Department Overview

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) is a public agency supported by 12 (states and territories). Through the work of thousands of educators, Smarter Balanced created an online assessment system aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), as well as tools for educators to improve teaching and learning. Smarter Balanced is housed at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Silicon Valley Extension.

Our work is guided by the belief that a high-quality assessment system can provide information and tools for teachers and schools to improve instruction and help students succeed, regardless of disability, language, or subgroup. We involve experienced educators, researchers, state and local policymakers, and community groups working together in a transparent and consensus-driven process.

UCSC Extension provides professional training that reflects the academic rigor of the University of California and the hands-on, roll-up-your-shirtsleeves practicality of Silicon Valley culture. Developed with guidance from key industry leaders and academic experts, our certificate programs match the economic demand of your industry, from engineering to business, education to bioscience. The University of California reviews and approves UCSC Extension courses and programs for academic content, merit, and instructor qualifications. Many of our courses may be applied toward degree programs or may be eligible for professional certificates and licenses.

To learn more about Smarter Balanced, please visit www.smarterbalanced.org.

Job Summary

The Deputy Executive Director provides senior executive leadership to advance Smarter Balanced's mission through coordinated decision-making, operational excellence, and strategic supervision across multiple functional areas. Reporting to the Executive Director, the position serves as a central integrator across offices, ensuring timely, transparent, and data-informed decisions that appropriately engage the Executive Committee, advisory bodies, and the Governing Board. The Deputy Executive Director serves as the initial escalation point for office- and organization-wide risks and plays a key role in safeguarding organizational integrity through effective risk management, compliance oversight, and institutional accountability.

The position provides executive oversight of core operational systems, including finance, human resources, production planning, and quality assurance, ensuring alignment with University of California and UC Santa Cruz policies and best practices. Through continuous improvement, performance monitoring, and strategic resource stewardship, the Deputy Executive Director strengthens operational effectiveness, drives efficiency, and ensures that Smarter Balanced products and services meet the highest standards of quality and reliability.

As a senior leader, the Deputy Executive Director supervises and develops executive officers across External Affairs, Product and Strategy, Content, Psychometrics, Research, and Project Management. The role fosters cross-office collaboration, builds high-performing leadership teams, and supports organizational change and succession planning. When the Executive Director is unavailable, the Deputy Executive Director assumes executive authority to ensure continuity of leadership and operations, providing stability and strategic guidance during both routine operations and high-stakes, time-sensitive situations.

Essential Functions

Cross Office Decision making and Coordination (40%)

• Ensure timely, transparent decision-making across the organization that appropriately incorporates the Executive Committee, Advisory committees, and the Governing Board
• Lead executive cross-office coordination to align strategies, manage shared resources, and manage operational trade-offs that incorporate data-informed decision-making
• Oversee organizational risk management and compliance frameworks that safeguard operations, strengthen accountability, and support organizational resilience
• Foster consistent communication and documentation practices that promote institutional transparency and trust
  
  

Operational Systems and Continuous Improvement (40%)

• Provide Executive oversight of Smarter Balanced operational processes, including Finance and Human Resource practices, to ensure high quality, appropriate stewardship of public funds and member resources, and alignment with UC/UCSC policies
• Monitor organizational controls to ensure that organizational products and services are of the highest level of quality. Oversee production planning, approval, and post-publication review processes
• Drive operational efficiency through improved workflows and clear documentation
• Establish and maintain mechanisms for continuous improvement, including risk assessment, staff feedback, and performance reporting
• Oversee annual and multi-year budget development and budget revisions, ensuring integration of strategic priorities, resource efficiency, and transparency across offices
  
  

Supervision and Leadership (30%)

• Serves the functions of the Executive Director when the Executive Director is not available
• Provides strategic leadership and organizational alignment across the offices of External Affairs, Strategy and Product, Content, and Psychometrics, Research, and Project Management—ensuring cross-functional initiatives advance Smarter Balanced's mission, long-term vision, and stakeholder support
• Supervises and develops executive officers, setting clear performance expectations, facilitating collaboration, and fostering professional growth through mentoring, accountability, and succession planning to ensure excellence in program execution
• Provides guidance and resolution support when divisional issues or conflicts escalate across executives' teams or impact organizational objectives
• Fosters an inclusive and high-performing organizational culture
  
  

Requirements

REQUIRED

• Advanced degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training
• Proven experience in serving as an executive to support state and national organizations in their development and use of effective assessment systems aimed at improving teaching and learning
• Proven experience in addressing complex political landscapes in a manner that positions the organization for long-term success and prioritizes relationship-building among stakeholders
• Proven experience scaling systems while demonstrating commitment to accuracy, accessibility, fairness, and maintaining public trust
• Highly developed leadership abilities with demonstrated success in developing high-performance teams, managing organizational change, and motivating and influencing others as necessary to achieve organizational goals
• Proven experience leading and developing a team of executives to establish goals aligned with the organization's mission and maximize organizational outcomes
• Experience ensuring that organizational practices, services, and behaviors support and promote collaboration among staff
• Proven experience in establishing and implementing strategic plans to empower the organization to better fulfill its mission
• Thorough knowledge of large-scale educational assessment and experience in working directly with state staff to arrive at technical assessment solutions that meet their needs
• Thorough knowledge of the organizational environment of state departments of education to understand client priorities, issues, motivations, and constraints
• Thorough knowledge of the federal law and general knowledge of states' laws regarding K-12 assessment and accountability, and procurement
• Highly developed decision-making skills that include consensus-based decision-making and input and guidance from several constituents (e.g., executive board, customers, advocacy groups)
• Proven capacity to adapt to unexpected and high-stakes issues with a track record of providing executive oversight in supporting an expedient resolution that addresses the needs of the organization and is consistent with best practices in educational assessment
• Ability to travel 1-2 times per month
  
  

Preferred

• Terminal degree in a related field (PhD, JD, MD, etc.)
• Excellent communication skills. Demonstrated ability to craft messages that meet the needs of a diversity of audiences and a diversity of media for internal and external purposes
• Proven experience in leading the current market to shape current and future trends
• Proven experience in business development, marketing, communications, and aligning budgets to strategic objectives that support organizational success
• Thorough knowledge of technology necessary to support the development and administration of educational assessments
• Thorough knowledge of public sector practices in performance management
• Proven experience in validating new educational assessments
• Proven experience engaging in collaborative problem-solving with governing or executive boards
  
  

SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• Selected candidate will be required to pass a pre-employment criminal history background check
• Selected candidate must pass the employment misconduct disclosure process
• Ability to work long periods of time at a computer with or without accommodation
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends as directed
• Ability to travel nationally. Travel: Up to 20% of the time
• Ability to maintain appearance and conduct suitable for working in a professional setting
• This is a fully remote position, and the selected candidate must be able to work successfully from a home/remote office and be able to fulfill the requirements of the UCSC telecommuting agreement
• Selected candidate will be required to complete training within established time frames as directed including UC compliance training
• The University of California has implemented a Vaccination Policy covering all employees. Employees, including new hires, are required to comply with any applicable policies relating to the University of California vaccine program
• Exercise the utmost discretion in managing sensitive information learned in the course of performing their duties. Sensitive information includes but is not limited to employee and student records, health and patient records, financial data, strategic plans, proprietary information, and any other sensitive or non-public information learned during the course and scope of employment. Understands that sensitive information should be shared on a limited basis and actively takes steps to limit access to sensitive information to individuals who have legitimate business need to know. Ensure that sensitive information is properly safeguarded. Follow all organizational policies and laws on data protection and privacy. This includes secure handling of physical and digital records and proper usage of IT systems to prevent data leaks. The unauthorized or improper disclosure of confidential work-related information obtained from any source on any work-related matter is a violation of these expectations
  
  

Benefits

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

This position offers a competitive salary range of $211,900 - $237,760, and robust benefits. Salary commensurate with skills, qualifications and experience. The salary for this position will be reviewed after approximately three years. Any adjustment would be subject to review and approval and would occur within the established salary range, up to and including the midpoint, as appropriate. Under California law, the University of California, Santa Cruz is required to post a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role. The salary shown above is the budgeted amount the University reasonably expects to pay and the salary extended should not exceed this posted amount. More details can be provided upon request.

TO INDICATE INTEREST

Please submit a resume online at https://apply.workable.com/j/704B37758A/. Note that there will be a formal process through the UC Santa Cruz applicant portal.

Smarter Balanced is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity. Recruiting staff to create an inclusive organization is a priority, and we encourage applicants from all backgrounds. Candidates are evaluated solely on their qualifications to perform the work required.