Education Finance Associate

WestEd Career • Alameda, CA

2d • $80,000 - $125,000 • Remote

About The Position

WestEd’s Center for Education Systems, specifically its Federal Fiscal Accountability team, works with federal, state, and local agencies to strengthen administration of federal education programs and management of public resources. The team supports implementation of requirements under EDGAR, the Uniform Grant Guidance, ESEA, IDEA, and other federal programs. Its work includes improving fiscal accountability systems, policies and procedures, resource allocation, monitoring, and implementation strategies, with the goal of strengthening compliance, organizational capacity, and access to high-quality services for eligible children, students, and families.

The Education Finance Associate will support Senior Program Associates, Program Managers, and project leads in providing technical assistance and other services to state agencies, local educational agencies, and other IDEA partners. The role contributes to resource development, policy analysis, applied research, and state- and local-level projects, including work through the Center for IDEA Fiscal Reporting on IDEA Part B and/or Part C fiscal requirements and reporting. The role is especially suited to someone with knowledge of IDEA and experience administering or supporting special education or early intervention programs, with a preference for IDEA Part C fiscal experience.

The position involves technical assistance, consultation, training and resource development, as well as project and task coordination. It requires some travel, up to 30% annually, for on-site technical assistance and meetings; occasional overnight travel may be required. WestEd allows employees in many roles to choose to work remotely, subject to the requirements of the position or project.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, public administration, education administration, special education, early childhood education, or a related field.
• Knowledge of federal fiscal accountability requirements and state and local finance systems, particularly those related to special education and early intervention programs.
• Experience administering or supporting special education, early intervention, federal education, or other publicly funded programs.
• Understanding of IDEA Part C systems, including the roles of state lead agencies, participating public agencies, early intervention service providers, and families.
• Familiarity with IDEA Part C fiscal requirements, such as payor of last resort, interagency financial responsibility, systems of payments, public and private insurance, reimbursement procedures, and fiscal monitoring.
• Ability to review, analyze, and summarize policies, procedures, budgets, fiscal documents, monitoring materials, and other complex information.
• Resourcefulness, careful attention to detail, and strong organizational skills, including demonstrated use of organizational tools such as Box, Salesforce, and Outlook Calendar, and experience in successful project management.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including proofreading and providing constructive feedback.
• Ability to actively listen and summarize conversations, decisions, and action items for internal teams and client partners.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, including ability to prioritize work across multiple projects.
• High self-motivation and ability to work independently while seeking guidance when appropriate.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate with a team and client partners.
• Authorization to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is not available.
• Successful completion of WestEd’s criminal background check, fingerprint validation, and education verification, as required for new hires.

Nice To Haves

• Experience implementing and administering IDEA Part C; preference is given to candidates with IDEA Part C fiscal experience.
• Experience developing and implementing state procedures for meeting federal fiscal requirements, including monitoring local educational agency and local agency compliance.
• Experience developing and providing technical assistance and professional development.
• Group facilitation skills, including experience facilitating professional learning networks and communities of practice.
• Eagerness to contribute to developing new strategies for quality assurance and project coordination.
• Knowledge of improvement science, implementation science, and other continuous improvement frameworks.
• Understanding and application of adult learning theory in professional development and facilitation.

Responsibilities

• Support technical assistance and consultation to states to increase client capacity to meet IDEA program and fiscal requirements and improve outcomes for students with disabilities.
• Assist in developing and preparing materials for technical assistance and content-specific projects.
• Contribute to developing and disseminating resources, tools, and templates.
• Write for varied audiences, including contributing to project resources and reports describing and summarizing the team’s work.
• Partner with teammates to review and summarize client materials, including policies, background research, and other information.
• Organize calendars and meeting materials, and prepare meeting notes for events and meetings.
• Document and communicate expectations for team tasks and track their completion.
• Contribute to project staff meetings within existing infrastructures.
• Provide project coordination and support for specified tasks and workstreams within larger projects.
• Travel up to 30% annually for on-site technical assistance and meetings; occasional overnight stays may be required.

Benefits

• 15% contribution toward retirement effective on the first day of employment and immediately 100% vested.
• Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts and a Health Savings Account option.
• Health and welfare benefits effective the first of the month following the hire date.
• 19 days of paid time off, increasing to 21 days beginning the third year of employment.
• 12 paid holidays.
• Life insurance valued at three times gross salary, up to $500,000.
• Opportunities for annual merit-based performance increases and annual incentives.
• Professional development opportunities and a mentorship program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level