Education Specialist 2 (PCN 057736)

Job Description

This position is open to Alaskan Residents only. Please check out the residency definition to determine if you qualify.

The Department of Education & Early Development, Division of Innovation & Education Excellence is recruiting for an Education Specialist 2.

Pay will be determined based on the location of the selected applicant.

What You Will Be Doing: Joining the Alaska Reads Act and Early Learning team provides the opportunity to support meaningful statewide work focused on strengthening early learning (preschool) programs, foundational literacy, and school readiness for Alaska’s youngest learners. In this role, you will serve as a statewide specialist for the early learning components of the Alaska Reads Act and work closely with school districts, educators, and early learning partners across Alaska.

• Manage statewide implementation of the Alaska Early Education Program Standards, Early Education Program Grants, and Preschool ADM.
• Manage the full lifecycle of the Early Education Program Grant (Preschool), including applications, awards, grant agreements, monitoring, technical assistance, progress reporting, partner coordination, and closeout.
• Administer the Preschool ADM application and approval process and provide technical assistance to help school districts meet or maintain eligibility requirements.
• Provide statewide guidance, training, and resources that support developmentally appropriate practices, foundational literacy grounded in the Science of Reading, and alignment with the Alaska Reads Act and Alaska Early Learning Guidelines.
• Prepare reports, guidance documents, presentations, and communications; collaborate with internal and external partners; and develop and manage contracts, procurements, and reimbursable services agreements for early learning initiatives.

Mission and Values/Culture:

The Department of Education and Early Development’s mission is to provide an excellent education for every student every day. The Alaska Reads Act and Early Learning team strengthens early learning systems, foundational literacy, and school readiness through statewide standards, grants, technical assistance, and partnerships. This position helps school districts and early learning partners develop and sustain high-quality programs that meet the Alaska Early Education Program Standards and Preschool ADM eligibility requirements.

Benefits of Joining Our Team:

Joining the Alaska Reads Act and Early Learning team provides the opportunity to support meaningful statewide work focused on strengthening early education, foundational literacy, and school readiness for Alaska’s youngest learners. You will work collaboratively with school districts, educators, families, and early learning partners to develop and sustain high-quality early education programs across the state.

• Support statewide initiatives that strengthen early education, foundational literacy, school readiness, and long-term outcomes for Alaska’s youngest learners.
• Collaborate with a knowledgeable and supportive team committed to strengthening Alaska’s early learning systems.
• Gain valuable experience in statewide program administration, grant management, technical assistance, contracting, reporting, and implementation of the Alaska Reads Act.
• Build strong partnerships with educators, school districts, early learning providers, community organizations, and other state agencies throughout Alaska.
• Flexible work arrangements and potential telework options may be available consistent with operational needs and State of Alaska policy.

The Working Environment You Can Expect: This position may be based in either the Juneau or Anchorage office and offers flexibility to work in the office, hybrid, or fully remote depending on operational needs. The position supports DEED-sponsored events, statewide educational conferences, professional learning opportunities, and statewide collaboration efforts related to implementation of the Alaska Reads Act and high-quality early learning programs. Travel may be required within Alaska to provide technical assistance and support to school districts and early learning partners implementing early learning and literacy initiatives. Occasional out-of-state travel for conferences, professional development, or collaboration opportunities may also be required.

Who We Are Looking For: We are interested in candidates who possess some or all of the following position specific competencies. •Grants Management: Knowledge of requirements, practices, and procedures for soliciting, receiving, reviewing, and processing proposals, and awarding and administering grants and agreements. •Education and Training: Knowledge of teaching, training, research, making presentations, lecturing, testing, and other instructional methods. •Teaching Others: Helps others learn through formal or informal methods; identifies training needs; provides constructive feedback; coaches others on how to perform tasks; acts as a mentor. •Project Management: Knowledge of the principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, and managing projects and resources, including monitoring and inspecting costs, work, and contractor performance. •Technical Competence: Uses knowledge acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one’s job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Please note that this position will be required to travel within the State. • This position is occasionally required to travel to remote school districts for training and technical assistance (2 to 4 trips per year). This may require travel by fixed-wing aircraft, boat, and snow machine. Some districts do not have hotel accommodations. Incumbent may have to sleep on the floor in the school. Attending conferences requires the incumbent to travel with luggage filled with supplies for districts, which may exceed 25 or 50 pounds.

Additionally, this position requires:

• Eligible at hire for an Alaska Initial, Professional, or Master Teacher Certification OR Type B Administrator Certification required.
• Meet requirements for the Early Education Lead Endorsement.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college and four years of professional experience in education, one year of which was as a staff advisor/specialist, administrator, supervisor or consultant in planning, developing and maintaining standards and evaluating educational and vocational curricula or educational programs in a specialized field.

Substitution: Appropriate graduate study may be substituted on a year-for-year basis for the non-specialized experience to a maximum of two years.

Special Note: Due to the duties assigned to a majority of these positions, applicants may be required to possess an Alaska Teacher Certificate at the time of employment and be required to maintain certification as a condition of employment. Specific endorsements may also be required. Documentation is included in the file of affected positions.

Individual positions in this class may require expertise in a particular educational specialty. Recruitment and selection will be on the basis of these requirements.

Additional Required Information

Please provide at time of application:

• Cover Letter (see instructions below)

At the time of the interview, please provide the following:

• A copy of your transcripts at the time of the interview.
• Alaska Initial, Professional, or Master Teacher Certification OR Type B Administrator Certification
• Three professional references with their contact information (email or phone), including full name, title, and company.

Please read the information below carefully. This applies to your application submission. COVER LETTER A cover letter is required as part of your application. In your cover letter, please describe how you possess the position-specific competencies listed in the “Who We Are Looking For” section and how your skills will be of particular benefit to the position. We request your cover letter be no more than two to three paragraphs and limited to one page. EDUCATION To verify education is being used to meet and/or support the required minimum qualifications/competencies, you must fill in the Education section of the application If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials used to meet or support the minimum qualifications/competencies for a position and are required with each application (Unofficial is okay; please ensure the institution/URL name is listed on the transcripts) Transcripts can be attached at the time of application or provided at the time of interview; if not, transcripts will be required before employment.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION If education is completed in a foreign college or university, it may be used to meet the above requirements, if applicable. If utilizing this education, you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs or an accredited U.S. state university reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the state university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. The omission of the required documentation listed will result in an incomplete application, and you will not receive further consideration.

WORK EXPERIENCE When using work experience not documented in your application, please provide the employer's name, job title, employment dates, and whether you worked full-time or part-time Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported and if minimum qualifications are met Work experience needed to meet the minimum qualifications must be documented in the application If the application does not support minimum qualifications, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment A resume will not be used to determine that minimum qualifications have been met for the position you are applying for.

If you have currently or previously been appointed to a flexibly staffed position, please ensure your work experience within a flexibly staffed position indicates the actual dates employed at each level Ensure your time and any subsequent flex promotion(s) are documented as a separate position This is required as minimum qualifications require experience at a particular level in which the lower level may not be considered If this information is not accurately reflected in your application, this may cause the processing of your application for consideration to be delayed.

The State of Alaska does not provide VISA Employer sponsorships.

APPLICATION NOTICE You can ONLY apply for this position through the Workplace Alaska website or via a hard copy application. If you accessed this recruitment bulletin through a job search portal such as Alaska Jobs or another database, you MUST use a Workplace Alaska online or hard-copy application to apply successfully. Instructions on how to apply with Workplace Alaska may be found on the Workplace Alaska "How to Apply" webpage, found here: http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/workplace/help/

NOTICE Questions regarding the application process can be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 800-587-0430 (toll-free) or (907) 465- 4095. If you choose to be contacted by email, please ensure that your email address is correct on your application and that your spam filter will permit emails from the 'governmentjobs.com' domain. For information on allowing emails from the 'governmentjobs.com' domains, visit the Lost Password Help page at https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword.

EEO STATEMENT The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals with disabilities who require accommodations, auxiliary aids, or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-4095 in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at P.O. Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal-opportunity employer.

WORKPLACE ALASKA APPLICATION QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE Questions regarding application submission or system operation errors should be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll-free) or (907) 465-4095 if you are in the Juneau area. Requests for information may also be emailed to [email protected] For assistance with applying for a password, please visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword

Contact Information

For specific information about the position, feel free to contact the hiring manager at:

Heather Hintze-DeBerry, Education Administrator 2 Phone: 907-269-6892 [email protected]