Special Education District Services - Analyst - 1.0FTE

Seattle Public Schools•John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence, WA

10d•Onsite

About The Position

This position is on a 260-day work year calendar. The Special Education Contracts Specialist provides critical budget, cost analysis, and fiscal control functions for the Special Education Department, supporting a multimillion-dollar contracted services portfolio. This position manages the full lifecycle of the department's contracted services, including personal service contracts, non-public agency (NPA) agreements, interagency agreements, and purchase orders — from initial procurement and contract development through execution, invoice reconciliation, amendment, and closeout. The Specialist monitors contract spending against budget, tracks encumbrances, identifies cost trends and variances, and prepares fiscal analyses and projections to inform departmental decision-making and annual budget development. The Specialist balances daily operational demands — processing invoices, resolving vendor payment issues, tracking contract expiration and renewal timelines, and coordinating staffing-related expenditures — while maintaining accurate, audit-ready records. The position works closely with the Accounting, Budget, Purchasing, and Grants departments, as well as external vendors, service providers, and agency partners, serving as the department's primary point of contact for contract and vendor fiscal matters. This role carries significant compliance responsibility: the Specialist ensures that all contracting and expenditure practices adhere to federal and state Special Education law and procedure, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and that expenditures charged to IDEA Part B and other Special Education grant funding meet allowability, allocability, and documentation requirements. The position supports grant reporting, audit preparation, and corrective action responses as needed. Provides budget and cost analysis and controls for the Special Education Department. Balances daily operations, including invoices, personal service contracts, purchase orders and staffing. Works closely with Accounting, Budget and external vendors. Ensures the District is adhering to Special Education law and procedures related to IDEA and other Special Education grant funding. The ideal candidate brings strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage a high-volume portfolio with competing deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

Three (3) years of professional budget experience in budget development, cost analysis, interpretation and application of complex fiscal control procedures, reconciliation, auditing and correcting fiscal control data
Bachelor's degree in Financial Management, Public or Business Administration or closely related field
Master's degree preferred
Additional qualifying work experience may substitute for the educational requirement on a year-for-year basis
Knowledge of Special Education law and procedures related to IDEA.
Knowledge of Principles and practices of budget management.
Knowledge of Methods employed to collect, analyze and interpret data.
Knowledge of SAP, MS Word, Access and Excel.
Skilled in Customer service.
Skilled in Excellent oral and written communications.
Skilled in Planning, organizing and prioritizing work.
Skilled in Writing procedures.
Ability to Interpret and apply laws, rules and regulations.
Ability to Collect, analyze and interpret data.
Ability to Complete projects independently.
Ability to Provide guidance and train others.
Ability to Maintain records and prepare reports and correspondence.
Ability to Communicate effectively with others.
Criminal Justice Fingerprint and Background Check

Nice To Haves

Master's degree

Responsibilities

Provides budget and cost analysis and controls for the Special Education Department.
Coordinates and collaborates with Budget and Human Resources Department and staff in other departments and schools to identify budget problems, resolve issues, reconcile funding and positions with available resources, and provides accurate and understandable reports.
Provides instructional, informational documents used to develop or maintain Special Education budget.
Ensures the District is adhering to Special Education law and procedures related to IDEA and other special education grant funding.
Prepares recurring fiscal control/cost reports.
Develops cash flow and expenditure forecasts.
Recommends budget adjustments and resolves problems/issues as program needs change, reviews options for using different fund sources.
Reconciles staffing with budget and Human Resources.
Provides training, leadership and monitoring to other SPED Technicians and school based staff to ensure proper monitoring of school building expenditures.
Responds to inquiries regarding assigned areas of responsibility as a representative of the Special Education Department.
Serves as a resource to outside representatives involved in department operations.
Works collaboratively with department supervisors to establish and maintain data for key performance indicators as it pertains to the fiscal responsibilities for Special Education.
Attends and participates in regular meetings as related to area of assignment with budget staff, grants, accounting and Human Resource staff as well as Assistant and Deputy Superintendent as needed.
Compiles statistical information and data for estimations and reports.
May perform related duties consistent with the scope and intent of the position.