history background check.

Essential Functions

Job duties are not limited to the essential functions mentioned below. You may perform other functions as assigned.

1. Lead Educator Preparation Program Technical Assistance Strategy: The director will develop a coherent vision for EPP facing technical assistance and the related scale plan to support EPPs to implement the preparation route requirements required for participation in PREP preservice programs. The director will lead cross-team coordination related to the EPP technical assistance strategy in connection with other workstreams including educator preparation continuing approval and review, educator preparation program monitoring, and statewide mentor teacher training.

2. Lead Quality Technical Assistance Development for identified strategies: Oversee ongoing partnerships and future contracts with vendors supporting the development of a state technical assistance model for educator preparation program transformation to meet PREP preservice program requirements. The director will lead a team in the review of key deliverables and vendor implantation, providing timely feedback on the quality of those outputs to ensure high quality services for EPPs and EPP-School system partnerships.

3. Lead PREP Grow Your Own Technical Assistance Strategy: Develop a coherent vision for partnership facing technical assistance that will enable EPPs and Districts to participate in the PREP Grow Your Own Program and address local teacher recruitment system development. The director will work across the talent pathways and teacher compensation teams to ensure coherence across services delivered to partnerships (school-systems and epps) and directly to school systems.

4. Change Management and Stakeholder Engagement: Manages short and long-term change management and stakeholder engagement and communicates the state vision for high-quality, practice-based educator preparation to include strategic communication of the work of the implementation of high-quality instructional materials and its role in addressing the quality of teacher preparation and readiness to support student learning.

5. Team Management and Supervision: Recruit, coach, develop, and retain a high-performing, service-oriented team dedicated to better understanding the contract and financial needs of the Instructional Strategy department's program teams and ensure team is developing clear, user-centered data and tools to support those needs. Ensure team has a clear, measurable definition of success and clear metrics.

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university

• Experience: At least five (5) years of experience in education and organizational leadership

• Substitutions: An advanced degree may substitute for two years of required experience

Other Qualifications

• Share the belief that all Texas students can achieve at high levels and are able to succeed in college, career, or the military

• Experience supervising direct reports or leading cross-functional teams

• Certified Texas Contract Manager (CTCM) certification must be obtained within the first six (6) months of employment

• Experience applying and developing others in the best practices of effective teaching and learning

• Knowledge of best practices in educator preparation, support, and development

• Proven experience in designing and leading effective professional learning for educators, including professional learning related to accelerating student learning, increasing instructional rigor, and/or high-quality instructional material implementation

• Capable of working with a variety of stakeholders through small and large group facilitation opportunities

• Expert in long-term project planning, including establishing outcomes, determining evaluative measures, and tracking progress

• Adept with balancing the demands of multiple projects at different stages of development while maintaining quality and consistency across all work with periodic job and task ambiguity

• Superior and effective professional verbal and written communication skills, including development of appropriate guidance documents and effective presentations

• Communicates complex ideas into practical and accessible language

As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age or veteran status, unless an applicant is entitled to the military employment preference.

To review the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) codes from each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces to each job classification series in the State's Position Classification Plan (provided by the State Auditor's Office), please access the Military Crosswalk (occupational specialty code) Guide and click on the military "occupational category" that corresponds with the state classification in this job posting title.

This position requires the applicant to meet Agency standards and criteria which may include passing a pre-employment criminal background check, prior to being offered employment by the Agency.

To learn more about working at TEA, including hiring timelines, process details, and candidate resources, please visit the Employment at TEA page.

No phone calls or emails, please. Due to the high volume of applications, we do not accept telephone calls and cannot reply to all email inquiries. Only candidates selected for interview will be contacted. Please add "[email protected]" and "@tea.texas.gov" to your safe senders list to ensure you receive email notifications from our talent acquisition team and/or hiring division regarding your candidacy.