Director of Federal and State Programs

Company Description

Rock Hill Schools is one of South Carolina's top-paying school districts, committed to fostering excellence in education and providing opportunities for educators to make a meaningful impact. With a mission to build brighter futures, the district supports its staff with competitive compensation and professional growth initiatives. Located in a vibrant community, Rock Hill Schools is dedicated to the success of its students and educators alike.

FLSA Status: Exempt 

General Definition of Work

The job of Director of Federal & State Programs is done for the purpose/s of developing, achieving and evaluating federal programs and services for all students, and monitoring the long-range processes and goals for the district. Plans, conducts and/or manages a variety of programs which impact the district and community. These include Title I, Title III, Title IV, and School Improvement funds.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree
• Valid SC administrative certification (or eligible with documented application to SCDE)
• Two years of successful principal experience in a Title I school or two years as District Administrator of federal programs with quantifiable academic, financial, and operational results.

Additional Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Reports To

Chief Financial Officer

Supervises

Grant Specialist

Place of Work

The normal place of work is on the premises used by Rock Hill Schools. Rock Hill Schools reserves the right to require you to work at such other place(s) as it may reasonably require from time to time.

Leadership Competencies

• Enterprise mindset
• Cross-functional systems leadership
• Operational discipline
• Executive autonomy & disciplined escalation
• Governance fluency
• Fiscal stewardship
• Clear and consistent communicator
• Customer-service orientation
• Chain-of-command integrity
• Aligns actions to Board Goals and Superintendent priorities.
• Leads for the whole system success, not only a division. Makes decisions based on district-wide impact and long-term outcomes.
• Provides sound, timely coaching and support for principals to make decisions in complex situations in alignment with legal and policy mandates. 
• Elevates appropriately, providing all information necessary for decision making in a concise manner. 
• Ensures no surprises through proactive communication.
• Coordinates with all district offices behind the scenes so schools experience seamless, unified support.
• Translates district and level initiatives into concrete actions, ensuring purpose and understanding with disciplined follow-through.
• Trusts professional expertise and validates with evidence. 
• Assists principals to align resources to strategy. 
• Models integrity, transparency, and accountability.
• Communicates clearly, consistently, and with one voice. 
• Demonstrates discretion and composure under pressure.
• Takes initiative to promptly prevent and solve problems.
• Balances urgency with sustainability.
• Provides exemplary customer service__follows up, follows through, and ensures schools never have to navigate misalignment.
• Leads effectively in all directions on the organizational chart.
• Champions district priorities with commitment and conviction, modeling and reinforcing through belief and ownership.
• Leads with purpose in communicating rationale for changes to foster commitment, not merely compliance
• Contributes to team dialogue and decision making fully, bringing forward all information to support sound decision making.
• Actively supports and promotes decisions.
• Protects school personnel’s time, attention, and investments to ensure focus on the highest leverage actions to improve student learning.
• Adaptable in a fast paced environment, adapts to changing conditions.
• Consistently displays leadership characteristics with exemplary initiative, professionalism, confidentiality, and commitment to student success.

Essential Functions

• Advises central administration on issues and/or problems for the purpose of providing information (pros and cons) for making knowledgeable decisions.
• Assesses specific needs and/or requests and guides the development, implementation, maintenance and evaluation of federal programs. 
• Ensures that all programs function in accordance with Board mandates and government regulations for the purpose of aiding in the design of programs to meet those needs. 
• Assist other personnel in evaluating assigned programs for the purpose of ensuring a continuous assessment of program needs in the district. Compiles data from a wide variety of sources (e.g. staff, public agencies, school sites, etc.) for the purpose of analyzing issues, ensuring compliance with various policies and procedures, and/or monitoring program components. 
• Facilitate meetings that frequently involve a range of issues (e.g. School Improvement Planning, parents and school site staff, regulatory requirements, community involvement, actions involving outside agencies, interdepartmental needs, etc.) for the purpose of identifying appropriate actions, developing recommendations, supporting other staff, and serving as the representative. 
• Maintains high visibility in the schools and in the community for the purpose of supporting open lines of communication with the public regarding the district’s federal programs, philosophy, services, staff capabilities and resources. 
• Manages district’s activities in relation to provisions of assigned programs (e.g. Education Improvement Act, Education Accountability Act, Every Student Succeeds Act) for the purpose of achieving outcomes in relation to organizational objectives and/or monitoring the development and implementation of programs and/or procedures and ensuring conformance with legal, financial and district requirements. 
• Research information required to manage assignments including reviewing relevant policies, current practices, grants, trends and/or developments, etc. for the purpose of ensuring compliance with relevant requirements, securing general information for planning, taking appropriate actions, and/or responding to requests. 
• Responds to issues involving staff, conflicts in policies and regulations and/or local school sites for the purpose of identifying the relevant issues and recommending or implementing a plan of action that may result in some negative impact and/or liability if not appropriately addressed. 
• Supports and consults with the Chief of Finance and Department administrators as appropriate for the response of collaborating with these administrators in achievement of department, program and district goals. 
• Meets operational statistics and gathers other data which the superintendent may require. 
• Works cooperatively with school and district level leaders to integrate the planning functions assigned to each level into a unified plan for the district. 

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Knowledge to perform advanced math; review and interpret highly technical information, write technical materials, and/or speak persuasively to implement desired actions; and analyze situations to define issues and draw conclusions. 
• Specific knowledge required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job includes pertinent codes, policies, regulations and/or laws; federal and state grants management; education code; instructional needs in other areas such as advanced placement and special education, instructional research, testing and innovative teaching methods.
• Skills to perform multiple technical tasks with a need to periodically upgrade skills to meet changing job conditions. 
• Specific skills required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job include planning and organizing programs of a complex nature, developing subordinates to ensure a high level of efficiency, dealing with the public, providing leadership and managing a staff of professional personnel. 
• Ability to schedule multiple activities, meetings, and/or events; often gather, collate, and/or classify data; and consider a variety of factors when using equipment. 
• Flexibility is required to independently work with others in a wide variety of circumstances; analyze data utilizing a variety of complex processes; and operate equipment using a variety of processes. 
• Ability is also required to work with a significant diversity of individuals and/or groups; work with data of widely varied types and/or purposes; and utilize a variety of types of job-related equipment. In working with others, independent problem solving is required to analyze issues and create action plans.  
• Problem solving with data requires analysis based on organizational objectives; and problem solving with equipment is moderate to significant. 
• Specific abilities required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job include communicating with diverse groups; meeting deadlines and schedules; setting priorities; working as part of a team; being flexible to changing conditions; making quick and accurate decisions; working with multiple projects; maintaining confidentiality; and facilitating communication between people with frequently divergent positions. 
• Ability to work independently under broad organizational policies to achieve organizational objectives; managing major organizational components; and supervising the use of funds for multiple departments. Utilization of significant resources from other work units is routinely required to perform the job's functions. There is a continual opportunity to significantly impact the Organization’s services. 

Education and Experience

• Minimum of a master’s degree in job related area Experience in inventory management, asset tracking, or IT device management.
• Job related experience within a specialized field with increasing levels of responsibility is required.