District Strategic Supports Advisor (Director II)

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.

Position Overview: As part of the District Strategic Leadership Division, the District Strategic Supports Advisor (DSSA) is responsible for relationship management and providing high caliber consultation to superintendents and district leadership teams across the state to pursue research-based strategies and connect to aligned technical assistance and support. In order to be impactful, the DSSA will proactively build productive collaborations with key external partners (e.g., regional service center leadership) and internal agency leadership (e.g., Office of Governance) to design customized support approaches to districts and ensure strong follow-through. Crucially, the DSSA will also collaborate with campus support specialists to align campus- and district-based supports for a more systemic, coherent overall support effort to districts from the agency.

This role will plan, develop content, deliver high impact training, and manage internal and external stakeholders to launch statewide Leadership Academies. This is programmatic support to coach aspiring superintendents as well as aspiring coaches of superintendents and their leadership teams through competencies and research-based practices embodied by highly effective superintendents. The DSSA will closely partner with the Director of Board and Superintendent Development and senior agency leadership to collaboratively strategize, plan, and deliver the supports above. As a leader of fast-moving programmatic work, the Director will be responsible for quality assurance of content and supports, rolling up and reporting out pilot data and lessons learned to the Senior Director of District Strategic Leadership and other senior leaders at the TEA. The Director will performance manage technical assistance vendors and Education Service Centers.

The role will involve high profile interactions and relationship-building with ESC leadership and district superintendents, their leadership teams, and others who support superintendents in various capacities. The role entails significant internal TEA and external stakeholder engagement to ensure content and supports provided incorporate our strongest content expertise and field feedback.

This role is highly field-embedded and will involve travel to district sites and events to further relationship-building and support. This role reports to the Director of Board and Superintendent Development and sits within TEA’s Division of District Strategic Leadership, which is focused on collectively supporting superintendents, boards, districts, and campuses across Texas with strategic planning, performance management, and research-based best practices.

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

Please note that a resume 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.

• Superintendent and Senior District Leader Priority LEA Support: Facilitate support/strategy calls and touchpoints with key district leaders on assigned caseload; conduct effective preparation in partnership with campus-based support teams, field service agents, regional service center partners, and any relevant vendor partners; proactively connect district leaders with high impact strategies, TEA programs and resources, experts, and other helpful leaders
• Cross-Agency and External Partner Priority LEA Support Strategy Coordination: Collaborate with team director on monthly Coordinated Support Team meetings to align on coherent cross-agency strategy and approach with priority LEAs; maintain regular touchpoints and relationships with Education Service Centers to ensure aligned support and messaging; collaborate with team to developed tailored support plan for each LEA and track progress against that plan
• Leadership Academy Content Development: Directly develop and partner with vendors and agency subject matter experts to develop yearlong scope and sequence, content, and aligned training/facilitation material designed to build leaders’ knowledge, skills, and mindset in district systems, performance management, and core leadership areas; leverage a combination of research, strong presentation and content development skills, and adult learning-aligned practices to develop a strong content suite
• Leadership Academy Delivery and Performance Management: Directly facilitate / deliver and manage key internal and external partners/facilitators to effectively deliver yearlong Leadership Academy scope and sequence of cohort and learning experiences; in addition to Leadership Academy itself, deliver key content in trainer of trainer or direct delivery format to other critical programs – e.g., Collect, track, and periodically reflect on key metrics gauging competency development of Leadership Academy participants, trainer delivery effectiveness; lead team reflections and take management action to pivot approach based on data
• Leadership Academy Operations and Events Management: Proactively recruit leaders for upcoming cohorts, deliver informational sessions and pitches, manage full application process, effectively onboard leaders, and continue to engage with leaders one-on-one to ensure progress and support. Ensure high quality event operations, logistics, and delivery in partnership with key external partners
  
  

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university
• Experience: At least six (6) years of experience in 1) a district or campus leadership role, preferably a senior district or cabinet level role, 2) coaching or managing stakeholder engagement with executive-level, senior leaders, preferably superintendents, 3) managing large, complex programs and projects with multiple stakeholders to success, 4) experience with designing and facilitating training and development with executive-level, senior leaders
  
  

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
• Track record of success as a district or campus leader in achieving strong student academic outcomes
• Track record of success implementing research-based best practices such as high-quality instructional materials adoption, instructional leadership, strategic staffing and compensation, and college, career, and military preparation pathways
• Excellent content development and facilitation with senior executive leaders such as superintendents
• Facilitating discussion with actionable next steps across multiple senior level executive leaders
• Meticulous attention to detail with an ability to produce high quality work in a dynamic, collaborative environment
• Critical thinking and problem solving with the ability to break down complex information into comprehensive parts and communicate them
• Success leveraging different strategies and interpersonal skills to move the work forward, demonstrating flexibility and adaptability when presented with a change of course or deadline
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to give, receive and implement critical feedback
• Ability to act with purpose that impacts and positively influences the perceptions, thinking and actions of others
• Ability to build relationships, motivate, and inspire others
  
  

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.

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 "capps.recruiting@cpa.texas.gov" 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.