Position Overview:

As a State Special Education Systems Improvement Specialist (Program Manager) within WestEd's Center for Education Systems, you will lead projects that support state education agencies (SEAs) to effectively implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and improve the educational experiences of students with disabilities. States play a critical role in supporting and enforcing local implementation of IDEA, ensuring access to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for children with disabilities, and improving student outcomes. States turn to WestEd to help them improve special education systems to reach these goals. You will serve as a trusted advisor to SEA leaders in their improvement efforts.

The work of this position will focus on guiding SEAs to improve and document their state special education systems. Specifically, the position will lead states through reviewing and refining policies, procedures, and practices related to monitoring and accountability, data systems, professional development and technical assistance systems, fiscal oversight and systems improvement to ensure alignment with IDEA and related guidance and requirements from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). In addition, this role will manage state projects focused on leveraging data to inform strategic planning, resource allocation, and investment decisions. The successful candidate will be able to build trusting relationships with state leaders to identify trends, evaluate program effectiveness, assess return on investment (ROI), and prioritize resources towards initiatives that produce measurable improvement.

You will be responsible for leading WestEd colleagues in a process to review state special education policies, procedures, and practices for alignment with federal expectations under IDEA, craft recommendations for improvement, guide states to create and document special education policies and procedures including those related to monitoring and data, and design and lead professional development and/or coaching sessions for state department staff around IDEA requirements and systems improvement. You will also use your content expertise in special education to independently lead proposals and cultivate client relationships to develop new business that expands this important work across the country.

Core Focus Areas

• Lead projects that include the review of state special education policies, procedures, and practices for improvements and to ensure compliance with IDEA and federal requirements.
• Guide states to create, document, implement, and evaluate state special education policies, procedures, and practices.
• Generate strategic recommendations for systems improvement, resource allocation and program investments based on the state's data.
• Facilitate the assessment of effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) of state special education initiatives, technical assistance efforts and improvement strategies.
• Advise SEA leaders in aligning staffing, resources, and organizational priorities to maximize impact and improve outcomes for students with disabilities.
• Design and facilitate professional development and coaching experiences for state special education leadership and staff.
• Develop data dashboards or visualizations, reporting tools, and continuous improvement processes that support decision-making.
• Lead business development efforts by cultivating client relationships, supporting the identification and pursuit of potential partners, and leading proposal development efforts.

What We're Looking For:

To help us make a positive impact on state systems, we'll need someone who has the following:

• Master's or graduate degree in education, preferably special education.
• At least five years of experience in special education, preferably at the federal, state, or local level.
• Knowledge of IDEA and state general supervision policies, procedures, and practices at the federal or state level (with an emphasis on state monitoring and data systems).

Knowledge of/experience with one or more of the following:

• • IDEA implementation at the federal, state, or local level.
  • OSEP guidance and requirements.
  • State general supervision systems.
  • State monitoring systems.
  • State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) data collection and reporting processes.
  • 618 data collection and reporting processes.
  • State dispute resolution systems.
  • State fiscal systems.
  • State technical assistance and professional development systems.
• Advanced skills in data analysis, interpretation, and visualization.
• Understanding of resource allocation methodologies and use of performance data to assess program impact.
• Experience designing and facilitating professional development experiences (workshops, institutes, coaching programs) for adult learners, both virtual and in-person.
• Project leadership/management experience.
• Powerful presentation and facilitation skills and comfort facilitating with large and small groups virtually and in-person.
• Ability to demonstrate evidence of a deep commitment to supporting the development of policies, procedures, and practices across all levels of the education system that ensure the success of students with disabilities.

Responsibilities & Other Skills:

• Project leadership including budget and financial management responsibilities.
• Leadership of project staff, including mentoring and quality assurance reviews.
• Agency-wide collaboration and effective development of professional relationships in and outside of the organization.
• Commitment to building eminence and demonstrating thought leadership through presentations, publications, and participation in national initiatives.
• Experience leading resource development efforts, proposal writing, and report generation.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to facilitate and guide groups to reach consensus.
• Commitment to ensuring high-quality products and customer service.
• Ability to handle multiple priorities under time-restricted conditions.
• Necessary application skills: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Google Workspace products, and data visualization tools.

*Note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Successful candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

The full salary range for this position, WestEd level (11), is $106,000 to $165,600, but WestEd does not typically hire at or near the top of the salary range. The typical hiring range for this role is $106,000 to $132,500. The actual offer considers multiple factors, including but not limited to education, experience, internal equity, and other organizational needs.

In addition to the base salary, benefits include:
• 15% contribution toward retirement effective day 1 of employment and immediately 100% vested
• Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Account option
• All health/welfare benefits are effective the first of the month following the hire date
• PTO: 19 days (increases to 21 days beginning the third year of employment), 12 paid holidays
• Life Insurance: value of 3x gross salary, max of 500k
• Opportunities for annual merit-based performance increases + annual incentives
• Professional development opportunities & mentorship program

For more details about our benefits, go to: https://www.wested.org/work-at-wested/#benefits WestEd is a Drug Free Employer and maintains a drug-free workplace. #LI-Remote #Circa-Remote