Director of Research and Analysis

Our mission is straightforward: Wisconsin's private, nonprofit colleges and universities working together for educational opportunity. Join our small dynamic team in the heart of Madison, with excellent benefits, and contribute your talents to this important work.

The Director of Research and Analysis is responsible for a wide variety of data collections and analyses: (1) collecting, interpreting, organizing, and communicating statistical and related information needed to support and enhance WAICU’s public policy and media relations agenda; (2) facilitating and coordinating WAICU member colleges’ and universities’ compliance with federal and state reporting requirements, specifically, but not exclusively, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Data Systems (LDSs); and (3) contributing to the scholarly and public discussion of a wide spectrum of higher education issues and projects.

Responsibilities

Collect, interpret, organize, and communicate statistical and related information needed to support and enhance WAICU’s public policy and media relations agenda - 30%.

• Apply quantitative and statistical analytical methods to review and interpret surveyed data from the member colleges and universities to assess student access to higher education, financial aid, and state and federal funds.
• Coordinate with WAICU executive vice president for external relations to promote the state student financial aid programs; perform statistical data analysis and projections to be used in recommendations to the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB) to determine impact and distribution of funding under the Wisconsin Grants program.

Facilitate and coordinate WAICU member colleges’ and universities’ compliance with federal and state reporting requirements – 40%

• Compile, aggregate, and analyze education data reported by member colleges and universities to the U.S. Department of Education through the federal reporting Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS); serve as the nonprofit sector state-level coordinator for IPEDS.
• Administer the Wisconsin Longitudinal Data Survey systems (LDSs); collect and analyze data over long periods of time tracking PK-12 in the Wisconsin public system through higher education.
• Assist WAICU members with their ad hoc research requests/projects for peer benchmarking and trend review.
• Coordinate the data collection and reporting from WAICU members to governmental agencies and other appropriate organizations.
• Establish guidelines and monitoring standards for appropriately balancing accountability, privacy, and proprietary information in data collection.

Contribute to the scholarly and public discussion of a wide spectrum of higher education issues and projects – 30%

• Publish statistical reports, charts, visualizations, and other studies related to WAICU and its members.
• Prepare reports and studies to support grant applications for WAICU and its members, WAICU policy priorities, and the expansion of educational opportunities.
• Prepare reports and presentations to support the WAICU president and senior leadership in their leadership roles for state-wide and national policy forums.
• Recommend policies, procedures, and programs for the continuous improvement of WAICU research programs and create standard operating procedure to document processes
• Coordinate WAICU affinity group meetings and strengthen relationships with member institutions—particularly the WAICU Institutional Research Group, the Librarians, the Registrars, and the Admissions Officers.
• Engage in collaborative cross-sector meetings with in-state and multi-state partners to evaluate higher education policies, share best practices, and contribute to policy development discussions.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor in statistics, quantitative economics, education/public policy research, or related quantitative science
• One-year experience in data collection, data visualization, statistical analysis, and interpretation. Experience acquired in academic settings is acceptable.
• Demonstrated experience with all of the following: R, Python or similar data science software; Tableau or Power BI; Microsoft Office (Excel, VBA, Power Query, Word, Power Point); data cleaning and manipulation of small to large data sets; survey writing; and survey data analysis
• High level of attention to detail, particularly in data management, analysis, reporting, and visualization
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in teams.

Preferred qualifications:

• Knowledge of higher education policy, especially student financial aid
• Experience translating research findings to various audiences through publications, presentations, reports, and social media
• Ability to monitor developments in higher education research, legislative developments, and sector trends while continuously expanding technical proficiency in data analysis tools and methodologies
• Willingness to employ artificial intelligence tools to enhance work efficiency as appropriate

• Travel reimbursement
• Professional development assistance
• Paid parental leave
• Parental leave
• Health insurance
• Retirement plan
• Paid time off
• Employee discount
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• Paid sick time
• Family leave
• Flexible spending account
• Life insurance
• Employee assistance program