Foundation School Program (FSP) Senior Programmer (Programmer V) - Internal Vacancy

MISSION: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) will improve outcomes for all public-school students in the state by providing leadership, guidance, and support to school systems.

Core Values:

• We are Determined: We are committed and intentional in the pursuit of our main purpose, to improve outcomes for students.
• We are People-Centered: We strive to attract, develop, and retain the most committed talent, representing the diversity of Texas, each contributing to our common vision for students.
• We are Learners: We seek evidence, reflect on success and failure, and try new approaches in the pursuit of excellence for our students.
• We are Servant Leaders: Above all else, we are public servants working to improve opportunities for students and provide support to those who serve them.

New hires, re-hires, and internal hires will typically receive a starting salary between the posted minimum and the average pay of employees in their same classification. Offers will be commensurate with the candidate's experience and qualifications and will thoughtfully consider internal pay equity for agency staff who perform similar duties and have similar qualifications. The top half of the posted salary range is generally reserved for candidates who exceed the requirements and qualifications for the role. The maximum salary range is reserved for candidates that far exceed the required and preferred qualifications for the role.

This is a 5-business day internal posting. We are only accepting applications from current Texas Education Agency (TEA) employees. External applicants will not be considered.

Position Overview:

The FSP Senior Programmer will perform highly advanced SAS programming tasks pertaining to the construction of datasets, analyses, and reports for the State Funding, Forecasting & Fiscal Analysis Division. The primary focus of this position is to perform development and testing on the FSP in conjunction with the FSP IT team, which includes translating statutory language into operationalizable requirements for SAS programming so that legislative mandates are accurately reflected in the agency's funding calculations and reporting. The FSP Senior Programmer reports directly to the Managing Director of Forecasting. The work is highly complex and conducted under minimal supervision with considerable latitude for the use of independent judgment.

Flexible work location within the state of Texas may be considered for qualified candidates.

Please note that a resume and tailored cover letter are required attachments for applying to this position. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Applicants who are strongly being considered for employment must submit to a national criminal history background check.

Please note that a resume, tailored cover letter, and short answer responses are required attachments for applying to this position. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Applicants who are strongly being considered for employment must submit to a national criminal history background check.

Essential Functions:

Job duties are not limited to the essential functions mentioned below. You may perform other functions as assigned.

1. Liaison with IT Development Team: serves as the primary liaison with the FSP IT development team on all matters related to FSP calculations and code deployments; ensures code and calculations perform as required; completes testing and coordinates with cross-functional stakeholders including IT Development, State Funding, Forecasting & Fiscal Analysis staff, and FSP programmers; analyzes the potential impact of proposed changes to the school finance system

2. Coding, Testing, and Documenting: performs advanced statewide school finance funding formula calculations in SAS; reviews and recommends updates to existing Oracle database SAS code models, including Foundation School Program and Available School Fund calculation code; tests code for expected results and implements changes as needed; documents and explains methodology changes; maintains the data dictionary for the FSP Summary of Finance application

3. Implements New School Finance Legislation: translates statutory language into operationalizable requirements for SAS programming, ensuring that legislative mandates are accurately reflected in the agency's funding calculations and reporting; leads the annual FSP new-year initialization and implements yearly updates to FSP calculation code, documenting and explaining methodology changes; quantifies the fiscal impact of legislative changes at both the statewide and district level, along with the assumptions used to develop the estimates

4. Recurring Data Projects: executes SAS programming projects that recur on a defined cycle (annual, quarterly, or by legislative session) to support TEA reporting, audit, and compliance obligations; examples include calculating the annual Prekindergarten Expenditure Ratio and Maintenance of Effort (MOE), which support internal TEA reporting and Federal Reporting requirements associated with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and are included in an annual audit review and verification process

5. Ad-Hoc and Unplanned Requests: as directed, performs and reviews analytical work for infrequent or unplanned modeling requests related to the Foundation School Program (FSP); translates written requirements into working financial models; provides oral and written explanations understandable by multiple stakeholders and audiences; assists stakeholders with decisions regarding FSP cost forecasting methodologies

Minimum Qualifications:

• Education: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university
• Experience: At least five [5] years of experience in data analysis, research, compilation, and/or reporting work and/or school finance at the local or state level.
• Substitutions: Education and experience may substitute for one another on a year-for-year basis.

Other Qualifications:

• Share the belief that all Texas students can achieve at high levels and are able to succeed in college, career, or the military.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills; a problem solver with the ability to work with little supervision, multitask, and learn quickly.
• Experience conducting in-depth analysis of complex systems and evaluating decision alternatives to make recommendations.
• Knowledge of statistics and data analysis; running queries, report writing, and presenting findings; and recordkeeping, including security procedures for handling, protecting, and distributing confidential data.
• Ability to compile, review, and analyze data, prepare accurate reports, and communicate findings effectively.
• Knowledge of data models, database design and development, data mining, and segmentation techniques.
• Knowledge of local, state, and federal laws and regulations related to Texas budget, education, and taxation, and experience working with the Texas Governor's Office, legislators, or other state or local entities.
• Five (5) years of state-level experience in appropriations, legislative processes, tax policy, school finance policy, education, or other fiscal matters is preferred.
• Five (5) years of experience programming financial models for legislative fiscal notes, including school finance models, is preferred; eight (8) years is highly preferred.
• Five (5) years of experience in each of the following areas - SAS programming, large relational databases, and advanced Microsoft Excel - is preferred; ten (10) years is highly preferred.
• Major coursework in data science, business analytics, computer science, computer information systems, management information systems, accounting, finance, mathematics, statistics, economics, or a related field is generally preferred.

As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age or veteran status, unless an applicant is entitled to the military employment preference.

To review the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) codes from each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces to each job classification series in the State's Position Classification Plan (provided by the State Auditor's Office), please access the Military Crosswalk (occupational specialty code) Guide and click on the military "occupational category" that corresponds with the state classification in this job posting title.

This position requires the applicant to meet Agency standards and criteria which may include passing a pre-employment criminal background check, prior to being offered employment by the Agency.

To learn more about working at TEA, including hiring timelines, process details, and candidate resources, please visit the Employment at TEA page.

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. Please add "..." and "@tea.texas.gov" to your safe senders list to ensure you receive email notifications from our talent acquisition team and/or hiring division regarding your candidacy.

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