Job Description

The Governmental Relations Finance Specialist III performs highly advanced legislative and consultative work. This position will play an important role in the Governmental Relations Division in support of TEA's legislatively required and requested initiatives. This is an exciting opportunity to learn about education from the top level and engage a variety of stakeholders about the Texas public education system. This position is critical to ensuring TEA provides accurate and timely information and support to the Legislature, Legislative Budget Board, Office of the Governor, and to internal TEA staff. Facilitation of information is important for TEA to achieve the state's strategic vision to ensure that the 5.4 million public school students in Texas are prepared for success in college, career, or the military.

The Governmental Relations Finance Specialist III is privy to confidential and sensitive information and must have excellent interpersonal skills. This person will report to the Chief of Governmental Relations and will work closely with the Governmental Relations Team, School Finance Team, Deputy Commissioner of Finance, Office of the Commissioner, and the Commissioner of Education. This position will provide high quality support for the GR Team and its efforts to execute against the state's strategic priorities for education with a focus on the Legislative Appropriations Process, Public Education School Finance, and property taxes.

May assign and/or supervise the work of others. Works under minimal supervision, with extensive latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment.

This position requires up to 10% travel, based on business needs, to support program initiatives, collaboration, and operational priorities.

This position requires working onsite in Austin, Texas. Candidates must be able to report in person to support meetings, business operations, and other jobrelated responsibilities as needed.

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.

1. Support the Functions of the Governmental Relations Division: Works with the division to ensure all Legislative calls and requests are responded to in a timely manner. Works within a team on special nonrecurring and ongoing projects which may include planning and coordinating multiple projects, presentations including data visualization, disseminating information, and ensuring close out of inquiries or questions from the field. In collaboration with the Chief of Governmental Relations, the GR Finance Specialist III is the lead GR member on matters related to the Appropriations Process and school finance.

2. Prepares Materials for the Agency, Governmental Entities, and Education Stakeholders: Prepares and refines material for the Governmental Relations Division, Commissioner of Education, and agency staff for speeches and public presentations in collaboration with the GR and school finance teams. Strong data visualization skills including use of PowerPoint and Excel are strongly preferred. May discuss agency information to stakeholders, including but not limited to education organizations, governmental entities, and legislators and/or their staff. Coordinates responses to legislative inquires and reviews and edits legislative correspondence.

3. Monitors and attends legislative hearings and briefings: Acts as Liaison with external parties, including legislative offices and education stakeholders as assigned. Ensures the completion and close out of deliverables from hearings and meetings. This position will create and monitor meeting summaries and deliverables. The GR specialist III will serve as a subject matter expert on issues regarding the appropriations process and school finance including attending Legislator meetings and briefings. This position will support the Chief of School Finance and Chief of Governmental Relations in their effort to effectively inform and advise elected officials on matters of school finance.

4. Establish and maintain relationships with legislative staffers and outside education organizations: Furthers the goals and objectives of the TEA by working well with Legislative staff and building trust with other agency and legislative offices. Assists in the development of responses to requests to the state legislature and ensures they are appropriately documented.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Graduation from an accredited fouryear college or university
• Experience: At least seven (7) years of professional experience in governmental relations, legislative affairs, public policy, public administration, appropriations, budgeting, school finance, finance, or a related field, including at least two (2) years of experience working with or supporting the Texas Legislature.
• Substitutions: Each additional year of related experience above the required minimum may substitute for education on a yearforyear basis.

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
• Major coursework in education, public administration, government, public policy, finance, business or a related field is preferred
• Knowledge of state legislative processes and state government administration with a specific focus on the Legislative Appropriations process and/or public school finance
• Ability to analyze issues; to work under pressure and meet close deadlines; and to communicate effectively and clearly on complex issues
• Excellent interpersonal skills and verbal/written communication skills are required
• Requires strong personal values around reliability, confidentiality, and sensitive information
• Ability to prioritize work and collaborate with diverse individuals and groups while managing multiple projects with varied timelines
• Requires work in an environment with short turnaround times and the possibility for work outside normal working hours including some overnight and/or weekends during the legislative session
• Prefer knowledge of local, state, and federal laws related to public education; public administration and office management techniques preferred; general understanding of statistical analysis processes preferred; and of legislative management processes and techniques is preferred
• Skill in compiling, evaluating, and presenting legislative information, preferably in public education; in problemsolving; and in policy analysis and research
• Requires excellent skills in the use of a computer and applicable software, specifically Excel, PowerPoint and Word with strong data visualization skills.

New hires, rehires, and internal hires will typically receive a starting salary between the posted minimum and the average pay of employees within the same classification. Offers are based on the candidate's experience and qualifications and consider internal pay equity across employees performing similar work.

The top half of the posted salary range is generally reserved for candidates whose qualifications exceed the role's requirements. The maximum of the range is typically reserved for candidates who significantly exceed the required and preferred qualifications.

Benefits

TEA employees receive a comprehensive benefits package through the State of Texas and the Employee Retirement System of Texas (ERS), supporting health, financial security, and worklife balance.
Benefits include:

• Retirement through ERS and employerpaid health insurance for eligible employees
• Optional dental, vision, and dependent coverage
• Paid state holidays, vacation leave, sick leave, and longevity pay
• Wellness programs, employee assistance programs, and professional development opportunities
• Eligibility for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program

To learn more about benefits available to State of Texas employees, please review the State of Texas Employee Benefits brochure and visit the TEA Compensation and Benefits page .

Military/Veteran Information

Applicants eligible for Military Employment Preference will be considered in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations.

To explore how military experience may align with this role, applicants may review Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) codes within the State's Position Classification Plan. Please refer to the Military Crosswalk and select the occupational category that most closely corresponds with the classification listed in this job posting.

Additional Information

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

Due to the high volume of applications, we are unable to accept phone calls or respond to all email inquiries. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

To help ensure you receive updates regarding your application, please add [email protected] and @tea.texas.gov to your safe sender's list.

How to Apply

To apply for a position in the Candidate Gateway:

• Select the job posting and click "Apply"
• Review and accept the Privacy Agreement by selecting "Accept"
• If you are a firsttime user, select "New User" and create an account using a personal email address.
• Once your account is created, complete and submit the online application.