Description

POSITION OVERVIEW:
The Texas Education Agency’s Office of Governance (OG) is driven by a powerful mission: to proactively support school systems, keep students safe, and uphold Texas education law with integrity, objectivity, and excellence. Our core workstreams—Field Support and Compliance & Investigations—focus on strengthening governance, fostering a culture of accountability, and promoting continuous improvement across Texas schools. By working closely with school systems and agency teams, we help ensure every Texas public school student has access to a safe, high-quality education.
 
At the intersection of student safety, educator accountability, and public trust, the Division Director for Educator Investigations leads some of the agency’s most consequential work. This role oversees all educator misconduct investigations conducted on behalf of the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) and the Commissioner of Education—work that directly strengthens the safety and integrity of every Texas public school.

The Educator Investigations Division (EID) protects the safety and welfare of Texas students by investigating allegations of misconduct involving educators and school employees. The division includes two essential workstreams:

The Intake Unit ensures school system compliance with child abuse reporting requirements, reviews criminal history, conducts Preliminary Reviews, tracks criminal matters, evaluates referrals for completeness and accuracy, and recommends cases for formal investigation in strict accordance with SBEC and agency policy.

The Investigations Unit conducts formal, comprehensive investigations into alleged misconduct by SBEC-certified educators and non-certified school employees. This unit ensures due process in every case, maintains a strong commitment to protecting students, and upholds the integrity of the educational environment. 

The Educator of Investigations Division Director reports to the Executive Director of Investigations and operates with significant autonomy. The division director must demonstrate exceptional judgment, strategic foresight, advanced investigative oversight, and skillful stakeholder engagement. This is an exciting opportunity to guide a highperforming division into a new era of operational clarity, crosssystem alignment, and investigative rigor, while also strengthening a culture where leadership is demonstrated through partnership, accountability, and purposeful action.

The EID Division Director must be as comfortable setting longrange strategy as they are stepping into the daytoday to model excellence, reinforce expectations, and advance critical work during peak periods or heightened risk. We are seeking a leader who not only brings strategic vision, operational excellence, and investigative expertise, but also leads with a deep service mindset. This role requires someone who is willing to lean in to support complex, urgent, or highpriority work alongside the team when needed. Every decision made in this division protects students, strengthens school systems, and reinforces the integrity of the educator profession across Texas.

The Division Director, Educator Investigations may work a hybrid schedule.

Please note that a resume 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. Vision and Operational Strategy: establish and execute a clear strategic vision and operational strategy that ensures investigations lead to outcomes that safeguard student welfare and  adhere to all SBEC and Commissioner rules; proactively build strong internal and external partnerships to identify opportunities for collaboration and advance division goals; use individual competencies to develop high quality  strategy documents and presentations to convey operational issues, analysis, recommendations, and forecasts to inform leadership decision making 
2. Investigations Workflow and Performance: in accordance with governing laws and rules, oversee and provide operational direction for all workflows within the division, including ensuring investigations adhere to standard operating procedures; oversee the adoption, utilization, and optimization of the division’s case management system; generate timely and professional responses to members of the legislature, educators, and stakeholders; develop clear processes to keep management apprised of high-profile or complex cases, ensuring alignment with priorities and expectations; establish and oversee rollup performance metrics across the Intake and Investigations Units ensuring leadership has clear visibility into workload, timeliness, and investigative outcomes 
3. Process Optimization and Improvement: regularly and proactively collaborate with colleagues and managers to develop, refine, and implement policies and procedures that align with  division and agency strategic goals; conduct director-driven quality assurance evaluations to ensure investigations are timely, professional, and consistent; develop written process documents and improvement plans that reflect best  practices and align with leadership strategy; in accordance with agency practice, identify opportunities for automation or technology – driven improvements  and work with other divisions to implement, create and standardize resources, and enhance division functions; develop and optimize investigative processes; leverage data to assess performance and output; conducts an annual inventory, definition, and evaluation of all EID processes 
4. Team Management and Development: drive team development and performance management with a structured, proactive approach; lead focused meetings with clear agendas, provide ongoing feedback and coaching, and document staff progress toward defined objectives and performance measures; oversee monthly review of metrics and outcomes, ensuring clarity, accountability, and continuous improvement; strengthen team engagement, cohesion, and alignment by offering thoughtful guidance on strategy, goals, and expectations; oversee the full hiring process and provide recommendations for candidate selection in compliance with agency policies and established standards; and establish comprehensive onboarding and transition processes and design professional development pathways that foster individual and team growth

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Education: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university
• Experience: At least seven [7] years of experience in overseeing investigations involving allegations of misconduct, with at least 3 years supervisory experience managing and developing investigative teams.  
• 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.
• Experience working with law enforcement, protective, and administrative regulatory agencies to conduct high-profile and complex investigations.
• Demonstrated ability to oversee a substantial case docket, apply statute and rule to operational decisions, respond to leadership directives, and meet required timelines to achieve goals.
• Proven ability to lead investigative teams while conducting evidence analysis, interviews, and training in best investigative practices.
• Exceptional communicator with strong interpersonal skills and sound judgment, delivering concise investigative briefings that translate complex, sensitive findings into clear reports, presentations, and actionable policy or process improvements.
• Experience serving as a resource for governing boards and legislative members and responding to stakeholder inquiries and concerns.
• A demonstrated commitment to self-reflection, giving/receiving feedback, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to work as a contributing member of a team by establishing and maintaining positive, effective working relationships with all levels of staff.
• Must satisfy the Texas Department of Public Safety’s criteria for access to the TX DPS secure website and clearinghouse.
• Experience overseeing investigations involving allegations of child abuse or violations impacting students is strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of state and federal laws and regulations pertaining to misconduct, criminal and administrative investigations, and confidentiality; knowledge of the Texas Penal Code, Texas Education Code, Texas Family Code, and Texas Administrative Code, preferred.
• Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) certification preferred.