Department of Education

The Arizona Department of Education is a service organization committed to raising academic outcomes and empowering parents.

ESS, Program and Business Liaison

Job Location:

Address:  Exceptional Student Services (ESS) Section
Phoenix, AZ 85007

Posting Details:

Salary: $70,000 - $74,800 

Grade: 21

Closing Date: 10/22/24

Job Summary:

• The Exceptional Students Services (ESS) Data Management team is responsible for agency-critical projects that are deadline driven and occur cyclically throughout the year and require extensive coordination with multiple areas within Arizona Department of Education (ADE), as required under Section 618 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
• The Program and Business Liaison role is a Lead Data Management Specialist position that works with all program areas in Exceptional Student Services (ESS) and the Information Technology (IT) division to provide guidance and support for data-related systems and reporting.
• This position focuses primarily on analyzing and ESS's reporting requirements, data facilitation, statistical analysis, and software systems. As part of this focus, the position is responsible for collaborating with the IT Data Architects, Project Managers, Business Analysts, and the ESS IT team to ensure all ESS data processes remain valid, operational, and effective as required by ESS.
• Additionally, the specialist develops training materials, facilitates training sessions and workshops, maintains and develops materials for the ESS Data Management web page, and participates in various meetings as needed.
• Occasional in-state and out-of-state travel is required for this position.

The Arizona Department of Education currently utilizes a hybrid work environment, with up to two days of remote work (contingent upon business needs). Candidates should apply with an ability and willingness to work in-office up to five days per week as business needs necessitate.

Job Duties:

• Review, evaluate, and troubleshoot a variety of indicators that reflect the performance of special education in the state which means reconciling data in all elements for preschool students with disabilities and students within K-12. This includes student information submitted into AzEDS and any other information as required for student reporting.
• Document ESS business process and rules, create ESS program area test plans, perform as required UAT (Unit Acceptance Testing) with ESS program areas to validate the data and/or results are as intended.
• Support ESS internal customer expectations for IT services, identifying gaps between customer needs and IT capabilities, and work to guide and support ESS business units and programs with a specific focus on retrieving, analyzing, and compiling data and reports associated with the implementation of any pertinent business and programs.
• Can represent ESS SPED data with IT Project Managers, Business Analysts, Technical leads by ensuring plain English work-flows and rules are translated correctly for IT to deliver the required results.
• Develop and revise methods and procedures, conducting research and compiling statistics per ESS needs, drafting and formatting ESS guidance and correspondence.
• Present to internal and external stakeholders on behalf of ESS regarding data procedures.
• Facilitate with ESS groups to convert unstructured work processes and create lean workflows and rule documentation for each program area supported.
• Publish updated documentation and materials on the website or through formally organized documentation both internally and externally.
• Can speak in lieu of leadership regarding technical matters and AzEDS federal reporting.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities (KSAs):

Knowledge in:
• Software infrastructures, data collection and calculation, and a general understanding of how state and federal laws, regulations, and administrative codes function.
• A bachelor’s degree in finance, data management, or equivalent working experience in the related field.

Skills in:
• Computer skills heavily focused on interaction with databases, data collection, and reporting programs.
• Advanced skills in using Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel.
• Advanced skills in using SQL and PowerBi.

Ability to:
• Attention to detail.
• Multi-task and handle multiple timelines simultaneously.
• Partner and work collaboratively.
• Analyze, interpret, translate, and simplify complex software syst