Job Details

Position Summary

The Senior Director of Federal Programs provides strategic leadership and rigorous oversight of the district supplemental funding streams. This role is responsible for the entire life cycle of state and federal grants, from application and strategic alignment of funds to strict monitoring of allowability, compliance, and audit readiness. The Senior Director ensures that resources are deployed to maximize student achievement, particularly for emergent bilingual (EB) students and Title I populations, while maintaining a culture of fiscal integrity.

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Masters degree in education, educational leadership, public administration, finance, or related field, preferred.
• Minimum of 5 to 7 years of progressive leadership experience in a public school district.
• Proven track record of managing Title I-IV programs at central office level in a mid to large size district.

Required Skills

• Expert level understanding of education department, general administration regulations (EDGAR) and ESSA statutes.
• Ability to interpret complex, financial data and apply strict “allowability” tests to spending requests.
• Knowledge of Title III supplement/supplant rules and the interplay between state, bilingual allotment and federal funding.
• Ability to explain complex, federal regulations to campus principles and communicate in a way that clarifies the heavily bureaucratic nature of state funding.
• Maintain transparency and fund management.
• Evaluate the ROI of expenditures on student outcomes.
• Ability to discern when to work independently and/or collaboratively, depending on the situation.

Primary Duties

Fiscal Oversight and Monitoring

• Scrutinize and approve all expenditures under Titles I-IV, ensuring every dollar is supplemental and meets the necessary, reasonable, and applicable criteria.
• Develop and implement internal audit protocols to review school level and departmental spending, proactively identifying potential compliance risks before state or federal audits.
• Collaborate with the financial department to ensure accurate tracking, carryover management, and timely drawdown of funds.

Strategic Leadership

• Advise Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives on the alignment and blending of federal funds to support large scale district goals (MTSS, literacy initiatives, and EB program expansion).
• Lead the comprehensive needs assessment (CNA) and district improvement plan (DIP) process to ensure spending is directly tied to identified data driven needs.

Programmatic Supervision

• Supervise the Director of Bilingual Education, providing high-level oversight of Title III and allotment funds to ensure legal compliance with state and federal mandates for EB students.
• Supervise the Director of Federal Programs to ensure the 100+ school portfolio remains compliant with schoolwide and/or targeted assistance requirements.
• Work with the training department to ensure Title II funds are aligned to brand-specific improvement goals.
• Ensure that parent and family engagement requirements are met with high-quality and measurable impact.

Compliance and Reporting

• Serve as the primary point of contact for Texas Education Agency (TEA), agency monitors, and independent auditors.
• Oversee the timely accurate submission of the consolidated federal grant application and all required compliance report reports.

Equipment Used

All equipment required to perform jobs duties and tasks previously described.

Physical / Environmental Factors

The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.