Education Programs Coordinator I - Project AWARE

at State of Vermont in Montpelier, Vermont, United States

Job Description

This Education Programs Coordinator I serves as the primary educational systems expert for the Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) state team. While the Department of Mental Health (DMH) oversees federal compliance and grant administration, this role functions as the Education Lead and applies research-based expertise to integrate social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) strategies within a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). The Education Lead is responsible for building school capacity, coordinating professional development, and piloting innovative, evidence-informed approaches to school mental health across Vermont.

This position will report to the AOE Director of School Climate and Belonging and will work closely with the AOE School MH/SEL Programs Manager. Assignments and daily activities will be supported and informed by other members of the Project AWARE team.

Responsibilities Include:

• Engage the AOE School Climate Team to develop and revise guidance tools that further integrate mental health and wellness concepts into existing MTSS frameworks.
• Support Project AWARE sites with SEB-focused activities across various programs to ensure a coherent coaching and implementation structure at both the state and local levels.
• Partner with the DMH Co-Coordinator to design sustainability strategies that transition effective grant activities to non-federal funding and embed them into permanent systems.
• Lead pilot efforts on emerging, evidence-informed approaches to improve student mental health outcomes.
• Convene and lead advisory bodies and planning teams, ensuring that youth and community voices are meaningfully represented in state-level activities.
• Co-facilitate regular (at minimum monthly) meetings between participating Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and community mental health providers.
• Cultivate positive professional relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, including educators, advocates, families, and state officials.
• Manage day-to-day project operations within the educational scope in close coordination with the DMH Co-Coordinator.
• Administer activities established under the DMH-AOE Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and relevant sub-agreements.
• Synthesize programmatic and financial data to assess performance, identify barriers, and recommend strategic solutions.
• Generate data narratives and progress reports for SAMHSA, state leadership, the legislature, and the Governor's office.

Successful candidates must demonstrate knowledge and/or experience in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) or similar tiered systems of support and alignment with school social, emotional, and behavioral practices, and must demonstrate strong facilitation skills for engaging partners who may have diverse perspectives to move towards systems change and engage in continuous improvement initiatives. Ability to develop and maintain positive interpersonal professional relationships with varied roles in State and local entities including providers, educators, advocates, families and students, and to review data, assess program performance, identify problem areas, and recommend solutions and potential changes is critical.

This position is eligible for remote work in accordance with existing state telework policies. Periodic travel is required for meetings, training, and field visits.

Work is generally performed in a standard office setting but significant travel may be anticipated for which private means of transportation must be available. Some work outside of normal work schedule may be required. There may be considerable interaction with a variety of publics and strong differences of opinion may be encountered.