2 jobs found

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.   POSITION OVERVIEW: The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) reports to the Deputy Commissioner of Finance and has direct oversight over the Budget & Planning and Accounting Divisions. The position serves as the chief fiduciary officer for the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and is responsible for ensuring compliance with state and federal laws, as well as maintaining an internal controls framework to safeguard and effectively allocate agency resources. The CFO plays a critical role in providing leadership, oversight, direction, guidance, innovation, strategic planning, training, and quality assurance related to all fiscal operations of the agency. This position performs advanced, senior-level managerial work and works under minimal supervision with extensive latitude for initiative and independent judgment.   Please note that a resume and tailored cover letter are required attachments for applying to this position. Incomplete applications will not be considered.   ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Stakeholder Support: Ensures agency leadership, program staff, and other internal customers have access to adequate information to inform operations and decision making. Strategy and Process Improvement: Continually reviews and improves budget and accounting processes to achieve efficiency and excellent customer service. Compliance and Internal Controls: Oversees TEA’s system of internal controls and the preparation of state/federal financial and legislative reports; ensures compliance with applicable statues, financial policies and procedures. Team Leadership: Leads, supervises and develops a high-performing Budget & Accounting Team focused on superior customer service and data-driven practices. Support for Legislative Session: In conjunction with other divisions, directs the preparation and review of TEA fiscal notes on all non-school finance related matters and responds to other external requests for information/analysis as appropriate.     MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:   Education: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university required; a degree in finance, accounting, economics, or related field is preferred. Preference given for an advanced degree with major coursework in management, finance, public relations or a related field.   Experience: At least ten (10) years of experience in successful, progressively responsible fiscal management.   Substitutions: An advanced degree may substitute for two years of required experience.   OTHER QUALIFICATIONS: A proven record of successfully leading organization-wide changes and financial process re-engineering; managing large, cross-functional teams and building consensus; and superior project and time management with the ability to advance multiple projects concurrently and meet deadlines. Ability to act decisively and with a purpose that positively influences the perceptions, thinking, and actions of others; set challenging goals and reach high standards of performance; establish clear expectations; and hold others accountable for performance. Strong problem solving and critical thinking skills, including ability to simplify complex problems, identify the most significant issues, and integrate qualitative and quantitative data into analysis and recommendations. A desire to self-reflect, give/receive feedback and continuously improve, and the ability to create and engage in a collaborative, results-oriented team environment. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to navigate political processes with professional maturity and to make high-quality presentations that explain complex concepts to a variety of audiences. Strength in developing best practices for financial management and related fiscal policies, with an emphasis on efficient implementation of new initiatives. Ability to run the day-to-day financial operations of a large and diverse organization in which funds are allocated through highly complex formula distributions and cost allocations. Knowledge of governmental accounting and fiscal management, financial projection and estimation methodologies, and business process analysis and re-engineering methodologies. Experience preparing complex documents, such as legislative appropriations requests, annual financial reports, and internal operating budgets. Extensive familiarity with Texas state budgets and appropriations processes, state and federal funding sources, and related regulations strongly preferred. Current accreditation as a Certified Public Account preferred.  

Start Date: Role Type: Full Time Location: Flexible Who We Are: Transcend is education’s “R&D Engine,” enabling communities to imagine, create, and spread learning environments that truly prepare all students for what the future demands. We do this by playing two vital roles : We expand the supply of innovative, replicable school models to give communities everywhere a broader and more diverse range of options to adopt We grow demand and readiness for innovation in communities across the country, so they are eager to adopt these models and innovate in effective ways. To play these roles, we are building three core assets that not only serve our work but also grow the field’s capacity for R&D in critical ways: World-class school design offerings that support communities as they imagine, design, build, test, codify, and share innovative school models An open-source knowledge hub that captures, synthesizes, and shares key insights, evidence, and products to reimagine school A vibrant network of schools, talent, experts, other education nonprofits, and funders who support and amplify our - and each other’s - work. The Opportunity:   At Transcend, we work with communities around the country who have high aspirations for their children’s learning and want help igniting or advancing the journey that will get them to their vision. This journey requires that these communities - and Transcend - use new and existing evidence to innovate and continuously improve. Transcend is seeking a Learning Engineer who can lead teams through the process of getting and using evidence in service of innovation and continuous improvement - whether that’s through accessing existing knowledge and experiences, undertaking rapid-cycle testing to try out something new, or evaluating a program that’s further along in its evolution. This role will use analytical and strategic superpowers to help Transcend and our school partners drive toward the aspirations they have for themselves and their communities, in the service of all learners. Role You’ll Play in this work: Learning Engineers at Transcend help school partners navigate R&D cycles at whatever stage they are in their journey of designing and implementing better learning environments. These stages include: Pre-concrete-idea: helping school partners access evidence from their communities and more broadly to develop coherent and research-aligned ideas for an improved learning environment Fleshing out an idea: helping school partners test and refine an idea, often in light-touch ways, to get a sense of the potential of an improved learning environment and how it can work best Establishing efficacy within a single site: helping school partners refine parts of their learning environment and demonstrate their ability to produce exceptional, equitable outcomes Establishing efficacy across sites: helping school partners spread aspects of their learning environment and learn about its ability to produce exceptional, equitable outcomes in diverse settings Who You Are: You are a disciplined, hands-on person with a scientific mind. You resist the temptation to rely on your gut because you incessantly track projects, metrics and performance. You don’t stop there, you find the least intrusive and quickest ways to test and iterate on ideas, you ask why (ad nauseum--until you understand causal relationships) and you feel triumphant when you've found data-backed solutions that are actually implementable. You have built a sophisticated ability to share evidence and learning in compelling ways, while helping others learn and make meaning so they can optimize programming-- you make running R&D cycles feel like food tasting at a 5 star restaurant! You believe deeply in the power of education to change lives, and can’t wait to contribute your analytical and strategic expertise to help schools make radical changes to reinvent school in America.  To thrive in this role, you will:  Bring a minimum of 5 years experience in program evaluation, utilization focused evaluation, improvement science, and/or in rigorously leading product testing in complex multi-system environments. Experience in education / schools preferred. Have exceptional qualitative and quantitative research skills, including driving the design, implementation, data analysis and communication aspects of an evaluation / improvement process. Have persuasive and clear written and verbal communication skills. Have extensive experience working with diverse populations in terms of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status;  bilingual (English/Spanish) / bicultural preferred. Masterfully manage multiple projects that move quickly; multitasking and prioritizing effectively. Have knowledge of secondary data sources relevant to public education and healthy children, youth, and families. Be proficient in a variety of word processing and communications software (e.g., Google docs, PowerPoint, video conferencing) and data analysis (e.g., SPSS). Be a flexible, enthusiastic teammate who builds positive relationships, takes a service orientation to colleagues, readily stretches high and low, doing whatever it takes to get the job done in an environment of ambiguity, resource constraints, and rapid shifts that befit a scrappy start-up. Be hungry for feedback based on a personal commitment to excellence and constant learning – thriving on constant input, feedback from multiple sources, and fast-cycle iteration to arrive at the best possible product. Be deeply motivated to bring your skill-set to building equitable, innovative learning environments. Join Us! Are you excited about rethinking what it means for schools to deliver an outstanding education? Can you be the glue that helps us remain connected, organized, and happy? If so, apply below!  At Transcend, we celebrate, we support, and we thrive on difference and diversity for the benefit of our team members, our partnerships, and our community. Transcend is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and hires without consideration of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.