Education Specialist

Duration: Expected to be 04 months contract with possible extensions.

Location: Detroit, MI (REMOTE POSITION)

Remote with the possibility of travel up to 50% of the time within local region

remote work but training starts in RO - travel expansible.

Training will take place 12/9-12/13, 12/16-12/20, 1/2-1/3, and 1/6-1/10

12/9-12/12 will take place onsite at Reston Office. Contractors will travel in to the office in the AM on 12/9 and travel home late afternoon/evening of 12/12.

Contractors will then start working with schools/districts on 1/13.

Pay Range: $45/hr.-$50/hr. The pay rate may differ depending on your skills, education, experience, and other qualifications.

Featured Benefits:

•  Medical Insurance in compliance with the ACA
• 401(k)
• Sick leave in compliance with applicable state, federal, and local laws

Technical Skills Must Have:

• Customer Service
•  K-12 educational technology, assessment industry, and/or K-12 school/state/central office experience
• Solutions Oriented
•  Strong verbal and written communication skills

Profile: 3-5 year experienced educational administration professional with strong communication skills and service-solution oriented mindset; someone that is great at analyzing scenarios and problem solving with attention to detail

About the Opportunity

• As a State Implementation Support Specialist on the SCPM team you are responsible for supporting implementation of state’s SAT and PSAT assessment program. You will be an escalation point of contact for the state department of education, district test coordinators, and school test coordinators as they implement the assessment for their federal accountability test in spring 2025.
• The State Implementation Support Specialist will work closely with the SCPM team and key Operations business partners to ensure a successful test administration at every eligible school in the state. This will include managing escalations in a timely manner and within the specified guidelines and policies of various internal departments.
• You will be most successful in this role if you are a hands-on, flexible implementation support specialist who is willing to go above and beyond to support customers and find resolutions to issues.

In this role, you will:

Implementation Support (75%)

·        Serve as business contact between the schools and districts and internal teams to address and resolve processing exceptions and/or escalated cases.

·        Establish a strong relationship with the SCPM team, other stakeholders, and external state partners.

·        Facilitate meetings and communicate formally and informally with internal and external stakeholders.

·        Act as SAT and PSAT subject matter expert to provide guidance to DOE, district test coordinators, and school test coordinators.

·        Conduct proactive readiness outreach to prepare schools and districts for administering digital tests.

·        Act as a voice of the customer during policy, process, and solutioning discussions.

·        Lead training sessions and remote office hours as needed with customers.

·        Respond to district and school inquiries via email and phone, providing implementation and technical on-site support as needed. Escalate issues to the state’s Implementation Manager as appropriate. 

·        Work within aggressive timelines and with extremely sensitive test administration-impacting cases.

·        Conduct manual processes to implement exceptions workarounds.

·        When necessary, provide manual support for data entry and exceptions.

·        Directly support the state’s Implementation Manager in creating and presenting customer-facing reports tracking implementation activities.

·        Work closely and collaboratively with the SCPM team’s [Colorado, Michigan,] Implementation Manager and Project Manager to meet project schedule.

·        Assist SCPM team’s [Colorado, Michigan,] Implementation Manager and Project Manager with risk and issue management.

·        Coordinate interactions with Tech Support and Services for Students with Disabilities.

Communication, Process Development and Continuous Improvement (25%)

·        Communicate formally and informally about the project and its status to people within and outside the project team, including across state departments of education.

·        Identify patterns and trends in customer needs and propose solutions.

·        Contribute to process recommendations and assist in implementing for future implementations.

·        Perform ad-hoc duties or tasks as assigned or required.  

You have:

·        3-5 years of related work experience in K-12 educational technology, training, assessment industry, and/or K-12 school/state/central office experience.

·        Demonstrated communication skills, including effective oral communication and direct, concise writing skills. Experience communicating with customers and educators about key elements of program management highly desired.

·        Experience developing and leading training workshops and webinars.

·        Ability to take initiative and contribute to building a stronger program.

·        Experience with a wide variety of tools, including Microsoft Office applications, Salesforce, and Smartsheet, with the flexibility to leverage the best tool for each problem/opportunity.

·        A strong desire to learn & improve, leveraging feedback to course correct.

·        The ability to effectively coordinate multiple responsibilities simultaneously, with fast, flexible, cooperative work style and the ability to reprioritize as warranted.

·        Comfort working in undefined situations and evidence of creating clarity and path forward.

·        The ability to travel up to 50% of your time to school/district locations.