POSITION DESCRIPTION
TITLE: Director of Research and Analysis
REPORTS TO: Executive Vice President for External Relations
WAICU Mission
Our mission is straightforward: Wisconsin's private, nonprofit colleges and universities working together for educational opportunity. We advance the interests and promote the development of independent colleges and universities in Wisconsin. We articulate the values and purposes of independent higher education and educate the public about our sector. We advocate equitable public policy affecting higher education in Wisconsin and nationally, and cost-effective allocation of public funds to assure freedom of choice for students in selecting an institution of higher education. We administer resource sharing, the exchange of information and scholarship, and mutual consultation and cooperation among the twenty-two independent colleges and universities in Wisconsin. We assist members in promoting access, affordability, and accountability. We advance private philanthropy in support of the mission, our members, and their more than 51,000 students.
WAICU Team/Office
We are a small dynamic team of thirteen people who share a commitment to the mission. We come from different backgrounds and bring different lived experiences to the table. Some people have been here for more than 20 years. Others have recently joined the team. Everyone’s voice is valued. We strive to be an inclusive organization that reflects the diversity of our members and their communities. Our office is in beautiful Madison Wisconsin, conveniently located just a block from the Capitol; surrounded by restaurants, shops, and businesses of all kinds. Whether just the daily hustle and bustle, or the free Lunchtime Live music series, Art Fair on the Square, or the largest recurring Farmer’s Market in the country; there’s always something going on downtown.
Employee Benefits
- WAICU has generous Medical, Vision, Dental, and Life insurance and offers a Health Reimbursement Plan for all employees to help cover health deductibles.
- WAICU contributes 5 percent of eligible employee salary to a retirement plan.
- WAICU offers a monthly stipend for business use of a personal cell phone and downtown parking.
- WAICU offers general annual vacation time, holidays, and sick time.
Position Summary
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.
Duties and 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
Job Type: Full-time
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Employee discount
- Family leave
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid parental leave
- Paid sick time
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
- Travel reimbursement
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
