The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is the State Education Agency for the District of Columbia charged with raising the quality of education for all DC residents. OSSE is focused on sustaining, accelerating, and deepening the progress being made for the District’s 90,000+ students. OSSE serves as the District’s liaison to the U.S. Department of Education and works closely with the District’s 470+ early childhood facilities, 250+ schools, 60+ local education agencies (including DCPS and charter organizations), and community-based organizations to provide critical programming and resources to our stakeholders.

We are looking for a resourceful, analytical thinker who loves collaborating across teams to get things done and is motivated by the power of data to help us achieve our vision. For context, the agency has an annual budget of ~$1.4 billion, oversees $200+ million in annual grants funding, and procures ~$40 million of goods and services. The Operations division oversees and manages nearly all those resources.

The Senior Advisor (Program Analyst) to the Project Management Officer (PMO) will support the PMO in leading the entire Operations division, including its seven programmatic teams, by providing strategic guidance and programmatic support to the PMO. The Senior Advisor will also research, plan, facilitate, and monitor outcomes of short- and long-term projects through coordination and consultation with key internal stakeholders, and unstick issues as needed to make sure our work moves forward. In the future, the role may support a new program/project management team tasked with overseeing some critical strategic projects within Operations and potentially across the agency.

The ideal candidate will be a self-starter with a relentless commitment to delivering high-quality results and getting the core details of the work correct. The candidate must have expertise delivering results on complex projects on schedule and be able utilize project management skills to troubleshoot challenges and exceed stakeholders’ expectations. This person should be passionate about data and be able to use information to craft and deliver compelling narratives to influence and drive change management. Finally, but perhaps most importantly, the ideal candidate will have an unwavering commitment to top-notch customer service and be driven by a sense of humility and service to the students, parents, schools, and community we serve.

Specific functions of the Senior Advisor (Program Analyst) include:

• Project Management
  • Plan, coordinate, and participate in different phases of project creation and implementation, including creating project plans, engaging in appropriate follow-up, and crafting deliverables.
  • Ensure that projects are executed with high fidelity and exceptional precision, that stakeholders are at the table and appropriately integrated, and that expected outcomes are met within defined timeframes.
• Data-Informed Decisions
  • Conduct ad-hoc data analysis and synthesize and present results to make data digestible to audiences with a diverse range of data literacy.
  • Engage in financial planning and learn budget processes to engage in adequate oversight and forecasting.
• Division Strategy & Execution
  • Support the Project Management Officer by designing and implementing routines to optimize the team’s impact, preparing meeting briefs and talking points, and strategizing about short- and long-term planning to meet strategic goals.
  • Manage several of the agency’s administrative processes, using data to continually drive targeted improvements, and oversee staff engagement and improvement initiatives.

Key qualifications for the role include:

• A proven track record of consensus building and managing projects laterally without direct management authority to achieve excellent results.
• Demonstrated high expectations with an unrelenting focus on excellence and finding solutions to any challenge.
• Ability to synthesize large amounts of qualitative and quantitative information to uncover trends, analyze root causes, and make recommendations to act strategically to improve results.
• [Preferred] – Advanced degree in education, business, policy, or related fields.

Our ideal candidate will also have:

• Strong written and oral communication and listening skills and a positive attitude marked by humility and humor.
• Penchant to receive, process, and execute on feedback in a manner that allows for continued growth and improvement.
• Passion for educational equity and a commitment to believing all students can learn and achieve at the highest level.

Interested applicants should apply at careers.dc.gov
Search Job ID: 24549
Position Title: OSSE: Program Analyst
 Closes: Jan. 9, 2024