Ascension LLC is seeking a senior-level education privacy expert to serve as a primary authority and trusted advisor on federal education privacy laws, with a particular emphasis on FERPA and PPRA. This role is essential to advancing the client’s mission to provide high-quality, legally sound privacy technical assistance, guidance, and capacity-building support to education stakeholders nationwide.

The ideal candidate brings deep domain expertise in education privacy, combined with the ability to translate statutory and regulatory requirements into clear, actionable guidance for practitioners. This role requires an individual who can operate comfortably across policy, legal interpretation, stakeholder engagement, and applied technical assistance, ensuring privacy protections are consistently embedded in education data practices.

This position is best suited for professionals with demonstrated success supporting federal education programs, privacy initiatives, or technical assistance centers, and who possess the judgment, credibility, and communication skills required to influence policy and practice at scale.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Senior Privacy SME provides expert-level privacy leadership in support of federal education initiatives, ensuring compliance with FERPA, PPRA, and related federal privacy requirements. The role supports the design, development, and delivery of privacy guidance, training materials, and technical assistance services for state and local education agencies, postsecondary institutions, and other education partners.

The successful candidate is a self-directed, analytical problem solver who thrives in complex environments with evolving requirements. They are skilled at identifying privacy risks, anticipating stakeholder needs, and constructing practical solutions that balance legal compliance with operational realities.

This role requires strong written and verbal communication skills, the ability to manage multiple priorities, and comfort working with structured processes, privacy frameworks, and collaborative tools to deliver high-quality client outcomes.

Position Day-to-Day Activities

The Senior Privacy SME will perform activities aligned to contract needs and level of effort, including:

• Interpret and apply FERPA, PPRA, and related education privacy laws and regulations
• Develop, review, and validate privacy guidance, toolkits, FAQs, and technical assistance materials
• Advise federal staff and education stakeholders on privacy governance, compliance strategies, and best practices
• Support training development and delivery, including webinars, workshops, and written instructional content
• Respond to education privacy inquiries with timely, accurate, and actionable guidance
• Analyze emerging education privacy issues, including data sharing, student surveys, and educational technology use
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to embed privacy into program deliverables and workflows
• Draft and review reports, memoranda, and client-facing documents for legal and policy accuracy
• Monitor changes in education privacy law and guidance and assess downstream impacts