Education Specialist 1

Job Description

The Department of Corrections, Division of Health and Rehabilitation Services is recruiting for an Education Specialist 1 to join the team in Anchorage, Alaska.

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What You Will Be Doing:

Provide statewide consultation, oversight, and support for correctional vocational, educational, workforce development, and reentry programs, including evaluating program effectiveness and recommending improvements.

Coordinate and monitor contracts, procurements, partnerships, and training initiatives with internal staff, contractors, educational institutions, unions, and workforce development organizations.

Analyze program data, prepare reports, assist with grants and budget oversight, and support research and development of new correctional education and vocational programming.

Conduct site visits, staff trainings, presentations, and technical assistance to ensure compliance, program quality, safety, and effective service delivery across correctional institutions.

Serve as a liaison between DOC institutions, contractors, and community partners to support implementation of vocational training, apprenticeship, educational, and digital learning opportunities for incarcerated individuals.

Our Mission, Values, and Culture:

The Alaska Department of Corrections HARS Division is committed to providing timely, evidence-based care and rehabilitative services through a multidisciplinary approach grounded in professionalism, safety, compassion, and respect. This position supports that mission by helping develop, oversee, and enhance educational, vocational, workforce development, and rehabilitative programming that promotes health, rehabilitation, successful reentry, and reduced recidivism. Through collaboration with institutional staff, contractors, and community partners, this work contributes to safer facilities, improved outcomes for incarcerated individuals, and responsible stewardship of public resources.

Benefits of Joining Our Team:

Joining our team provides the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on rehabilitation, workforce development, and successful reentry outcomes for incarcerated individuals across Alaska. This position offers extensive collaboration with professionals throughout DOC institutions and includes regular statewide travel to correctional facilities, allowing staff to build strong partnerships and gain broad operational experience. Employees are encouraged to pursue professional growth through training, conferences, cross-functional projects, and involvement in innovative educational and vocational initiatives. Following successful completion of probation, limited telework opportunities may be available based on operational needs and supervisory approval. Team members are part of a mission-driven environment that values professionalism, teamwork, continuous improvement, and service to Alaska’s communities.

The Working Environment You Can Expect:

The position is based out of the Alaska Department of Corrections Central Office at 1815 Bragaw Street in Anchorage, providing a professional office environment with frequent collaboration among multidisciplinary staff and partners across the state. Daily work includes regular communication with facility staff through Microsoft Teams, email, and meetings, as well as routine statewide travel and on-site visits to correctional institutions, primarily within educational, administrative, and program spaces with limited inmate contact.

Who We Are Looking For:

We are interested in candidates who possess some or all of the following position specific competencies:

Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving: Uses a logical, systematic, sequential approach to address problems or opportunities or manage a situation by drawing on one’s knowledge and experience base and calling on other references and resources as necessary.

Oral and Written Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral and written presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

Planning and Evaluating: Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.

Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.

Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college and three years of professional experience in education.

OR

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college and three years of experience in the specialty field or closely related to the specialty field, including not less than one year in an administrative, supervisory or consultative capacity.

Substitution: Appropriate graduate study may be substituted for a maximum of one year of the specialty experience required. Graduate study cannot substitute for the required administrative, supervisory or consultative experience. Additional work experience in the specialty field or closely related to the specialty field may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis.

Special Note:

Due to the duties assigned to a majority of these positions, applicants may be required to possess an Alaska Teacher Certificate at the time of employment and be required to maintain certification as a condition of employment. Specific endorsements may also be required. Documentation is included in the file of affected positions.

Individual positions in this class may require expertise in a particular educational specialty. Recruitment and selection will be on the basis of these requirements.

Additional Required Information

LEGAL EMPLOYMENT

The State’s online recruitment system, Workplace Alaska, requires applicants to certify that they have a legal right to accept employment in the United States. It is the responsibility of the employee to maintain the appropriate documentation to accept or continue legal employment. The State of Alaska does not function in the role as an employer sponsor.

EDUCATION

If post-secondary education is required to meet the minimum qualifications, you must fill in the Education section of the application. If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed. Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials if used to meet the minimum qualifications for a position. Transcripts can be attached at the time of application or provided at the time of interview.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the minimum qualifications listed above. If utilizing this education, you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs; or an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas appli