MISSION: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) will improve outcomes for all public-school students in the state by providing leadership, guidance, and support to school systems.

Core Values:
• We are Determined: We are committed and intentional in the pursuit of our main purpose, to improve outcomes for students.
• We are People-Centered: We strive to attract, develop, and retain the most committed talent, representing the diversity of Texas, each contributing to our common vision for students.
• We are Learners: We seek evidence, reflect on success and failure, and try new approaches in the pursuit of excellence for our students.
• We are Servant Leaders: Above all else, we are public servants working to improve opportunities for students and provide support to those who serve them.

New hires, re-hires, and internal hires will typically receive a starting salary between the posted minimum and the average pay of employees in their same classification. Offers will be commensurate with the candidate’s experience and qualifications and will thoughtfully consider internal pay equity for agency staff who perform similar duties and have similar qualifications. The top half of the posted salary range is generally reserved for candidates who exceed the requirements and qualifications for the role. The maximum salary range is reserved for candidates that far exceed the required and preferred qualifications for the role.

The District Support Specialist serves as a key member of the System of Great Schools (SGS) team responsible for delivering high-touch responsive implementation support and professional learning to participating districts. This role leads a district caseload, strengthens district capacity to implement SGS strategies with fidelity, and ensures strong cross-functional alignment with other TEA initiatives.

The Specialist collaborates closely with Executive Advisors (EAs), district leaders, internal TEA teams, and external vendors to strengthen statewide implementation, evaluate progress, and identify supports needed to advance district outcomes. As a leader in SGS’s learning architecture, including network meetings, onboarding, Learning Labs, and the Annual SGS Summit, the Specialist ensures that learning experiences are high quality, coherent, and aligned to SGS strategy.

This role requires strong relationship-building, exceptional facilitation and communication skills, high levels of organization and project management, and the ability to translate complex strategy into actionable guidance for districts.

The SGS District Support Specialist is part of the Division of System Support within the Office of Educator Support and reports directly to the System of Great Schools Director.

Flexible work location within the state of Texas may be considered for qualified candidates.

Please note that a resume, tailored cover letter, and short answer responses are required attachments for applying to this position. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants who are strongly being considered for employment must submit to a national criminal history background check.

Essential Functions
Job duties are not limited to the essential functions mentioned below. You may perform other functions as assigned.

1. District Implementation Support: Provides high touch, responsive, district specific support that enables successful implementation of SGS strategies. This includes managing a caseload of districts, maintaining frequent touchpoints, leading roadmap conversations, preparing progress summaries and ratings, and conducting field visits and implementation reviews to understand district needs and tailor support accordingly in partnership with the Director of SGS-. The Specialist ensures districts receive the resources, guidance, and problem solving they need, coordinating with EAs—who provide primary coaching—to maintain alignment and coherence across supports. Responsibilities include evaluating district deliverables, identifying areas needing additional support, triaging and responding to district requests, escalating concerns related to district progress or EA alignment, and coordinating cross functional TEA support to ensure districts receive timely, high quality assistance.
2. Professional Learning Delivery & Facilitation: Plans and co‑facilitates monthly SGS Network Meetings by shaping meeting content, driving district engagement, and synthesizing participant feedback to improve practice. Supports the design and facilitation of SGS Learning Labs in partnership with the Program Operations & Knowledge Lead and external vendors, delivers district-facing professional learning aligned to SGS strategy and tools, and supports onboarding and training for new SGS districts to establish clarity on expectations, milestones, and implementation requirements. Additionally contributes content and facilitation support for the annual SGS Summit and Pre‑Summit learning experiences, ensuring high‑quality, coherent professional learning across the network.
3. Program Evaluation & Continuous Improvement: Conducts quality assurance reviews of district deliverables, implementation evidence, tools, and artifacts to assess program fidelity and identify areas for improvement. Analyzes district feedback and implementation data to identify trends, needs, and opportunities to strengthen statewide SGS implementation. Supports division and department performance management routines through preparation of summaries, documentation, and progress reports, and collaborates on refining SGS tools and implementation resources to improve clarity, usability, and overall program effectiveness.
4. Coordination with Vendors, Executive Advisors, and Stakeholders: Partners with Executive Advisors to align coaching expectations, monitor contributions, and ensure consistent support for districts. Collaborates with Professional Learning and Tools vendors to ensure the quality, accuracy, and strategic alignment of content and resources—consistent with Education Specialist IV expectations for coordination with stakeholders, not operational vendor management. Coordinates with district leaders, TEA divisions, ESCs, and other partners to address implementation challenges and strengthen SGS program execution, and provides input to the Program Operations & Knowledge Lead on district needs, timelines, and program adjustments.
5. Communication & Knowledge Sharing: Prepares district-facing guidance, updates, and summaries for newsletters and other communication channels in collaboration with the Program Operations & Knowledge Lead. Maintains organized, accessible documentation of district progress, implementation evidence, and learning materials, and disseminates information to districts and stakeholders through presentations, correspondence, and technical assistance.

Minimum Qualifications
• Education: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university
• Experience: At least four (4) years of experience in the education sector, including at least one (1) year in a role with project management responsibilities
• Substitutions: An advanced degree may substitute for two years of required experience

Other Qualifications
• Share the belief that all Texas students can achieve at high levels and are able to succeed in college, career, or the military
• Strong facilitation and presentation skills in both small group and large group settings
• Ability to create and deliver high-quality professional learning experiences for adult learners, and manage vendors around content creation
• Ability to break complex information or problems into component parts, ask questions, synthesize, and develop and execute plans and communications to address identified issues
• Ability to effectively organize and complete multiple projects at different stages of development while meeting deadlines and maintaining quality and consistency across all work
• Ability to lead by influence to achieve investment and results from districts, vendors, and staff not directly supervised by this position
• Demonstrate outstanding leadership and personal relations skills, including excellent written and oral communication, facilitation, and presentation skills
• Preferred: Broad knowledge of Texas education, including knowledge of state (e.g., SB 1882) and federal laws (e.g., Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) related to state agency actions in support of school districts and schools

As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age or veteran status, unless an applicant is entitled to the military employment preference.

To review the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) codes from each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces to each job classification series in the State’s Position Classification Plan (provided by the State Auditor's Office), please access the Military Crosswalk (occupational specialty code) Guide and click on the military “occupational category” that corresponds with the state classification in this job posting title.

This position requires the applicant to meet Agency standards and criteria which may include passing a pre-employment criminal background check, prior to being offered employment by the Agency.

To learn more about working at TEA, including hiring timelines, process details, and candidate resources, please visit the Employment at TEA page.

No phone calls or emails, please. Due to the high volume of applications, we do not accept telephone calls and cannot reply to all email inquiries. Only candidates selected for interview will be contacted. Please add "capps.recruiting@cpa.texas.gov" and "@tea.texas.gov" to your safe senders list to ensure you receive email notifications from our talent acquisition team and/or hiring division regarding your candidacy.