Wida Senior Director Of Consortium And State Relations

Job Summary:

The WIDA Senior Director of Consortium and State Relations will lead an established Consortium and State Relations Department and report to WIDA's Executive Director serving as a critical member of the Sr. Leadership Team. This position will be responsible for sustaining and cultivating Consortium Membership and positive relationships with State Education Agencies (SEAs). Key responsibilities include representing SEA voices to both drive and align with WIDA's strategic goals; overseeing effective communication plans for internal and external stakeholders; serving as point of escalation for complex, high-priority client issues; maintaining and enhancing knowledge of WIDA products and services; monitor and respond to changes in the educational policy landscape; coach and grow a team of high performing professionals; and serve as an organizational leader for WIDA. Travel is expected in this role and will be, on average, 1-2 trips per month.

WIDA values linguistic and cultural diversity both as an end and a means for success in the field of education. As such, we strongly encourage applications from a diverse pool of candidates. For more information on WIDA's Mission and Values, please visit https://wida.wisc.edu/about/mission-history.

Responsibilities:

Provides executive oversight and strategic planning for a center or program and may direct the research activities undertaken by multiple aligned programs. Allocates resources, secures funding, and supervises staff to ensure program strategies and activities align with the institutional mission.

• 20% Develops, directs, and evaluates research program strategic planning initiatives and establishes objectives to ensure appropriate use of financial, administrative, and staffing resources in alignment with the strategic plan
• 20% Develops, implements, directs, and evaluates research program operating policies and procedures to comply with regulations, institutional policies, and unit objectives
• 40% Serves as the unit liaison and key spokesperson to internal and external stakeholder groups providing organizational information and representing the interests of the research program
• 10% Develops and audits research program budget(s)
• 10% Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Education:

Required

Master's Degree in Education or related field.

Qualifications:

Required

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in leadership roles at State Education Agency in the K-12 education field and/or state education vendor account management, ideally for multilingual learners.

• Excellence in people management with demonstrated ability to coach staff, develop high-performance teams while setting and achieving strategic objectives.

• Deep knowledge of the K-12 education industry, particularly the field of academic and/or language student assessments.

• Experience working with large vendors to deliver complex programs.

• Demonstrable experience with government procurement processes and history of leading successful formal sales proposals.

• Excellent relationship-building, communication and presentation skills with a desire to create a positive experience.

• Excellent professional judgement managing change and conflict resolution.

• Elevated level of skill managing communication strategies with stakeholders, particularly in making complex topics external-facing and accessible.

• Aptitude in decision-making and outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills.

Preferred:

• Experience with WIDA products and services.

• Knowledge of federal and state education policy and market for products and services to support MLLs.

• Bilingual/biliterate in a language in addition to English.

Work Type:

Full Time: 100%

It is anticipated this position will be remote and requires work be performed at an offsite, non-campus work location.

Working fully remote is an option for this position within the United States (working remotely internationally is not an option). Requests to work remotely would need to be reviewed based on the UW and School of Education (SoE) remote work policies and go through the SoE implementation process. To learn more about these policies, visit https://businessoffice.education.wisc.edu/human-resources/remote-work/.

Appointment Type, Duration:

Ongoing/Renewable

Salary:

Minimum $127,000 ANNUAL (12 months)

Depending on Qualifications

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund. For a summary of benefits, please see: https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/download/fasl.pdf.

Additional Information:

What is WIDA? For nearly 20 years, WIDA has provided a trusted, comprehensive approach to supporting, teaching, and assessing multilingual learners. We are an educational services organization that advances language development and academic achievement for multilingual children in early childhood and grades K-12. In short, we provide educators around the world with high-quality language standards, assessments, professional learning, and research. We are proud to be a part of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) within UW-Madison's nationally ranked School of Education. Visit https://wida.wisc.edu/about/careers and watch our Introduction to WIDA video to see why WIDA is an incredible place to work!

The Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), established in 1964, is one of the first, most productive, and largest university-based education research and development centers in the world. WCER's researchers and staff work to make teaching and learning as effective as possible for all ages and all people. WCER's mission is to improve educational outcomes for diverse student populations, impact education practice positively and foster collaborations among academic disciplines and practitioners. To this end, our center helps scholars and practitioners develop, submit, conduct, and share grant-funded education research.

WCER's Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison and The Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). Individual differences and group diversity inspire creative and equitable outcomes. WCER actively affirms values and seeks to increase diversity in our everyday interactions, practices, and policies.

For more information and news about our center, please go to https://wcer.wisc.edu/.

If you need to request an accommodation because of a disability during the recruitment process, please email education-HR.DDR@education.wisc.edu, and one of our Division Disability Representatives will contact you. More information can also be found at https://employeedisabilities.wisc.edu/disability-accommodation-information-for-applicants/.

How to Apply:

Please click on the "Apply Now" button to start the application process. As part of the application process, you will be required to submit:

• A cover letter describing how your experience and qualifications meet the requirements of this position.
• A current resume or CV.
• A list of at least three professional references, including contact information.

A successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring eligibility for employment in the United States on or before the effective date of the appointment.

Contact:

Kelly Krahenbuhl

humanresources@wida.us

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Official Title:

Research Program Director (B)(RE085)

Department(s):

A17-SCHOOL OF EDUCATION/WCER

Employment Class:

Academic Staff-Renewable

Job Number:

298026-AS

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.

If you need to request an accommodation because of a disability, you can find information about how to make a request at the following website: https://employeedisabilities.wisc.edu/disability-accommodation-information-for-applicants/

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require you and your references to answer questions regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.