Comprehensive School Safety - Program Supervisor

WASHINGTON MANAGEMENT SERVICE JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Comprehensive School Safety - Program Supervisor $82,487 - $97,050 annually Closes September 09,2026

The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) seeks to fill the Threat Assessment and HIB Program Supervisor position. 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 your onboarding period (first 6 - 8 weeks) you will be required to be in the office 3 days per week. After you’ve completed your onboarding period, you may have the option to work a flexible telework schedule (days of the week to be determined with Supervisor approval). While we’re happy to offer this balance of in-office connections and telework flexibility, this isn’t a fully remote position. We encourage interested candidates to visit the OSPI website to gain insight into our agency.

About OSPI and our initiatives OSPI is the primary agency charged with overseeing public K–12 education in Washington state. Working with the state's 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 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.

Overview of SESP Division The Student Engagement & Special Programs (SESP) Division advances an equitable education system that provides whole-child supports in partnership with communities so that every student is safe, supported, and equipped to thrive and learn. Grounded in a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), SESP provides integrated statewide leadership and system supports that respond to the full range of student experiences, reduce barriers to learning, and strengthen attendance, engagement, inclusive learning environments, educational opportunity, and long-term sustainability. The division works through shared practice, strong partnerships, and effective use of data and public resources to drive continuous improvement, fiscal stewardship, and coherent system impact.

Position Overview This position is housed within SESP and reports to the Director of Student Support. It provides statewide strategic leadership, program oversight, and cross-sector systems knowledge for comprehensive school safety and emergency preparedness — leading interagency coordination, legislative bill analysis, and policy development to strengthen statewide prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery systems, and to build district and ESD capacity in partnership with education, emergency management, law enforcement, and community organizations. The Program Supervisor leads the statewide ESD Comprehensive School Safety Coordinator network; supports emergency operations planning, school security, and related readiness initiatives; and translates law, policy, evidence, and stakeholder needs into practical guidance, training, resources, and sustainable systems for districts and partners. The position facilitates and staffs the School Safety and Student Well-Being Advisory Committee (SS-SWAC), stewards the relationship with the Task Force on Gangs in Schools, plans the annual Safety Summit, manages assigned grants and contracts, leads legislative and proviso reporting, coordinates statutory data activities, represents OSPI in statewide emergency-management forums, and serves as the primary Safety Center lead for elevating significant safety concerns and emerging issues to agency leadership. The position develops and recommends, in partnership with OSPI leadership, statewide approaches for complex, sensitive, and evolving school safety matters. The position is expected to exercise political awareness, build trust across sectors, and engage OSPI leadership proactively on program direction, risks, and opportunities. This portfolio operates primarily under RCW 28A.300.630 (State School Safety Center), RCW 28A.300.635 (School Safety and Student Well-Being Advisory Committee), RCW 28A.310.510 (regional school safety centers), and RCW 28A.320.125 (safe school plans), along with other applicable state and federal school safety and emergency-management requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as OSPI’s comprehensive school safety lead and representative for statewide networks, legislative work, community partnerships, the state Emergency Management Council, and cross-agency initiatives, providing strategic direction and applying systems-level, cross-sector judgment to recommend statewide methods, policy or legislative changes, and long-term Safety Center direction.
• Facilitate and staff the School Safety and Student Wellbeing Advisory Committee (SS-SWAC); steward the Task Force on Gangs in Schools relationship; lead the annual Safety Summit; and lead or support related task forces, interagency meetings, and stakeholder engagement.
• Facilitate and coordinate with the ESD Comprehensive School Safety Coordinator Team, including monthly meetings, regular communication, shared tools, statewide alignment, and peer learning; facilitate the SRO Community of Practice as assigned.
• Design and deliver peer learning opportunities, technical assistance, and training for districts and ESDs — including, but not limited to, emergency operations planning, drills and exercises, incident command/NIMS awareness, site assessment, crime prevention through environmental design, gang prevention and transportation safety — building sustainable local capacity through clear roles, effective teams, and durable systems.
• Respond to parents, districts, ESDs, community members, and partners regarding complaints, requirements, implementation challenges, emerging situations, and requests for technical assistance; provide guidance or referrals within OSPI authority.
• Understand and articulate laws, rules, policies, and grant requirements and translate them into actionable guidance.
• Monitor program implementation, outcomes, grants, contracts, advisory work, training, statewide supports, access, equity, fiscal performance, and service quality; analyze quantitative and qualitative information to identify progress, needs, risks, disparities, and opportunities; and use data, stakeholder input, and equity analysis to recommend corrective actions, risk mitigation, and system improvements.
• Lead or support advisory groups, workgroups, interagency meetings, and stakeholder engagement, using resulting feedback to inform program, policy, funding, and implementation decisions.
• Build and maintain relationships across OSPI and with districts, ESDs, Tribes, emergency management, law enforcement, behavioral health, facilities, community organizations, education associations, families, students, and other partners; coordinate related initiatives to improve alignment, reduce duplication, and strengthen collective impact.
• Coordinate regularly with the Threat Assessment and HIB Program Supervisor, particularly when incidents, legislation, advisory priorities, or initiatives cross portfolios.
• Promptly brief agency leadership on significant safety incidents, emerging concerns, legislative or policy implications, context, and needed supports.
• Lead assigned statutory data collections and reporting, including the comprehensive school safety three-year cycle and annual security-staff data.
• Prepare required reports, data products, issue briefs, executive summaries, presentations, and partner communications; write or coordinate the SS-SWAC legislative report and other proviso, grant, incident, evaluation, and decision-support products.
• Communicate program direction, decisions, timelines, risks, and expectations clearly and consistently.
• Integrate program work within the division’s MTSS framework by coordinating across SESP teams, identifying connections across tiers and initiatives, and supporting a coherent continuum of whole-child supports for districts and students.
• Manage or influence assigned budgets, grants, contracts, subawards, staffing, and other public resources — including school safety grants, potential facilities-partnership funding, professional-learning contracts, and emergency-planning procurements.
• Lead procurements and contracts, develop and manage scopes of work, partner with and monitor vendors through the full lifecycle; monitor performance, allowable costs, deliverables, audit readiness, and corrective action.
• Advise leadership and partners on funding, staffing, capacity, and sustainability; identify fiscal risks and resource gaps; and ensure resources are used responsibly, equitably, transparently, and in compliance with applicable requirements.

Required Qualifications: Required Education, Experience, and Competencies:

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, public policy, systems or organizational leadership, emergency management, education, criminal justice, public safety, public health, social services, or a closely related field; and at least three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in systems coordination, cross-agency program leadership, emergency management, policy implementation, technical assistance, comprehensive school safety, or related public-sector work.

OR

• An equivalent combination of education and professional experience totaling seven (7) years that demonstrates progressively increasing responsibility in systems coordination, cross-agency program leadership, emergency management, policy implementation, technical assistance, comprehensive school safety, or public-sector program management.

Additionally:

• Demonstrated ability to lead and facilitate groups of experienced subject-matter professionals — across agencies, sectors, districts, ESDs, Tribes, emergency management, law enforcement, behavioral health, facilities, and/or community organizations — toward shared decisions and outcomes; this role’s effectiveness depends on relationship strength as much as technical expertise, and doesn’t require equivalent technical depth in each domain.
• Demonstrated systems-level thinking: able to see how policy, funding, practice, and relationships interact across a fragmented, multi-agency landscape, and to design coordination structures rather than simply execute existing ones.
• Experience managing or implementing grants or contracts.
• Experience briefing leadership and handling sensitive or urgent matters with composure, political awareness, sound judgment, and appropriate confidentiality.
• Ability to interpret laws, policies, funding, compliance or grant requirements and translate them into actionable guidance.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to develop plain-language guidance and synthesize complex or sensitive information for field, leadership, and public audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, respond effectively to emerging issues, meet deadlines, follow through, and exercise sound independent judgment.
• Demonstrated ability to advance equitable, culturally responsive, inclusive practices and understand how safety systems and policies affect historically underserved students and communities.
• Demonstrated stewardship of public resources, relationships, sensitive information, and public trust.
• Considers impacts beyond the individual program(s); communicates concerns and feedback early and supports shared decisions; builds trust through respectful collaboration; and seeks feedback, learns, adapts, navigates change effectively, and helps others do the same.
• Experience engaging with or serving diverse communities — through professional, volunteer, educational, or lived experience — and a demonstrated ability to work effectively with people from a wide range of backgrounds.
• Periodic statewide travel, including travel to districts, ESDs, SS-SWAC meetings, the Safety Summit, trainings, conferences, interagency meetings, or incident-related activities.
• Must reside of in the state of Washington as a condition of employment

Preferred/Desired Education, Experience, and Competencies:

• Knowledge of Washington's K-12 education system and the roles of state, regional, Tribal, district, school, and community partners.
• Meaningful emergency management or comprehensive school safety experience is valued, though the deciding qualification for this role is the ability to lead across sectors and translate that knowledge into statewide systems and relationships — not depth of specialization alone.
• Experience supporting rural, remote, Tribal-serving, or historically underserved schools and communities.
• Experience overseeing the development of school safety guidance, emergency plans, preparedness training, site-assessment resources, or other statewide implementation tools, including through contracted, competitively-procured, or vendor-delivered content.
• Ability to use data, stakeholder input, and implementation evidence to inform decisions, identify risk, and support continuous improvement.
• Experience providing technical assistance, training, facilitation, coaching, or capacity-building support for varied audiences.

Compensation The annual compensation for the position is $82,487 - $97,050 per 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 visit Health Care Authority for information regarding health benefits and the Department of Retirement Systems for 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 Careers.wa.gov. Applications must include the following documents in MS Word or PDF format:

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

NOTE: Your resume and letter of interest must be attached to your application. Please confirm they are attached before you submit.

Please address any questions to: Sal Salazar, Human ResourcesOffice of Superintendent of Public Instruction 600 Washington Street Southeast Olympia, Washington 98504-7200 360-725-6278: [email protected]

Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the Human Resources Office at (360) 725-6270 or (360) 725-6066, or e-mail [email protected].

New Jobs Alert Service OSPI offers a subscription service, which regularly notifies subscribers of new OSPI employment opportunities on careers.wa.gov. Subscribers are notified via text or email alert. If you are interested in this service, then please subscribe at this 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 consultant listed in “Application Process."