Research Analyst

General Summary:

Under the direction of the Director of the Office of Institutional Research (OIR), the Research Analyst will conduct research and reporting activities that support and advance the strategic goals of the university and its colleges. This position provides official, comprehensive, timely, and user-friendly information that improves institutional effectiveness, planning, and decision-making, and supports sound educational research and evaluation practices across the university. The incumbent will collect, analyze, interpret, and present institutional data for internal and external stakeholders. This role will also take a lead in developing and maintaining Tableau dashboards that support campus decision-making, and will assist administrative units by providing statistical and methodological expertise needed to collect, analyze, and interpret institutional data.A significant area of responsibility includes analyzing retention and graduation trends at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The analyst will provide data, analysis, and evidence-based recommendations to support efforts to improve completion rates across the university. The incumbent is expected to manage a wide range of institutional research activities and to maintain strong technical and analytical competencies as institutional data systems and reporting technologies continue to evolve.In collaboration with OIR colleagues, the Research Analyst will also coordinate the preparation of various reports for the UMass President’s Office and contribute to regular institutional reporting outputs, such as the Statistical Portrait. The Research Analyst will collaborate with the Office of Assessment and Planning to explore data needs and provide analytical, reporting, and research support to assessment efforts, both for academic departments and co-curricular units.

Examples of Duties:

Data Management & Reporting

• Extract, clean, validate, and maintain institutional datasets from enterprise systems (e.g., PeopleSoft, AWS Redshift, Salesforce, and Slate).
• As necessary and in conjunction with OIR colleagues, coordinate completion and submission of the annual University Performance Measurement system indicator report, as well as other reports required by the President’s Office, as well as providing support for recurring report output, such as the Statistical Portrait.
• Support recurring institutional reporting such as census files, enrollment summaries, retention and graduation reports, and departmental dashboards.
• Produce accurate and timely data for executive leadership, academic units, and campus partners.

Research & Analysis

• Conduct descriptive and inferential statistical analyses to support institutional planning, and decision-making.
• Develop and maintain predictive or trend analyses related to enrollment, retention, student performance, and resource allocation.

Data Visualization, Dashboards & Communication

• Design, develop, and maintain Tableau dashboards that provide clear, actionable insights for campus stakeholders.
• Collaborate with campus partners to translate reporting and analytical needs into interactive and user-friendly Tableau dashboards.
• Ensure dashboards are accessible, well-documented, aligned with data governance standards, and updated on regular reporting cycles.
• Optimize dashboard performance, including data source management, extract scheduling, and filter efficiency.
• Create effective data visualizations and static reports to support strategic planning, accreditation, program review, and executive presentations.
• Present analytical findings and dashboard updates to leadership, committees, and campus users.

Collaboration & Support

• Work closely with IR colleagues, IT, academic departments, and administrative offices to ensure data consistency and integrity across systems.
• Provide training, documentation, and guidance to faculty and staff on interpreting dashboards and using Tableau features.
• Support improvements to IR workflows, reporting processes, and data documentation.
• Work with the Director and other OIR staff to provide institutional data to campus members in a responsible and timely manner.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Required qualifications include a Master’s degree in education, statistics, data science, social science, public policy, computer science, or a related field, with a minimum of three years of experience designing and conducting educational research studies. Alternatively, a Bachelor’s degree in a related field with at least five years of experience in educational research will be considered. Prior experience in a higher education setting is preferred. Relevant experience may include research, administration, or teaching. The applicant should also have:

• Demonstrated ability to collect, analyze, and report quantitative and qualitative data.
• Demonstrated knowledge of data management and statistical analysis tools, including SQL, SAS, Stata, and Python, or similar tools for data manipulation and analysis.
• Experience building dashboards in Tableau (or a similar visualization platform).
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.
• Ability to work independently and exercise independent judgment and discretion.
• Ability to work in a collaborative team environment with colleagues across the university system.
• Demonstrated ability to work well under pressure while managing multiple projects and priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex issues to facilitate decision-making and action steps for improvement.
• Excellent and effective written and oral communication skills.
• High attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy.