Arizona Department of Education

Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Section
Phoenix Location

Salary: $100,000 - $110,000 

Grade: 25

Closing Date: 10/09/25

• The Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) section is seeking a Deputy Director.
• Occasional in-state travel may be required for this position.
• This position works in office five days per week.

• The ESA Deputy Director assists the ESA Executive Director in managing all aspects of the Empowerment Scholarship Account program for success and ensuring compliance with state laws and regulations. The ESA Deputy Director should have a firm understanding of the ESA program and support school choice and education freedom.

Executive management experience:
• Demonstrated experience making management-level decisions and providing executive decision makers and external stakeholders with clear, cogent, and actionable information that presents risks and opportunities for proper decisions to be made.
• Possess strong verbal and written communication skills.
• The candidate must be able to work under pressure and multi-task and pivot priorities and efforts frequently.
• Will at times need to recommend important decisions to ADE leadership with short timelines and limited information.
• Able to build and maintain effective relationships with diverse stakeholders.

Supervisory experience:
• Supervises operational managers who oversee enrollment, purchase reviews and audits, the call center, and accountability activities.
• Demonstrate success in supervising employees, resolving conflicts, providing growth-oriented feedback, monitoring project timelines and results by employees, and helping to create a positive and productive team.
• Applicants must have supervisory experience.

Experience producing reports:
• Oversee the compilation, validation, and completion of quarterly reports required by state law.
• Have experience in report production, be detail oriented, and possess strong writing skills.
• Supervise any proposed annual changes to the ESA parent handbook.

Data analysis experience:
• Analyze data for program decision making and to fulfill ESA related questions from ADE management, legislative members and staff, media, researchers, and other members of the public.
• Be able to supervise data analysis and approve results for validity and accuracy of those performing the data analysis.

IT management experience:
• Managing IT projects from the business user side of IT projects.
• Be proactive in identifying how technology can be leveraged to improve efficiency and impact of ESA operations, as well as to work with ESA’s IT team to ensure completion of these projects from requirements to development, quality assurance, testing, and through deployment.

• Preference will be given to those applicants with a bachelor’s degree or higher and/or at least three years of progressive management-level experience.

Offers are contingent upon successful completion of all background and reference checks, required documents and, if applicable, a post-offer medical/physical evaluation.

If this position requires driving or the use of a vehicle as an essential function of the job to conduct State business, then the following requirements apply: Driver’s License Requirements.

All newly hired State employees are subject to and must successfully complete the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify).

The State of Arizona provides an excellent comprehensive benefits package including:

• Affordable medical, dental, life, and short-term disability insurance plans
• Top-ranked retirement and long-term disability plans
• Ten paid holidays per year
• Vacation time accrued at 4.00 hours bi-weekly for the first 3 years
• Sick time accrued at 3.70 hours bi-weekly
• Paid Parental Leave-Up to 12 weeks per year paid leave for newborn or newly-placed foster/adopted child (pilot program).
• Deferred compensation plan
• Wellness plans

Learn more about the Paid Parental Leave pilot program here. For a complete list of benefits provided by The State of Arizona, please visit our benefits page

You will be required to participate in the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) upon your 27th week of employment, subject to waiting period. On or shortly after, your first day of employment you will be provided with enrollment instructions and effective date.

The State of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation such as a sign language interpreter or an alternative format by calling (602) 542-3186 or emailing Human.Resources@azed.gov. Requests should be made as early as possible to allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.

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