Assistant Director of Institutional Research & Decision Support

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR of INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH (1 open as of 2/28/25)

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

The New School was founded by forward-thinking educators in 1919 to defy the intellectual constraints of a traditional college education. Building on this rich history, and as the only university with a renowned design school and premier colleges focusing on the performing and liberal arts and social sciences, The New School is committed to developing students who will have an impact on the world and boldly address the most pressing social issues of our time. The Office of Institutional Research and Decision Support (IRDS) supports the entire university in assessing institutional progress toward achieving our goals and sharing this within and outside the university through a variety of methods, including data visualizations, reports, digests, and participation in survey and external data collection efforts. 

Reporting to the Assistant Provost for Institutional Research and Decision Support, the successful Assistant Director of Institutional Research will be energetic and experienced with timely and accurate reporting of institutional data to federal, state, and accreditation agencies in support of ongoing compliance with regulations. They will be comfortable pulling data together seamlessly from multiple sources and managing the process by clear communication with the relevant personnel in other university offices (such as admissions, finance, and human resources). Experience working in a fast-paced environment and being flexible to changing priorities are required. The ideal candidate is self-starting and resourceful, with analytical skills, attention to detail, problem-solving, decision-making, able to follow and communicate sometimes complex instructions, and project management experience.

The New School is strongly committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and particularly seeks applications from members of underrepresented groups, as well as candidates who share this commitment. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Assistant Director of Institutional Research, under direction of the Assistant Provost will have primary responsibility for external reporting of New School institutional data and be a resource to university discussions where data definitions from such agencies are relevant and important. This includes:

• Proactive awareness of federal (IPEDS), state (NYSED HEDS), accreditation (MSCHE, APA, NAAB, NASPAA, etc.), college guidebook and rankings data submission deadlines, instructions, data definitions, and changes from prior years;

• Clearly request necessary data from IRDS data analysts and the appropriate individuals outside of IRDS in a timely manner;

• Manage timelines and review all instructions to understand differences from prior year and to ensure data integrity prior to submission;

• Investigate data quality issues and communicate findings and recommendations to system and process owners in Admissions, Financial Aid, Student Accounts, the Registrarâ™s Office, Student Success and Engagement, Finance, Human Resources, and others as appropriate;

• Act as an expert resource to the university community (through serving on committees and ad hoc) on how changes to New School data process, systems, or elements will impact reporting and possibly rankings;

• Lead in re-implementation and maintenance of term definitions and report specification.

• Pro-actively cultivate positive inter-office relationships across the university (not just the PO) to permit seamless collaborative reporting efforts;

• Pursue opportunities to enhance expertise in the intersection of data sciences, institutional research, higher education, analytics, and information technology to keep skills/expertise current;

• Special projects and other related duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelorâ™s degree in data science/analytics, mathematics, statistics, social sciences, or a related quantitative field. Bachelorâ™s degree in another field with additional training and/or experience in a quantitative field is also acceptable.

• Three yearsâ™ experience in institutional research where federal and state reporting was included in the portfolio of work;

• Proven experience with at least one of: Oracle SQL, Tableau, Workday or Banner, project management, and the desire to learn about the others;

• Proven sophisticated Microsoft Excel skills and experience with Google Suite;

• Ability to work independently and multi-task effectively;

• Excellent verbal and written communication and careful attention to detail skills;

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Masters degree in data science/analytics, mathematics, statistics, social sciences, or a related quantitative field. Masters degree in another field with additional training and/or experience in a quantitative field is also acceptable.

• Proven experience with more than one of: Oracle SQL, Tableau, Workday or Banner, project management, Data Cookbook, advanced statistics and/or data analytics.

WORK MODE

• Hybrid - Employees hired for this position primarily work remotely with the occasional on-campus presence required with advanced notice. Employees in this role will also be expected to use their best judgment to be on campus when necessary in order to best fulfill the responsibilities of their job descriptions. #LI-HYBRID

SALARY RANGE

• $76,000 - $80,000 per annum

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS

• When uploading a cover letter, please ensure it indicates how your skills and experience fit the position described.

• Finalists will be required to complete a simple data project, to be provided after the interview.