Lead Strategy & Improvement Analyst (Management Analyst 5)

State-of-Washington-Office-of-Superintendent-of-Public-Instructio; Olympia (WA); Hybrid; USD 79,000 - 106,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible/alternative work schedules

Telework options

Job summary

OSPI is seeking a Lead Strategy & Improvement Analyst to drive strategic data leadership within the SESP Division. You will define data requirements, govern data quality, and lead initiatives that advance equity and improve student outcomes across Washington state schools.

Working with executive leadership and partners, you will manage multiple data projects, deliver dashboards, and build capacity through training, while ensuring compliance with statutory reporting and district needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree plus 5+ years in IT/data systems for public education.
• In lieu of a degree, 9 years of relevant public sector data experience accepted.
• Experience managing multiple complex projects.
• Ability to present information to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience governance, data definitions, and sustainable data processes.

Responsibilities

• Establish priorities for division data work with leadership.
• Define data requirements and prepare charts, graphs, and reports.
• Lead recurring data collections and validation.
• Maintain clear data definitions and authoritative sources.
• Use disaggregated data to identify disparities and drive actions.
• Train staff and transition data responsibilities to program owners.
• Support federal/state reporting related to school safety and student wellbeing.

Skills

Data governance

Project management

Data storytelling

Equity in data use

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

Bachelor's Degree related to data analysis or information systems

9+ years relevant public sector data experience (in lieu of degree)

Tools

Excel

Power Query

Tableau Prep

SQL

R

Job description

GENERAL SERVICE

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Lead Strategy & Improvement Analyst (Management Analyst 5)

$78,504 - $105,612 Salary

Closes September 13, 2026

About OSPI and our initiatives

OSPI is the primary agency charged with overseeing public K–12 education in Washington state. Working with the state's 295 public school districts and 7 state-tribal education compact schools, OSPI allocates funding and provides tools, resources, and technical assistance so every student in Washington is provided a high-quality public education.

At OSPI, we recognize that our employees are the key to the success of the agency. We are committed to our work but value the balance with our personal lives. We demonstrate our commitment to employees by providing an environment that stimulates professional growth and values them for their expertise. OSPI is a great place to work and has several initiatives to help create a great working environment, including:

• We support a healthy work/life balance by offering flexible/alternative work schedules and mobile and telework options. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
• We have an Infant at Work Program that is based on long‑term values of newborns and infant-parent bonding. Eligible employees who are new parents or legal guardians can bring their infant (six weeks to six months) when returning to work. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
• We value and are actively involved in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within OSPI by way of cross-divisional, collaborative committee. The focus of the committee includes employee engagement and education; reinforcing OSPI values; and maximizing the value of diversity and identifying strategies for inclusion.

Vision, Mission, and Values

Vision: All students prepared for post‑secondary pathways, careers, and civic engagement.

Mission: Transform K‑12 education to a system that is centered on closing opportunity gaps and is characterized by high expectations for all students and educators. We achieve this by developing equity‑based policies and supports that empower educators, families, and communities.

Values: Ensuring Equity, Collaboration and Service, Achieving Excellence through Continuous Improvement, Focus on the Whole Child

Equity

Each student, family, and community possesses strengths and cultural knowledge that benefits their peers, educators, and schools. Ensuring educational equity:

• Goes beyond equality; it requires education leaders to examine the ways current policies and practices result in disparate outcomes for our students of color, students living in poverty, students receiving special education and English Learner services, students who identify as LGBTQ+, and highly mobile student populations.
• Requires education leaders to develop an understanding of historical contexts; engage students, families, and community representatives as partners in decision‑making; and actively dismantle systemic barriers, replacing them with policies and practices that ensure all students have access to the instruction and support they need to succeed in our schools.

Position Overview

Serving in the Student Engagement & Special Programs (SESP) Division, Operations & Strategy unit, the Lead Strategy & Improvement Analyst provides strategic data leadership and continuous improvement support to SESP Executive Leadership. This role centers equity in how data is interpreted and used, with the expectation that every student can learn, thrive, and succeed. The position helps assess implementation and impact of comprehensive, integrated student supports; leads division data governance, quality, documentation, and prioritization; and helps establish sustainable, authoritative data processes. The role builds program staff capacity to monitor progress, examine disproportionality, use data to guide responsive action, and transition recurring data work to designated owners through documented processes, training, quality checks, and ongoing support. The position works closely with SESP program teams, the division policy lead, Student Information, Data Governance, Federal Accountability, Educational Service Districts (ESDs), and district student safety and support staff.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with SESP Executive Leadership to establish and regularly review priorities for division data work, balancing statutory and reporting obligations, program needs, equity priorities, available capacity, and the division's highest‑impact needs.
• Support effective, efficient, and equitable implementation and continuous improvement by defining data requirements, collecting and analyzing data, preparing charts, graphs, and reports, and partnering with the SESP project manager on project plans, timelines, status communication, and implementation practices.
• Lead or support recurring division data collections and surveys, including design, distribution, scoring, data cleaning and validation, analysis, documentation, and dissemination. Recurring work may include SEMBH data collections, the HIB Survey, safety and security staffing data, restraint and isolation data, and other assigned data collections and reporting processes.
• Establish and maintain clear data definitions, business rules, analytical methods, validation processes, documentation, timelines, and authoritative data sources; coordinate with program staff, Student Information, IT, Data Governance, and other partners to reduce duplication and manual processes and improve continuity and access.
• Use disaggregated data to identify disparities, examine systemic barriers, and support actions that improve outcomes for all students, especially those experiencing opportunity gaps.
• Build staff and partner capacity to use data through training, coaching, modeling, and technical assistance in problem identification, root cause analysis, action planning, evaluation, and reporting; transition recurring data responsibilities to designated program owners with quality assurance and an escalation path for additional technical support.
• Lead and support federal, state, statutory, and legislative reporting and data requirements related to school safety plans, emotional and behavioral distress response plans, threat assessment, restraint and isolation, student discipline, School Safety Center and Regional School Safety Center implementation, safety and security staffing, school Medicaid and related student wellbeing work.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree related to data analysis, workflow engineering, process improvement or information systems and 5 or more years of experience in information technology and data systems related to public sector or school/district student support systems
• OR
• In lieu of a degree, nine years of experience in a related field can be substituted. Relevant experience may include information technology and data systems related to public sector or school/district student support systems or other data related systems.
• Experience managing multiple complex projects simultaneously.
• Experience presenting information to both technical and non‑technical audiences; building capacity of audiences to engage in best practices relative to data use.
• Experience engaging adult learners in data‑informed activities aligned with evidence‑based practices.
• Data management experience/knowledge to include relational database structure, data types, validation of data, or logic‑based data collection.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across diverse backgrounds, perspectives, roles, and levels of technical expertise, and to create accessible and inclusive approaches to data use, training, and collaboration.
• In‑state travel, minimal out‑of‑state travel
• Must reside of in the state of Washington as a condition of employment

Desired Qualifications

• Experience working with K‑12 education data systems, including Washington K‑12, OSPI, or comparable systems.
• Experience with data governance, data quality, documentation, business rules, and sustainable data processes.
• Experience cleaning, transforming, and analyzing complex data using Excel, Power Query, Tableau Prep, SQL, R, or similar tools; advanced Excel skills preferred.
• Experience analyzing disaggregated data and communicating trends, disparities, disproportionality, and actionable insights.
• Experience designing or improving surveys, data collections, reporting processes, dashboards, visualizations, or other data products.
• Experience translating policy, program, legislative, or business needs into practical data and reporting requirements and collaborating across technical and non‑technical teams.
• Experience providing training or technical assistance that builds others' capacity to use and interpret data.
• Experience engaging with, learning from, or serving communities historically underserved by public systems, including through professional, volunteer, educational, community, or lived experience.
• Experience supporting student engagement, attendance, school safety, wellbeing, discipline, behavioral health, or integrated student supports.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust, adapt to change, support shared decisions, and steward public resources, sensitive information, and public trust.

Compensation

The annual compensation for the position is $78,504 - $105,612 per year and depends upon experience, educational background and qualifications. Geographic differentials may be applied based on work location o successful candidate. Washington State offers a generous benefit package including health, dental and life insurance, retirement, and an optional deferred compensation program. Please visit Health Care Authority for information regarding health benefits and the Department of Retirement Systems for retirement plan information. This is a general service position. This position is not represented by a bargaining unit.

Contact

Sal Salazar, Human Resources

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
600 Washington Street Southeast
Olympia, Washington 98504-7200

360-725-6278: [e-mail]

Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the Human Resources Office at [phone] or [phone], or e-mail [e-mail].

OSPI is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from job seekers who will contribute to our diversity. OSPI provides equal access to all programs and services without discrimination based on sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. If you would like, please include your name and gender pronouns in your application, to ensure we address you appropriately throughout the application process. Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the human resource consultant listed in “Application Process.”