Grant Wood AEA Chief Administrator

Grundmeyer Leader Search; Cedar Rapids (IA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Grant Wood AEA in Cedar Rapids seeks a Chief Administrator to serve as the CEO and chief professional adviser to the Board, leading strategic direction, aligning programs and resources to improve outcomes for students and educators, and representing the agency locally and statewide.

The role requires strong expertise in special education, service-for-fee programs, organizational improvement, statewide collaboration, and the ability to build a high-performing, accountable organization with fiscal

Qualifications

• Master's or specialist degree in educational administration or related field required.
• Iowa licensure (Superintendent/AEA Administrator endorsement) and evaluator approval as required by law.
• Progressive administrative leadership experience in PK–12, an AEA, or related organization.
• Extensive knowledge of special education laws, programming, service delivery, and compliance.
• Understanding of Iowa's educational system and the AEA's role.
• Experience in organizational, fiscal, personnel, and change leadership.

Responsibilities

• Provides executive leadership for high-quality programs and services that improve student outcomes.
• Ensures strong special education expertise informs Agency strategy and district support.
• Builds partnerships with school boards, superintendents, staff, and stakeholders.
• Leads financial sustainability, accountability, and statewide collaboration.

Skills

Executive leadership

Strategic partnerships

Data-informed decision making

Change management

Collaboration with state agencies

District relations

Education

Master's or specialist degree in educational administration

Iowa licensure: Superintendent/AEA Administrator endorsement

Doctorate preferred

Job description

• Date Posted: 10/14/2026
• Location: Cedar Rapids
• Date Available: 07/01/2027
• Closing Date: 11/29/2026

Chief Administrator

Reports To: Grant Wood AEA Board of Directors
Classification: Licensed
Administration/Management Supervises: Executive leadership and, through the administrative structure, Agency programs and personnel
Work Year: Twelve months

Job Summary

The Grant Wood AEA Chief Administrator serves as the chief executive officer and chief professional advisor to the Board of Directors, providing strategic leadership to advance the Agency's mission, vision, core values, and goals. The Chief Administrator aligns people, programs, services, and resources to improve outcomes for students and educators while responding to the evolving needs of schools and communities.

The Chief Administrator builds strong partnerships with school boards, superintendents, staff, and other stakeholders; develops a high-performing and accountable organization; ensures fiscal and organizational sustainability; and represents Grant Wood AEA locally and statewide. The position requires strong leadership and expertise in special education, service-for-fee programs, organizational improvement, and statewide educational collaboration.

Required Qualifications

• Master's or specialist degree in educational administration or a related field; doctorate preferred.
• Appropriate Iowa licensure, including Superintendent/AEA Administrator endorsement and evaluator approval, as required by law.
• Demonstrated successful and progressive administrative leadership experience in PK–12 education, an AEA, or a closely related educational organization.
• Extensive knowledge and demonstrated experience in special education, including law, programming, service delivery, compliance, and evidence-based practices.
• Demonstrated understanding of Iowa's educational system and the role of Area Education Agencies.
• Demonstrated experience in organizational, fiscal, personnel, and change leadership.
• Preferred
• Experience leading a complex educational organization.
• Experience leading or overseeing service-for-fee programs or services.
• Experience with strategic planning, continuous improvement, and organizational change.
• Experience collaborating across organizations and working with state agencies, policymakers, or other external stakeholders.

September 2026

Essential Functions

1. Student Impact, Special Education & Service Excellence

• Provides executive leadership for high-quality, evidence-based programs and services that improve outcomes for students.
• Ensures strong special education expertise to inform Agency strategy, programming, service delivery, and district support.
• Ensures services are responsive to the needs of districts, educators, students, and families.
• Uses data, research, stakeholder feedback, and emerging practices to evaluate effectiveness, guide decisions, and promote continuous improvement.

2. Board Governance & Strategic Leadership

• Serves as the Board's chief professional advisor and executive officer and maintains a strong, trusting, and transparent relationship with the Board.
• Keeps the Board informed and provides timely, accurate, and data-informed recommendations regarding Agency priorities, finances, personnel, opportunities, risks, and emerging issues.
• Partners with the Board to establish strategic direction and translates Board priorities into organizational action and accountability.
• Ensures compliance with applicable laws, regulations, Department of Education requirements, and Board policies.

3. District Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement

• Cultivates strong relationships with superintendents, school boards, district leaders, and other educational partners.
• Maintains a visible and engaged presence throughout the Grant Wood AEA service area and ensures effective mechanisms for understanding district and stakeholder needs.
• Ensures Agency services are responsive, timely, accessible, and customer-focused.
• Builds strategic partnerships and effectively communicates the value and impact of AEA programs and services.

4. Service-for-Fee Leadership & Sustainability

• Provides strategic leadership for service-for-fee programs, ensuring alignment with the Agency's public mission, educational expertise, and strategic priorities.
• Balances customer needs, service quality, educational impact, innovation, and financial sustainability.
• Establishes accountability for program performance and monitors revenue, expenses, customer satisfaction, service quality, and utilization.
• Evaluates and adjusts services and resources in response to customer needs, market conditions, performance, and long‑term viability.

5. People, Culture & Organizational Accountability

• Builds, leads, develops, evaluates, and holds accountable a high-performing executive leadership team.
• Establishes clear expectations and develops a culture grounded in the Agency's core values, collaboration, trust, professionalism, accountability, and excellence.
• Develops leadership capacity and succession plans and ensures effective systems for recruiting, developing, evaluating, and retaining high-quality employees.
• Ensures organizational structures, staffing, and leadership roles remain aligned with Agency priorities and resources and addresses performance concerns effectively and consistently.

6. Fiscal Sustainability & Organizational Stewardship

• Provides executive oversight of Agency finances and advises the Board regarding budgets, revenues, expenditures, financial risks, and long‑term projections.
• Aligns fiscal, personnel, and organizational resources with strategic priorities and student and district needs.
• Ensures efficient, responsible, transparent, and sustainable use of Agency resources with appropriate financial controls and safeguards.
• Provides executive oversight of facilities, technology, contracts, negotiations, risk management, and other operational functions.

7. Statewide System Leadership, Partnerships & Advocacy

• Collaborates with other AEA leaders to strengthen Iowa's statewide system of educational support and pursue shared services, innovation, and coordinated approaches where beneficial.
• Builds strong relationships with the Iowa Department of Education, State Board of Education, legislators, policymakers, and other educational partners.
• Represents and advocates for Grant Wood AEA and communicates the value and impact of AEA services locally, statewide, and nationally, as appropriate.
• Anticipates legislative, political, financial, and educational changes and leads appropriate organizational responses.

Working & Physical Requirements

The position requires frequent travel throughout the Grant Wood AEA service area and across Iowa, occasional out-of-state travel, and participation in meetings and events outside traditional business hours. Work is performed in a variety of professional settings and requires the ability to manage complex issues, competing priorities, and changing circumstances.

Regular sitting, standing, walking, speaking, listening, reading, and use of standard office technology are required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Terms of Employment

The work year, compensation, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment will be established by the Grant Wood AEA Board of Directors in accordance with Board policy and applicable law.

Performance Evaluation

The Chief Administrator will be evaluated annually by the Grant Wood AEA Board of Directors in accordance with Board policy, applicable Iowa leadership standards, and mutually established performance goals. Evaluation will consider student and district impact, special education leadership, strategic implementation, stakeholder and Board relationships, organizational culture and leadership, fiscal sustainability, service-for-fee performance, program effectiveness, statewide collaboration, and organizational accountability.

General Statement

This job description describes the general nature and level of responsibilities associated with the position and is not intended to represent an exhaustive list of all duties or responsibilities. The Chief Administrator may perform other duties as assigned by the Grant Wood AEA Board of Directors or as required to support the mission and effective operation of the Agency.