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About the Commission

Charter public schools provide education choices for families seeking resources that best empower their children to learn and thrive. Like all public schools, they are open to all students, tuition-free, publicly funded, staffed by certified teachers, and held accountable to state and national standards.

The Washington State Charter School Commission (Commission) is an independent state agency. The Commissions mission is to authorize high-quality charter public schools, especially schools designed to expand opportunities for students who have been underserved and to ensure the highest standards of accountability and oversight for these schools. The Commission works to ensure that charter public schools respect the rights of students, staff, and families within the schools as well as the interests of the general public while meeting the legal requirements and obligations of the state and federal government.

Per the Commissions educational equity policy, the agency is committed to closing opportunity gaps between the states most and least privileged groups of students within the educational system. It has a moral obligation and legal obligation to cultivate charter schools where socioeconomic status and protected group status such as race, gender, language, sexual orientation, national origin, and disability, cease to be a predictor of academic and life outcomes. The Commission believes that educational equity benefits all students and our entire community.

Interested candidates are strongly encouraged to visit the Commissions website (www.charterschool.wa.gov) to gain insight into the agencys mission, vision, strategic plan, and educational equity policy.

Deputy Director Job Description

Position Summary:

This position reports directly to the Executive Director who reports to an 11-member Commission. The Deputy Director will work with and be supervised by the Executive Director and will serve as the acting director in the absence of the Executive Director. The Deputy Director will work closely with the Commissions Executive Director and Commissioners to lead and implement the Commissions vision and mission. The Deputy Director will be responsible for directing the agencys strategic authorization activities, such as school renewal, expansion, and program considerations. This position is responsible for tracking rules and policies of the Commission and other state agencies, and for leading the Commissions processes for changing code, policy, and law related to charter schools.

The Deputy Director will be responsible for leading the entire reauthorization process of charter public schools, culminating in a recommendation memo to the commission to renew or not.

The person who will hold this position must possess the ability to work within a fast-paced environment and adapt to new responsibilities. The position requires a strong knowledge of the K-12 public education sector and should have a robust understanding of the role that charter schools play in the larger education landscape. An exemplary candidate will have experience with charter school and state education policy. The Deputy Director will have a proven ability to read, analyze and interpret statutes and regulations and the ability to manage complex projects.

Responsibilities:

• Organizational Responsibilities:
• Provide strategic organizational and management support to the Executive Director.
• Serve as the agencys acting director in the absence of the Executive Director.
• Serve as a liaison to constituents, partners, and other agencies.
• Represent the Commission and present at open public Commission meetings, board meetings, committee meetings and national conferences.
• When necessary, support other agency workstreams.
• Actively participate in and apply professional development on cultural responsiveness and equity analysis.
• May supervise agency employees.
• Strategic Communication Responsibilities:
• Lead strategic communication planning and execution with external audiences.
• Provide community education and orientation with charter public schools regarding the Washington State charter school sector, high-quality authorization and oversight practices, charter school governance, and the charter contract.
• Policy Responsibilities:
• Develop and manage agency policy and agency rulemaking.
• Support the executive director in implementing the legislative agenda.
• Authorization Responsibilities:
• Directs all public charter school authorization activities. These activities include the management and evaluation of all charter contracts, renewal processes, expansion processes, program addition requests, and charter contract amendments.

Requirements

Candidate Profile: The ideal candidate possesses excellent analytical, written, and verbal communication skills, fosters positive relationships, and is committed to equity and inclusion. They should have exceptional project management skills, be detail-oriented, a collaborative problem solver with an eagerness to seek out solutions to challenges, and adaptable to a fast-paced work environment. Competitive candidates will have the ability to manage large amounts of complex information and enjoy navigating complex and ambiguous situations. Strong policy development, report writing, and public speaking/communications skills are essential. The candidate will have a demonstrated ability to organize, analyze, interpret, and evaluate information and relate it to policy. The candidate understands how their work contributes to the broader teams effectiveness and the role that they must play across teams to support the overall agencys success.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 7-12 years of progressive experience in public policy settings, including 4 years of progressive experience in a leadership and/or management role, with overall responsibility for: leading others; developing and executing project plans, strategies, and tactics; public engagement; and measuring, monitoring, and improving organizational performance.
• Either a Bachelor's degree or for those without a Bachelor's degree, six years of experience is required in addition to the 7-12 years of progressive experience in public policy settings. The six years may be outside of public policy settings.

• An advanced degree in education, business administration, public administration, or other related field is preferred.

• 3+ years of professional experience in the charter sector, or demonstrable working knowledge of charter schools or K-12 education policy.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. This includes:
• Experience as a leader and active ally working with groups of people who have historically been marginalized by government systems;
• A commitment to creating and fostering an inclusive workplace, interacting with diverse teams, groups, and partners to appreciate and acknowledge all perspectives, promote trust, and foster belonging;
• An understanding of the role that institutional racism, ableism, otherism and oppression play in inequitable outcomes;
• Using an equity lens in decision-making.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a K-12 educational setting (e.g., teacher, paraprofessional, administrator, support staff, central office, or charter management organization leader)
• Knowledge of Washington state charter school policy
• Knowledge of Washington state education policy
• Experience working with elected or appointed officials
• Experience developing strategies and effectively communicating recommendations to diverse audiences, including legislators, people impacted, and other groups
• Innovative strategic thinking and problem solving. Ability to apply advanced management principles in a diverse and complex state government organization

Working Conditions:

• Telework schedule available.
• The person in this role MUST reside in WA State.
• The role allows for the individual to work from home most days of the month.
• The individual should expect to travel 1-2 times a month on average, often to Olympia, WA, but other travel throughout the state may be necessary from time-to-time.
• Additional details on working conditions may be specified if needed.

Benefits

Salary and Other Benefits

• The salary range for this position is $125,000 - $145,000.00 annually
• COLA approved in state budget for a raise of 3% on July 1, 2024
• Professional development stipend - $2,000 per year