Accountability Specialist (Two Positions)

Are you investigative? Do you enjoy numbers?

Are you able to take complex data and turn them into actionable visuals?

WE NEED YOUR SKILLS TO ASSIST THE SCHOOLS OF SOUTH DAKOTA!

The Department of Education is looking for individuals to fill an Accountability Specialist position in the Office of Accountability and Accreditation.

Accountability Specialists
are proactive decision-makers who understand data, and use data warehouses and programming to translate complex, raw data tables into understandable and actionable visuals for a wide array of users – researchers, school administrators, parents, legislators, and school board members. They leverage the latest in technology, data systems, and telecommunications. They are able to work with colleagues from across the department to produce high quality reports within the parameters set by program needs. They regularly work with data and stay abreast of newest research to understand trends in student growth and achievement.

The South Dakota Department of Education works to ensure that all students in the state graduate college, career and life ready. The state accountability system is used to help measure progress towards this aim while fulfilling federal education requirements.

As an
Accountability Specialist
, you will have the opportunity to:

• design and build new accountability report cards from backend data tables;
• work with a cutting edge team on use of educational data to inform decision-making;
• navigate the nexus of federal and state requirements to produce high quality reporting in the best interest of South Dakotans;
• create reports to analyze data to better inform department-wide efforts in support of ensuring all students are college, career, and life ready;
• help schools, parents, and other stakeholders understand trends in educational data;
• maintain the highest ethical standards and work product confidentiality;
• be part of a team of professional, dependable and accountable individuals.

Occasional travel will be required for this position. The start date for this position is negotiable.

WE WILL TRAIN SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS ON THE STATE ACCOUNTABILITY DATA SYSTEMS.

The Ideal Candidate Will Have:

Bachelor’s degree and professional experience in computer programming or data analytics required.

Knowledge, skills, and experience
needed for successful performance:

• ATTENTION TO DETAIL – Attend to all details of assignments and complete work properly, accurately and thoroughly;
• COMMUNICATION – Listen attentively to others and clearly convey information and ideas;
• COMPOSURE – Remain focused in stressful situations and keep emotions under control at all times;
• CUSTOMER SERVICE – Treat customers courteously and respond to their needs;
• DATA ANALYSIS – Use basic statistical procedures to understand trends in education data;
• DATA EXPERIENCE – Experience in one or more programming languages and data visualization software such as SPSS, SAS, STATA, SQL, Tableau, Access, and Excel;
• DECISIVENESS – Exercise sound judgment when making decisions and take prompt, decisive action;
• INFORMATION SEEKING – Actively seek, collect and evaluate information to learn more about issues or events;
• INITIATIVE – Display a high level of effort and commitment towards completing assignments and goals;
• PROBLEM SOLVING – Analyze problems and make sound decisions;
• RELATIONSHIP BUILDING – Work to build and maintain professional relationships with people who provide information, assistance or support.

VETERANS’ PREFERENCE ELIGIBLE

T
he State of South Dakota offers paid employee health insurance plus ten paid holidays, generous vacation leave accrual, and medical, dental, vision, and other benefits. For more information visit
http://bhr.sd.gov/workforus/workbenefits.aspx