Career Center

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. 

The University of Washington (UW) is proud to be one of the nation’s premier educational and research institutions. Our people are the most important asset in our pursuit of achieving excellence in education, research, and community service. Our staff not only enjoys outstanding benefits and professional growth opportunities, but also an environment noted for diversity, community involvement, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.

The College of Education currently has an outstanding opportunity for a Director of Institutional Research, who will support the College’s vision and activities through the management of its institutional data.

Under general direction of the Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration (ADFA), the Director of Institutional Research will be responsible for providing analysis and tools which support strategic planning work and information usage in the College of Education; and will develop planning applications and tools to support and project school financial information, enrollment management, facility use, and research productivity. The Director will work with stakeholders to identify priorities and develop assessment tools, and collect, analyze, and present data with the goal of improving program efficiency and effectiveness throughout the College. The Director will also work with leadership to identify the data and statistical needs of the College and work with existing IT staff to develop accessible tools and applications.

The Director of Institutional Research will possess excellent skills in research, data analysis, tool development, and strategic planning. The position supports the College’s vision and activities through the management of its institutional data, which are acquired and developed through various sources including multiple data sources managed by central administrative units. Data sources require an in-depth understanding of complex data and its sources, College-wide priorities and strategy, and relevant decision-making processes as well as the ability to navigate complex political environments.

This position will generate, interpret, and apply the types of data and reports which will feed the College’s finances, enrollment, curriculum, resource management, and human resources. This position requires the ability to work collaboratively in a demanding and fast-paced environment, and the skills to work with members of the University community (faculty, staff, and students), who have analytic and technology skills.

This is both a strategic and detail-oriented position. It requires agile handling of multiple tasks, understanding of data analysis techniques, excellent written and oral communication skills, and knowledge of University procedures, rules, systems, and policies. In addition, it may require navigation of complex political environments across the campus and interaction with external organizations.

The Director of Institutional Research is tech savvy, proactive, embraces interacting with users and stakeholders, enjoys problem solving, can document processes, improve current processes and is able to clearly communicate complicated and technical issues to a general audience.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Data Analysis and Project Management:

•  Work with ADFA, College leadership and stakeholders to identify data needs and priorities with the goal of improving program efficiency and effectiveness throughout the College. Work with the ADFA to develop a strategy for responding to those needs.
•  Work collaboratively with the College’s IT team to develop databases which allow the College to extract, identify, collect, and track data.
•  Perform statistical and data analysis that can be used to inform strategic and operational decisions.
•  Plan, develop, and manage tools and reports that help decision-makers understand the impact of decisions and scenarios, including projections, scenarios analysis, and risk management.
•  Participate in the collection and analysis of various assessment data to support the College’s accreditation and program reviews, including dissemination of results and assisting others with understanding and appropriately using them.
•  Create data definitions, documentation of technical processes, and a data management plan to ensure consistency, transparency, and accuracy.
•  Plan and manage projects, clearly setting expectations, communicating timelines, follow-up and report out with College areas and centers.

Organizational Metrics:

•  Work with leadership to create college-wide metrics to track performance (e.g. enrollments, student satisfaction, faculty and staff retention, scholarship funding, etc.) Engage in building a culture of performance improvement.
•  In collaboration with program staff, develop and manage systems for tracking information within and about the College. Examples of relevant data include faculty FTE, number of applicants, admissions data, student yield, time to degree, progress towards to degree, number of degrees granted, cost per graduate, instruction evaluations, employment rates, etc.
•  Develop data visualizations and dashboards that allow leadership to easily track progress towards strategic goals and other targets. Provide leadership and best practices on data visualization, performance measurement, and monitoring strategy execution.

Reporting:

•  Report information to accreditation agencies, benchmarking organizations, and other internal and external groups.
•  Provide strategic advice and consultation to leadership in the development, implementation, and evaluation of modifications and enhancements to existing operations, systems, and procedures.
•  Other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

•  Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Public Administration, Business Administration, Education or related field, to include 5 years minimum experience related to the duties and responsibilities specified.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

•  Excellent data analysis skills – includes research, data mining, analysis, validation, visualization, and the ability to generate clear representations of data to diverse audiences in narrative, tabular, and graphical forms.
•  Demonstrated experience understanding, relating, and reconciling data from distinct sources. Experience working with financial data. Ability to generate documentation of technical processes.
•  Demonstrated proficiency with core technologies, e.g. Windows, MS Access, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, SQL, MS PowerBI, and Tableau. Proven ability to learn new technologies and problem solve. Top candidates will be comfortable with creating web databases, web security, web services, and applications.
•  Excellent interpersonal skills and a demonstrated ability to work with diverse members of the university community including students, faculty, staff, administrators, and accreditors.
•  Ability to analyze complex problems, interpret operational needs, and develop integrated, creative solutions.
•  Experience in higher education administration is preferred.

DESIRED:

•  Master's degree in Statistics, Public Administration, Business Administration, Education or related field, to include 3 years of experience related to the duties and responsibilities specified.
•  Ability to plan, create, program, and manage statistical computer databases across multiple hardware and operating system platforms/environments.
•  Knowledge of University of Washington data systems, definitions, and procedures.
•  Expertise in assessment, data analysis, and educational outcomes.
•  Knowledge of State and Federal postsecondary education accountability initiatives and trends.
•  Knowledge of regional, national, and specialized postsecondary accreditation standards, practices, and goals.
•  Knowledge of institutional self-assessments and student outcomes assessment principles, methods, and techniques.

Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.