Administrative Consultant; and Analytics

Administrative Consultant And Naep State Coordinator

Iowa Department of Education's mission is ensuring all students experience a world-class education. To accomplish our mission, we need talented, passionate people working together to build an excellent education system that empowers all students to achieve their full potential.

We are looking to find a highly qualified leader to serve as the Department's Administrative Consultant and NAEP State Coordinator in the Bureau of Performance and Analytics. This person will provide key leadership and oversight for the Department.

Your Responsibilities:

Coordinate the administration of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) within Iowa in accordance with the NAEP requirements including:

• Coordination of submission of the state participation agreement;
• Recruiting schools for the NAEP sample; and
• Coordinating state activities with the NAEP contractor, such as assessment administration in schools.

Coordinate the development and implementation of the NAEP work plan using deep knowledge of NAEP and assessments generally. Analyze, report and disseminate NAEP results. Disseminate information about the NAEP assessment.

Coordinate the analysis and interpretation of NAEP data and the preparation of state-level reports that permit state officials to draw implications for policies and/or programs at the state and local level including working with NCES to coordinate the release of state and national results, coordinating the reporting and dissemination of state NAEP results and preparing special NAEP reports that draw implications for policies and programs.

Provide technical assistance to the state and LEAs and other target audiences as it relates to NAEP. Promote assessment literacy by promoting a better understanding large-scale assessment using NAEP and NAEP resources and promoting understanding about NAEP and its relevance to the state. Prepare annual work plans and final project reports. Know, understand, explain, communicate, and learn complex state and federal regulation as it applies to education and assessment broadly as well as NAEP specifically.

Attend meetings convened by NAEP and the National Center for Education Statistics on assessment, including state administration meetings, training and professional development, orientation sessions, among others.

Candidates are encouraged to include detailed information about their relevant experience in their application, or submit a cover letter and resume in addition to their application.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Experience in large-scale testing/assessment design, sampling, administration, analysis and/or reporting.
• Experience in testing/assessment coordination and/or evaluation.
• Experience in professional communication on topics of critical importance with an executive level audience.
• Experience in presenting complex statistical results in an understandable format using charts and graphs to an executive level audience.
• Moderate knowledge of statistics to understand metrics and analysis to explain results and create moderately complex visualizations to accompany results.
• Requires experience with remote meeting software (ex. Zoom, Teams, etc.), Windows, Microsoft Suite, and Google Workspace to confidently complete spreadsheets, presentations, and documents and communicate with internal and external clients.

Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday – Friday; some nights and weekends, occasional in-state and out-of-state travel

A successful candidate will bring or have the ability and desire to learn:

• Passion for accomplishing common goals in pursuit of public service
• Knowledge and experience with coordinating the development of legislation, administrative rules, and legislative proposals
• Ability to work collaboratively on, and provide leadership for, high-performing teams
• Ability to work independently, moving projects forward with minimal supervision
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to interpret and break down highly technical and regulatory language, and present information in an understandable manner
• Conflict resolution and interpersonal skills
• Desire to work with diverse teams and stakeholders

What's in it for you?

• Opportunities to make a widespread difference in the lives of children, their families, and Iowa communities
• Collaborative, positive work environment
• Talented and passionate work colleagues that will help you learn and grow
• Opportunities to collaborate with experts from around the country
• Employee discounts from a variety of vendors
• Competitive salary and benefits package:

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

• Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:
• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university, and experience equal to five years of full-time, professional-level work in program administration, development, management, or operations.
• A combination of a total of nine years of education and full-time experience (as…