What we are looking for: The Assistant Director provides leadership, operational oversight, and strategic direction for the Centralized Assessment Entity (CAE) within the Children's Learning Institute at UTHealth Houston. This position is responsible for supporting the continued growth and advancement of the program by driving operational efficiencies, ensuring high-quality service delivery, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. The Assistant Director works closely with program leadership to implement strategic initiatives, strengthen processes and systems, monitor program performance, and support statewide operations. This role oversees staff and managers, promotes professional development, and ensures alignment with organizational goals, contractual requirements, and quality standards.

The ideal candidate brings demonstrated leadership experience, strong knowledge of Texas Rising Star, and a deep understanding of assessment practices and quality improvement in early childhood programs. This position requires regular travel across the state of Texas to support program operations, stakeholder engagement, and continuous quality improvement efforts.

What we do here changes the world. UTHealth Houston is Texas’ resource for healthcare education, innovation, scientific discovery, and excellence in patient care. That’s where you come in.

Once you join us you won't want to leave. It’s because we reward our team for the excellent service they provide. Our total rewards package includes the benefits you’d expect from a top healthcare organization (benefits, insurance, etc.), plus:  

• 100%25 paid medical premiums for our full-time employees  
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave day, both vacation and sick time – all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year) 
• The longer you stay, the more vacation you’ll accrue! 
• Longevity Pay (Monthly payments after two years of service) 
• Build your future with our awesome retirement/pension plan! 

We take care of our employees! As a world-renowned institution, our employees’ wellbeing is important to us. We offer work/life services such as... 

• Free financial and legal counseling 
• Free mental health counseling services 
• Gym membership discounts and access to wellness programs 
• Other employee discounts including entertainment, car rentals, cell phones, etc. 
• Resources for child and elder care 
• Plus many more! 

Position Summary:

Assists with planning and managing the quality improvement efforts in support of the Children's Learning Institute, including the development, execution and implementation of strategic plans.

Position Key Accountabilities:

• Collaborates with the Director on the development and execution of strategic plans; supports the execution of strategy and organizational impacts.
• Creates framework for innovation and determines project requirements, develops protocols and implementation guidelines, and guides data analysis.
• Collaborates with Directors to provide leadership to manage staff, develop project plans and deliverables, and plan/monitor/analyze/report on performance measures.
• Works closely with the Finance Manager, Associate Director of State Initiatives, and Divisional Manager to manage the project budgets and/or programmatic sustainability.
• Proactively engages in education outreach with partner agencies/organizations to generate winning outcomes; searches for valuable opportunities for the organization.
• Oversees the day-to-day implementation of project quality improvement components, and adjusts as needed to maintain fidelity and stay within budget.
• Identifies significant research findings, synthesize into actionable reports to funding agencies, and prepares white papers and publications for dissemination.
• Assists the Associate Director(s) of State Initiatives in administering and overseeing a quality assurance program, and identifying and implementing appropriate internal controls.
• Supports process development for the collection of data for assigned programs and projects.
• Manages Human Resources activities of department in regards to: recruiting and selection, hiring and termination, training, professional development, mentoring, counseling, performance evaluations, and salary planning.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Certification/Skills:

• None

Minimum Education:

Master's Degree in Education or related field required Advanced degree preferred

Minimum Experience:

6 years of experience in education or a related field required

Physical Requirements:

Exerts up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 10 pounds frequently and/or a negligible amount constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive:

This position is a security-sensitive position pursuant to Texas Education Code §51.215 and Texas Government Code §411.094. To the extent that a position requires the holder to research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Texas Business and Commerce Code §117.001(2), the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure is a minimum qualification to be hired for and to continue to be employed in that position. Personnel in such positions, and similarly situated state contractors, will be routinely reviewed to determine whether things such as criminal history or continuous connections to the government or political apparatus of a foreign adversary might prevent the applicant, employee, or contractor from being able to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure. A foreign adversary is a nation listed in 15 C.F.R. §791.4.

Residency Requirement:

Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.