Assistant Director Special Education, Program Improvement, Technical Assistance

Thurston County, WA - USA

Yearly Salary: $ 102547 - 114577

Posted on: 20 hours ago

Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Job Summary

Description

WASHINGTON MANAGEMENT SERVICE

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Assistant Director Special Education Program Improvement Technical Assistance

$102547- $114577annually

Closes December 122025

The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) seeks to fill Early Childhood Special Education/Section 619 Coordinator. This full-time position is based in Olympia Washington. This position may be eligible for partial to near full-time telework. Telework is a combination of in-building and off-site days. During yourinitial trainingperiod you will be required to be in the office 3 days a week.After youve completed your initial training you may have the option to work from home on a flexible telework schedule. While were happy to offer this balance of in-office connection and telework flexibility this isnt a fully remote position. To be eligible youll also need to reside in the state of Washington.We encourage interested candidates to visit theOSPI website to gain insight into our agency.

About OSPI and our initiatives

OSPI is the primary agency charged with overseeing public K12 education in Washington state. Working with the states 295 public school districts and 7 state-tribal education compact schools OSPI allocates funding and provides tools resources and technical assistance so every student in Washington is provided a high-quality public education.

At OSPI we recognize that our employees are the key to the success of the agency. We are committed to our work but value the balance with our personal lives. We demonstrate our commitment to employees by providing an environment that stimulates professional growth and values them for their expertise. OSPI is a great place to work and has several initiatives to help create a great working environment including:

We support a healthy work/life balance by offering flexible/alternative work schedules and mobile and telework options. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
We have a tuition assistance policy and support employees seeking tuition waiver through participating higher education organizations.
We have an Infant at Work Program that is based on long-term values of newborns and infant-parent bonding. Eligible employees who are new parents or legal guardians can bring their infant (six weeks to six months) when returning to work. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
We value and are actively involved in promoting diversity equity and inclusion within OSPI by way of cross-divisional collaborative committee. The focus of the committee includes employee engagement and education; reinforcing OSPI values; and maximizing the value of diversity and identifying strategies for inclusion.

Vision Mission and Values
Vision: All students prepared for post-secondary pathways careers and civic engagement.

Mission: Transform K-12 education to a system that is centered on closing opportunity gaps and is characterized by high expectations for all students and educators. We achieve this by developing equity-based policies and supports that empower educators families and communities.

Values: Ensuring Equity Collaboration and Service Achieving Excellence through Continuous Improvement Focus on the Whole Child

Equity

Each student family and community possesses strengths and cultural knowledge that benefits their peers educators and schools. Ensuring educational equity:

Goes beyond equality; it requires education leaders to examine the ways current policies and practices result in disparate outcomes for our students of color students living in poverty students receiving special education and English Learner services students who identify as LGBTQ and highly mobile student populations.
Requires education leaders to develop an understanding of historical contexts; engage students families and community representatives as partners in decision-making; and actively dismantle systemic barriers replacing them with policies and practices that ensure all students have access to the instruction and support they need to succeed in our schools.

Position Overview
The Assistant Director for Special Education Program Improvement Technical Assistance is a leadership role responsible for supervising the onboarding and development of new Special Education Program supervisors and taking a leadership role in overseeing and supporting priorities that are central to the educational benefit for students with disabilities improvement efforts in the Special Education division and more specifically the program improvement team and overseeing and putting structures in place for robust technical assistance to drive these efforts. This position plays a pivotal role to ensure that local education agencies (LEAs) have the necessary technical assistance structures and resources in place to comply with federal and state special education requirements in regard to special education services and that large scale improvement efforts (i.e. statewide IEP coordination across agencies for transition early childhood programs) have strong implementation and technical assistance and professional development plans in place. Additionally the Assistant Director collaborates across teams to enhance Washington states guidance and technical assistance resources focusing on student outcomes and ensuring comprehensive and accountable special education programming from ages P-22.

Key Responsibilities
This position will serve as the Assistant Director of Special Education focusing on Technical Assistance in the Program Improvement unit within the OSPI Special Education division. This position will:

Lead the Inclusionary Practices Technical Assistance Network (IPTN):Direct the design coordination and delivery of TA that supports districts and ESDs in implementing sustainable equity-driven inclusive practices.
Supervisory Leadership and Staff Development:Provide direct supervision for Program Improvement staff including onboarding new team members setting clear expectations and fostering professional growth. Lead training and mentoring efforts to build staff expertise in technical assistance delivery ensuring consistency quality and alignment with division priorities.
Develop and Publish Statewide Guidance:Create and disseminate clear accessible and actionable guidance documents tools and resources that help districts and partners interpret and implement state and federal special education policy.
Provide Targeted Technical Assistance:Respond to district and ESD requests for TA aligning supports to compliance needs root cause analysis and systemic improvement strategies that improve student outcomes.
Coordinate Division Priorities in TA:Ensure TA efforts reflect and advance the divisions goals including the statewide IEP initiative inclusive early childhood services monitoring modernization and equitable identification and services for students with disabilities.
Support Continuous Improvement:Use data and evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of TA and guidance identify emerging needs and adjust strategies to maximize impact for students and families.
Build Capacity and Collaboration:Partner with internal OSPI divisions ESDs districts families and community organizations to strengthen the statewide infrastructure for inclusive practices and technical assistance delivery.
Policy Interpretation and Communication:Translate complex state and federal regulations into understandable language and practical resources for districts ESDs families and community partners.

Additional Leadership Responsibilities:

Vision and Innovation:Anticipate statewide needs and lead the development of new technical assistance models innovative training approaches and emerging resources that drive systems change and maximize student benefit and build capacity of team members to engage in and provide technical assistance on emerging innovations.

Perform other duties as assigned by the Assistant Superintendent/Executive Director of Special Education

Required Qualifications:

Masters degree or higher in Special Education Child Development Educational Leadership or education related field.
At least three (3) years of administrative experience in special education at the local state or federal level.
2 or more years of demonstrated oversight and leadership of project implementation.
Teamwork: Contribution to the development cohesion and productivity of the Program Improvement Team supporting teamwork and cooperation through open communication with all members of the special education department and helping others. Bachelors degree or higher in Special Education Child Development Educational Leadership or related field.
Personal Development: Participating in meetings in an active cooperative and courteous manner. Making effective oral presentations writing clearly and succinctly. Demonstrating understanding and empathy towards others.
Self-Management: Effective and efficient use of work time exhibiting integrity and honesty and working effectively in a diverse work environment.
Judgment: Display balanced thinking that combines wisdom analysis experience and perspective.
Stress tolerance: Effectively handle stressful or adverse situations making good decisions working calmly and accurately and working to calm others.
Accountability:Provide advanced-level leadership in the development and delivery of high-quality technical assistance statewide guidance and improvement supports that strengthen district capacity drive systems change and improve outcomes for students with disabilities.
This position requires the ability to travel statewide occasional out-of-state travel for national events participation in necessary in-person meetings and a flexible schedule that may include evenings weekends and occasional extended hours for on-site reviews.

*This role requires spending at least two days in the office each month along with participating in scheduled trainings and team or all-staff meetings.

In addition to those required qualifications our ideal applicant will also have some or all of the following:

Desired Qualifications:

Advanced degree in special education Education Studies MPA MPP or related field.
Five (5) ore more years of administrative experience in special education at the local state or federal level.
2 or more years of supervisory experience
Experience working with diverse and underserved populations.
Strong background and experience in the field of special education at the local regional or state level including policy and guidance.
Excellent communication skills both verbal and written with the ability to make clear presentations to diverse groups.
Strong project management skills.
Experienced in developing clear effective guidance and training materials

Compensation
The annual compensation for the position is$102547- $114577per year and depends upon experience educational background and qualifications. Geographic differentials may be applied based on work location of successful candidate. Washington State offers a generous benefit package including health dental and life insurance retirement and an optional deferred compensation program. Please visitHealth Care Authorityfor information regarding health benefits and theDepartment of Retirement Systemsfor retirement plan information. This is a Washington Management Position. This position is not represented by a bargaining unit.

Application Process

Those interested in this position must apply through. Applications must include the following documents inMS Word and PDF format only:

A letter of interest specifically addressing the qualifications listed in this announcement;
A current résumé and;
A list of three or more professional references.

Please address any questionsto:

Sal Salazar Human Resources

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
600 Washington Street Southeast
Olympia Washington 98504-7200

:

Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the Human Resources Office at or or e-mail.

New Jobs Alert Service

OSPI offers a subscription service which regularly notifies subscribers of new OSPI employment opportunities on . Subscribers are notified via text or email alert. If you are interested in this service then please subscribe atthis location.

OSPI is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from job seekers who will contribute to our diversity. OSPI provides equal access to all programs and services without discrimination based on sex race creed religion color national origin age honorably discharged veteran or military status sexual orientation including gender expression or identity the presence of any sensory mental or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. If you would like please include your name and gender pronouns in your application to ensure we address you appropriately throughout the application process.Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the human resource c

Required Experience:

Director

DescriptionWASHINGTON MANAGEMENT SERVICEJOB ANNOUNCEMENTAssistant Director Special Education Program Improvement Technical Assistance $102547- $114577annuallyCloses December 122025The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) seeks to fill Early Childhood Special Educati...