Northwest State Community College (Northwest State) invites applications and nominations for the position of Executive Director of Institutional Research (Executive Director).
POSITION SUMMARY
The Executive Director serves as the College's chief advisor for data and information, supervising all institutional research activities. This position directs and manages the collection, development, analyzation, and communication of institutional data and other information to relevant stakeholders throughout the college. The Executive Director utilizes predictive analytics and data visualization tools to support the decision-making process and aid in strategic planning, problem-solving, policy development, and institutional self-assessment. The Executive Director provides leadership and oversight for institutional assessment processes, including general education, academic, and support area assessments. In addition to identifying and monitoring trends, they produce data sets for reports and studies on enrollment, demographics, retention, and graduation rates. The Executive Director also directs the compilation of data and manages the submission of required state and federal reports regarding the College. Serving as the College's Institutional Research Board Lead, the Executive Director supervises a senior Research Analyst Institutional Research and provides education and training to others on the appropriate collection, analysis, use, production, and interpretation of data.
POSITION DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Coordinates and maintains a college-wide data strategy.
- Leads the creation and management of longitudinal institutional datasets, to include cohort tracking, enrollment census, and faculty and staff census.
- Responsible for data quality, ensuring data is appropriately accessible and usable.
- Assures ethical data usage.
- Provides information of a general nature about the College and its environment.
- Designs, executes, analyzes, communicates, and consults on the results of ongoing and one-time analytical studies using appropriate inferential statistics.
Identifies and supports information needs.
- Identifies relevant stakeholders, understands their decision support needs, and assists them in developing and refining research questions.
- Conducts and/or assists with survey research efforts; participate in survey construction, development of survey instruments, and design of survey protocols and procedures.
- Includes operational, budgetary, and strategic planning in which institutional research collaborates with other units at the institution, state, or related organizations.
Collects, analyzes, interprets, and reports data and information.
- Create high-impact data displays and actionable reports using data visualization and other business intelligence tools.
- Establishes and maintains a reports management system, ensuring timely submissions.
- Formulates and prepares institutional responses to queries and requests for institutional data and statistics.
- Performs data reduction, statistical analysis of data, and interpretation of results; prepares or participates in the preparation and presentation of formal research reports.
Educates information producers, users, and consumers.
- Provides training and coaching related to the use of data, analysis, and information to inform decision making.
- Provides training to ensure the ability to access, collect, analyze, and interpret information independently and in collaboration with other stakeholders.
- Facilitates discussions related to information needs and connect internal and external producers and users of data for purposes of informing decision-making.
Other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor's degree in applied research or a related field required; Master's preferred.
- Minimum of 3 years of experience statistically analyzing data in institutional research.
- Proficiency in SQL and other programming languages used in data analysis and reporting required. Proficiency in Power BI, Tableau, or other data visualization tools required.
- Experience and familiarity with higher education policies, procedures, accreditation, and standards is preferred.
NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
- Ability to become familiar with all aspects of Community College Academics, programs, faculty and employee development, and accreditation.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear and concise reports.
- Ability to interpret data and provide trend analysis.
- Exceptional project management and organizational skills.
- Knowledge of descriptive and inferential statistical methods and basic qualitative methods, enough to select and use procedures appropriate to problems and to interpret and present results.
- Advanced knowledge of statistical analysis and research methodologies