Education Ombuds Manager

State of Washington; Olympia (WA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life 보험

Paid holidays, vacation, and sick time

State retirement programs

Job summary

State of Washington’s Office of the Education Ombuds (OEO) seeks an Education Ombuds Manager to lead programs and staff, ensuring high-quality, confidential ombuds services across the state. You will mentor teams, align outreach with OEO priorities, and drive equity and access for students and families.

You will supervise direct reports, manage a personal caseload, collaborate with schools, communities, and partners, and contribute to policy discussions while maintaining rigorous professional

Qualifications

• Experience supervising individuals and teams in education, social services, or related settings.
• Experience coaching or leading staff with accountability for performance.
• Experience handling complex cases or client concerns, with problem-solving and navigation of systems.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and apply ethical standards with clients.
• Ability to build relationships with diverse clients, families, communities, and stakeholders.
• Experience with diverse communities and remote work communication.
• Curiosity and growth mindset to improve government programs and processes.
• Customer-service oriented and adaptable to meet others’ needs.

Responsibilities

• Manage an independent caseload of Ombuds cases and provide direct ombuds services to clients.
• Support clients in identifying concerns, navigating systems, and developing solutions.
• Maintain professional and ethical conduct in all interactions.
• Oversee daily operations of community outreach specialist and align activities with OEO priorities.
• Support outreach strategy and collaboration with leadership and staff.
• Represent OEO on policy committees and other agency/community workgroups.
• Provide strategic leadership and resource planning with the Director.
• Lead innovative changes to team structure and service delivery.

Skills

Team management

Coaching staff

Case management

Independent judgment

Confidentiality

Stakeholder relationships

Remote communication

Washington policy familiarity

Conflict resolution

Customer service

Travel statewide

Job description

Please note: The starting salary offer will be determined based on the successful candidate’s qualifications within the starting annual salary range of $110,000 - $120,000.

The Office of Education Ombudsman is a hybrid office, and Washington State residency is required.

Client services are primarily provided remotely; however, employees must be able to travel throughout Washington State for in-person events, staff meetings, outreach activities, and other business needs. Employees must also maintain a private workspace and reliable high-speed internet access to support confidential staff work and client conversations.

Why work for OEO

The Office of the Education Ombuds (OEO) works with families, communities, and schools to address problems together so that every student can fully participate and thrive in Washington’s K-12 public schools. The OEO is a statewide agency within the Office of the Governor that:

• Listen to concerns and address questions about the K-12 public education system.
• Use informal conflict resolution tools to support collaborative problem‑solving and promote education justice.
• Provide coaching, facilitation, and training about family and community engagement and systems advocacy.
• Collect data and identify trends to guide our education policy recommendations.

For more information, visit our website. We are committed to anti‑racism and anti‑ableism, and have created a team and workplace that respect and value difference. We are also committed to equal opportunity employment.

The job opportunity

Be a leader, advocate, and catalyst for positive change in education. As the Education Ombuds Manager, you’ll provide leadership and oversight for key OEO programs and staff, helping ensure students, families, and communities receive high‑quality, responsive support. You’ll mentor and develop team members, promote excellence and consistency in ombuds services and community outreach, and drive solutions that advance educational equity and access.

This dynamic role combines leadership with direct impact. In addition to supervising staff and guiding program delivery, you’ll manage your own caseload, working directly with students, families, educators, and community partners to navigate complex concerns and resolve challenges. If you are a collaborative leader, skilled problem‑solver, and passionate advocate for student success, this is an exciting opportunity to make a meaningful difference every day.

What you’ll work on

Personnel Management

• Daily management and support for direct reports.
• Assures appropriate and optimal use of the team’s resources and enhances the effectiveness of employees through timely appraisal and professional development opportunities.
• Promotes clear communication, collaboration, and accountability throughout the team.
• Addresses and resolves personnel conflicts and performance issues in a timely and appropriate manner, in consultation with the Director as needed.
• Approves direct reports' expenditures for training and in‑state travel of team staff, as well as approves small purchases.
• Oversees management and resource allocation, mainly staff time and capacity, to achieve organizational goals and ensure responsive, high‑quality service to clients and community members.

Case Management and Community Outreach Work

• Manage an independent caseload of Ombuds cases and provide direct ombuds services to clients.
• Support clients in identifying concerns, navigating systems, exploring options, and developing solutions consistent with the OEO’s role and responsibilities.
• Maintain the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct while working with clients and on OEO cases and interactions.
• Manage and oversee the daily operations of the community outreach specialist position and ensure outreach activities align with OEO priorities and organizational goals.
• Support outreach activities and work with leadership and staff to create a strategy around outreach.
• Represent OEO on policy committees and other agency or community workgroups, as assigned.

Leadership

• Consult with the director to provide strategic and tactical project planning and resource utilization.
• Lead and implement innovative approaches to team structure, processes, and service delivery to strengthen OEO’s ability to meet the needs of clients and community members.
• Identify opportunities to improve organizational effectiveness, service quality, collaboration, and operational efficiency.
• Serve as part of the agency leadership team, including partnering on conversations around strategic direction, staff management, organizational priorities, and resource allocation.
• Provide leadership that promotes a collaborative, equitable, client‑centered, and solutions‑oriented approach across OEO.

What we need you to bring

Required Qualifications

• Experience managing individuals and a team in an education, social service, or related setting and holding individuals and teams accountable to the job.
• Demonstrated experience supervising, coaching, or providing leadership to staff, including supporting employee development, performance, and accountability.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex cases or client concerns, including problem‑solving, conflict resolution, and navigating complex systems.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise independent judgment, maintain confidentiality, and apply professional and ethical standards when working with clients and sensitive information.
• Experience developing and maintaining effective relationships with diverse clients, families, community members, agencies, and other stakeholders.
• Experience working with diverse racial and ethnic communities, and socio‑economic groups, language‑based communities, and people with diverse disabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively in written, spoken, and interpersonal communication, especially in a remote work environment.
• The ability to learn and grow: Curious about themselves and others, who take responsibility for knowing their own strengths and weaknesses, and who use their learning to make government programs and processes more efficient and effective to serve all in Washington.
• The ability to meet the needs of others: Flexible, adaptable, customer‑service focused, and willing and able to empathetically respond to the unique needs of the people we work with and serve.

Desired Qualifications

• Knowledge of Washington State K-12 policies, rules, and practices.
• Progressive experience providing ombuds, dispute resolution, advocacy, case management, education, community engagement, or other closely related services.
• Customer service background.
• Conflict resolution experience.

Special Requirement

• Must be able to travel statewide.
• Maintain a valid driver’s license when driving is an essential function of the position or otherwise have an approved accommodation that allows the employee to meet the position’s travel requirements.
• As an all‑remote office, you will be responsible for providing and maintaining reliable, high‑speed internet that can support video calls and a confidential place to work.

We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one from a less traditional background. Don’t let doubts stop you from applying for this position. If you have transferable experience, please tell us about it or contact us with questions about the required qualifications and how your experience relates to them.

What we offer:

At OEO, we foster a culture of integrity, innovation, inclusion, and belonging. We value both learned and lived experiences, believing that diversity makes us stronger. To support your health and well‑being, we offer a variety of benefit programs for our employees.

Please visit our Recruitment Page for a full list of benefits available to employees. Here’s a quick glance at some of the unique benefits that OFM offers:

• An environment of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
• Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance
• 12 paid holidays, 14 paid vacation days (minimum), and 12 days of sick leave per year
• State retirement programs

The Governor’s Office of the Education Ombuds is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, persons over 40 years of age, and disabled and Vietnam‑era veterans are encouraged to apply.

This position is exempt from civil service rules.

For more information, please see WAC 357-19-195.