Database Services Manager (IT Director I) - 60025271

Posting number: 191364

Department: Department of Education

Job classification: IT Director I

Posting type: Open

Categories: IT and Computers, Education

Summary

The mission of the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) is to serve students, support teachers, empower parents, and engage the community so that every student graduates prepared to reach their full potential.

The Database Services Manager serves as the agency's senior director of data platform strategy, enterprise reporting governance, and data engineering operations within the Office of Information Technology (OIT). This position holds Director-level accountability for the full lifecycle of SCDE's data assets — from statutory federal and state reporting obligations through modern data platform delivery — and leads a team of data engineers and reporting analysts.

The Database Services Manager sets the strategic direction for database and data engineering platforms across the agency and leads the multi-year Database Modernization Program to migrate SCDE’s database and data platform footprint to Microsoft Azure. This includes retiring legacy on-premises SQL Server and SAS-based systems, standing up an Azure-native database architecture, and delivering the platform capabilities required to support both statutory reporting and modern data engineering workloads. The role ensures uninterrupted delivery of mission-critical federal obligations (EdFacts, SC Report Card, PowerSchool) throughout the transition and serves as the primary accountability point to agency leadership and external regulators for all database reporting, quality, and governance matters.

This role operates with significant autonomy, represents SCDE in cross-agency data governance forums, and is responsible for building a high-performing, future-ready data team capable of sustaining both compliance operations and modern analytics delivery.

Strategic Leadership and Program Direction (25%)

• Define and own the agency-wide data platform strategy, including database architecture standards, data engineering tooling, and the multi-year roadmap for modernizing reporting infrastructure.
• Set direction for how SCDE collects, stores, governs, and delivers data across all program areas — aligning platform decisions with agency strategic priorities and federal compliance requirements.
• Serve as the primary OIT voice on data strategy to the Chief Information Officer (CIO), agency leadership, and external partners including National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), United States Department of Education (USED), and SC state oversight bodies.
• Evaluate and recommend technology investments in data platforms, BI tools, and cloud data services; develop business cases and present to leadership for approval.
• Establish and enforce data governance policies, standards, and architecture review processes across the agency.
• Monitor industry trends and emerging technologies; translate relevant developments into strategic recommendations for the agency.

Statutory Reporting and Federal Compliance (25%)

• Participates in and shares responsibility for the timely and accurate delivery of federal and state statutory reporting obligations, including EdFacts submissions, the SC Report Card, PowerSchool integrations, Military Recruitment lists, and public records responses (GovQA).
• Establish and maintain compliance frameworks for Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), state data privacy requirements, and agency reporting policies; serve as the primary point of escalation for reporting compliance issues.
• Direct the team's response to federal format changes, new reporting mandates, and submission deadline requirements — coordinating across program offices, IT, and external agencies.
• Lead preparation and support for internal and external audits related to statutory data, including responding to federal data quality reviews and corrective action plans.
• Represent SCDE in federal and state data governance working groups; negotiate reporting requirements and advocate for agency positions with oversight bodies.

Database Modernization and Azure Migration (25%)

• Lead the agency’s database modernization program, directing the migration of on-premises database platforms to Microsoft Azure. Define the target-state architecture, migration sequencing, cutover planning, and rollback strategy for a multi-year Azure transition.
• Own the target-state Azure database architecture, including Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure SQL Database, Azure Data Factory, Synapse Analytics, and