THECB - Assistant Director (Business Improvement)

General Description:
The Assistant Director position is a senior-level role overseeing the Business Improvement team in the Student Financial Aid Programs division. The position involves highly complex work with moderate latitude for initiative and independent judgment under limited supervision. Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to, service request and incident management, project and backlog management, process improvement, and performance monitoring. This position reports to the Senior Director for Business Improvement.

General Duties and Responsibilities:
General duties and responsibilities encompass two main categories of focus: (1) Functional and (2) Administrative. 

Functional: 
•    Directs production supports operations and ensures effective service request and incident management.
•    Manages system configuration and change management processes, coordinates system lifecycle management.
•    Establishes standards and procedures for requirements development, testing and system documentation.
•    Oversees project portfolio monitoring activities and coordinates with stakeholders on priorities.
•    Directs backlog prioritization and ensures alignment with business objectives; manages technology project execution.
•    Leads process improvement initiatives and process mapping analysis; oversees change impact assessment activities; establishes quality standards for business requirements development, testing, and documentation.
•    Coordinates audit support activities relevant to SFAP systems and ensures compliance documentation
•    Oversee security plan contributions and coordinate with information security teams.
•    Monitors performance metrics and Key Performance Indicator achievement; oversees risk management activities and ensures comprehensive risk assessment processes
•    Coordinates incident resolution and change management across multiple platforms.

Administrative:
•    Leads hiring, supervision, and evaluation of staff; fosters professional growth, collaboration, and a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, while guiding organizational planning and team development.
•    Manages workflows across the team's portfolios. 
•    Balances team capacity, assigns responsibilities, and ensures the team's activities are delivered with quality and on schedule.
•    Exhibits professional behavior including appropriate workplace conduct, clear communication, ethical decision-making, and effective collaboration in all work interactions.
•    Consistently adheres to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) standards in all interactions.
•    Performs related work as assigned.

Knowledge Skills or Abilities:
•    Agile Methodologies Knowledge: Facilitates Agile processes, manages product backlogs, tracks team progress, and implements process improvements while adapting methods to fit specific team needs. 
•    Business Systems Knowledge: Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of system architecture and complex business process implementation. 
•    Technology Knowledge: Creatively uses technology in the deployment of daily responsibilities and develops efficient technological processes. Integrates different systems or platforms, analyzes data to inform decision making, and designs and implements technological processes or workflows.
•    Project Management Skills: Manages complex projects with significant scope, develops sophisticated project management approaches, implements appropriate methodologies, and manages complex dependencies and constraints. 
•    Quality Improvement Skills: Designs and leads complex initiatives spanning multiple teams using advanced methodologies. Develops comprehensive measurement systems, performs sophisticated analysis, and demonstrates measurable operational improvements and cost savings.
•    Business Process Analysis & Solution Design: Ability to analyze complex cross-functional processes, lead collaborative redesign efforts, identify less obvious root causes of inefficiencies, and develop innovative approaches that integrate process and architectural improvements ensuring that designs address all requirements.
•    Communication: Ability to use written and verbal communications skills strategically and creatively to achieve goals and outcomes that are mutually beneficial for all parties (e.g., persuading and influencing others, negotiating, resolving conflicts, presenting and facilitating effectively).
•    Critical and Analytical Thinking: Ability to synthesize information from multiple sources and perspectives, identify patterns and trends, challenge assumptions, test alternatives, anticipate consequences, and develop well-reasoned responses.
•    Innovation: Ability to create new or different products, services, processes, or practices that challenge or replace existing ones.
•    Stakeholder Engagement: Ability to influence and collaborate with stakeholders, facilitate and lead collaborative discussions to meet needs and expectations, and evaluate outcomes.
•    Team Supervision: Ability to communicate, motivate and delegate. Assign tasks and responsibilities and monitors progress. Provides feedback and problem solves for a team to advance initiatives.

• Required In-Office Days:
• This position requires on-site work. The employee must be physically present in the office five (5) days per week.

Military Crosswalk: https://hr.sao.texas.gov/Compensation/MilitaryCrosswalk/MOSC_ProgramManagement.pdf

Required Minimum Education and Experience
•    Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. 
•    5+ years of progressive experience in business analysis, information technology support or service management, or project/portfolio management; with a proven ability to lead teams.
•    Six additional months of full-time work experience in business process analysis, information technology support, or project or portfolio management may substitute for 15 semester hours of required education, up to four years. 
•    A master's degree from an accredited college or university in Higher Education Administration, Public Policy/Affairs, Business Administration, Information Technology, or related field may substitute for one year of work experience.

Preferred:
•    Master's degree from an accredited college or university in Higher Education Management, Public Policy/Affairs, Business Administration, Information Technology, or a related field. 
•    Experience working in a supervisory or lead role directing and assessing the work of others in an institutional financial aid office, student loan servicer, or other office that administers state, federal or privately funded financial aid programs. 
•    One year of experience working in applications built in Salesforce. 
•    Knowledge and understanding of state and federal laws, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures affecting student financial assistance, particularly the student financial aid programs administered by the Agency, and the ability to appropriately interpret and apply that knowledge.

• Physical Requirements and/or Working Conditions:
• Work is performed in a standard office environment and requires:
• •    Regular, reliable, and punctual attendance at work; 
• •    Frequent use of personal computer, copiers, printers and telephones; 
• •    Frequent sitting; and
• •    Frequently works under deadlines, as a team member, and in direct contact with others.

Workforce:
Must be able to:
•    Demonstrate knowledge of customer service deliverables. 
•    Show flexibility and adaptability toward changes in assignments and work schedules; and work extended hours as necessary. 
•    Adhere to the organization’s internal management policies and procedures. 
•    Contribute to the agency’s performance measures and mission. 
•    Travel occasionally for work assignments and training.  

Application Requirements:
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is an Equal Opportunity Employer. A State of Texas application is required to apply. For more information on how to apply for this position, go to the Coordinating Board’s employment opportunities website at https://www.highered.texas.gov/careers/.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board participates in E-Verify for each new employees’ Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. For questions, please call the HR Department at 512-427-6190. For vocal and/or hearing assistance call 7-1-1.

Notes to Applicant:
If you require any reasonable accommodation for the interview process, please inform the hiring representative who calls to schedule your interview. This position has been designated as a security sensitive position. A criminal background investigation will be conducted on the final candidate for this position.

Your job application must be completely filled out. Your application must contain dates of employment, job titles, name of employer and a description of duties performed in a way that demonstrates you meet the minimum qualifications for the position for which you are applying. Resumes do not take the place of the requirement to include this information on the application. If this information is not submitted, your application may be rejected because it is incomplete.

Veterans Information: THECB is committed to hiring Veterans. To receive Veteran’s Preference, a copy of the FORM DD214 -member #4, must be attached when submitting your application.

AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER: THECB does not discriminate on the basis, of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability in employment or the provision of services.

Job offer and continuation of employment with THECB is contingent upon:
•    Proof of education and experience listed on the application.
•    Eligibility/authorization to work in the U.S.
•    Satisfactory results from a pre-employment criminal history background check.
•    Compliance with the Selective Service Law for males ages 18-25. Please be advised that under Texas law, names and other information concerning applicants or nominees may be subject to disclosure upon request.

THECB does not allow dual employment with other state of Texas agencies or institutions.

Skills assessment may be conducted at time of interview.

No phone calls or emails, please. Due to the high volume of applications, we do not accept telephone calls and cannot reply to all email inquiries. Only candidates selected for interview will be contacted.