Grant Wood AEA Chief Administrator

Grundmeyer Leader Search•Cedar Rapids, IA

25d

About The Position

The Grant Wood AEA Chief Administrator serves as the chief executive officer and chief professional advisor to the Board of Directors. The role provides strategic leadership to advance the Agency’s mission, vision, core values, and goals by aligning people, programs, services, and resources to improve outcomes for students and educators and respond to the evolving needs of schools and communities. The Chief Administrator builds 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. The Chief Administrator provides executive leadership for effective, evidence-based programs and services; advises the Board and supports governance, strategic planning, and legal compliance; cultivates district and stakeholder relationships; and leads service-for-fee programs with attention to educational impact, service quality, and financial sustainability. The role leads and develops the executive team and broader organization, oversees finances and operational functions, and collaborates with statewide educational partners and policymakers. The position is a twelve-month work-year role requiring 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 takes place in a variety of professional settings and involves managing complex issues, competing priorities, and changing circumstances. Regular sitting, standing, walking, speaking, listening, reading, and use of standard office technology are required. The Board of Directors establishes compensation, benefits, and other employment terms and evaluates the Chief Administrator annually.

Requirements

Master’s or specialist degree in educational administration or a related field.
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.
Ability to meet the position’s travel and outside-traditional-business-hours participation requirements.
Ability to perform the regular activities specified for the position, with reasonable accommodations where applicable.

Nice To Haves

Doctorate.
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.

Responsibilities

Provide executive leadership for high-quality, evidence-based programs and services that improve student outcomes.
Ensure special education expertise informs Agency strategy, programming, service delivery, and district support.
Ensure services respond to district, educator, student, and family needs; use data, research, stakeholder feedback, and emerging practices to evaluate effectiveness and guide continuous improvement.
Serve as the Board’s chief professional advisor and executive officer, maintaining a trusting, transparent relationship and providing timely, accurate, data-informed recommendations.
Partner with the Board to establish strategic direction and translate Board priorities into organizational action and accountability.
Ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, Department of Education requirements, and Board policies.
Build relationships with superintendents, school boards, district leaders, and educational partners; maintain a visible presence throughout the service area and understand stakeholder needs.
Ensure Agency services are responsive, timely, accessible, and customer-focused; build partnerships and communicate the value and impact of programs and services.
Lead service-for-fee programs in alignment with the Agency’s public mission, expertise, and priorities, balancing customer needs, service quality, educational impact, innovation, and financial sustainability.
Establish accountability for program performance and monitor revenue, expenses, customer satisfaction, service quality, and utilization; adjust services and resources according to needs, conditions, performance, and viability.
Build, lead, develop, evaluate, and hold accountable a high-performing executive leadership team; foster a culture of collaboration, trust, professionalism, accountability, and excellence.
Develop leadership capacity and succession plans and ensure effective employee recruitment, development, evaluation, and retention systems.
Keep organizational structures, staffing, and leadership roles aligned with Agency priorities and resources, and address performance concerns effectively and consistently.
Oversee Agency finances and advise the Board on budgets, revenues, expenditures, financial risks, and long-term projections.
Align fiscal, personnel, and organizational resources with strategic priorities and student and district needs; ensure responsible, transparent, sustainable resource use and appropriate financial controls.
Provide executive oversight of facilities, technology, contracts, negotiations, risk management, and other operational functions.
Collaborate with AEA leaders to strengthen Iowa’s statewide educational support system and pursue beneficial shared services, innovation, and coordinated approaches.
Build relationships with the Iowa Department of Education, State Board of Education, legislators, policymakers, and other educational partners.
Represent and advocate for Grant Wood AEA and communicate the value and impact of its services locally, statewide, and nationally as appropriate.
Anticipate legislative, political, financial, and educational changes and lead appropriate organizational responses.
Participate in frequent travel throughout the service area and across Iowa, occasional out-of-state travel, and meetings and events outside traditional business hours.
Perform other duties assigned by the Board or required to support the Agency’s mission and effective operation.