Institutional Research Assistant Director

Primary location: 3452 Spur 399, McKinney, Texas, 75069

About the role

Provide operational and analytical leadership in support of the director of institutional research by leading complex analytical projects and driving innovation in tools and methods, maintaining institutional standards across all IRO deliverables, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional development across the department.

Responsibilities

• Manage the unit project portfolio in coordination with the director by assigning and monitoring project workloads across analysts and coordinators, adjusting timelines and resource allocation when competing priorities shift, and assuming day-to-day management of unit-level projects when delegated.
• Oversee the implementation and consistent execution of unit process standards, identify opportunities for unit or divisional process improvement and contribute to the development of divisional process standards in coordination with the director.
• Serve as a campus-wide collaborator for strategic initiatives when delegated by the director, representing the IRO on institutional committees and working groups and building sustained partnerships that influence mid-level managers and cross-functional project teams.
• Lead the development of unit-level documentation standards by applying innovative frameworks and progressive approaches, creating documentation for complex analytical processes and institutional reporting cycles, and coaching staff on documentation quality and knowledge transfer.
• Explore and pilot emerging tools and analytical technologies to identify innovation opportunities, leading the adoption of innovative approaches to data work and analytical tooling, driving change management planning for tool transitions and workflow redesigns, and supporting IRO staff through the implementation of new tools and processes.
• Maintain and enforce quality-assurance frameworks for unit analytical outputs, ensure consistency of data, methods, and findings across reports and systems, and lead cross-department coordination on systemic data integrity issues when delegated by the director.
• Oversee data-collection operations across institutional reporting cycles, ensure all collection activities align with institutional needs and comply with external reporting standards, coordinate with stakeholders to resolve complex cross-system issues, and drive department-level resolution of systemic collection gaps.
• Monitor the consistent application of unit and division-level coding standards to ensure maintainability and knowledge transfer, review and approve scripts and automation tools before deployment, lead cross-team development projects.
• Lead the development of complex analytical reporting systems by synthesizing findings across analytical workstreams into coherent institutional narratives, ensure all reporting outputs are tailored to the needs and expectations of diverse audiences from operational staff to senior leadership, and implement and promote best reporting practices across the unit.
• Implement and monitor visual communication standards grounded in progressive practices, evaluate the quality and effectiveness of visualization deliverables across the unit and ensure analytical products meet accessibility, accuracy, and audience-appropriateness standards prior to publication.
• Conduct complex analytical studies in collaboration with the director, contribute input during the design phase as requested, execute the studies as designed, and develop findings and recommendations that translate analytical insights into actionable institutional guidance.
• Contribute to institutional messaging through compelling, data-driven narratives, support the integration of analytical insights into decision-making at all levels, and present complex findings to diverse audiences including senior leadership and executive stakeholders.
• Mentor and provide technical and professional guidance to senior data analysts, data analysts, and data coordinators, supporting skill development in analysis, visualization, documentation, scripting, and data storytelling practices.
• Administer institution-wide integrated survey projects, including research design consultation, sampling methodology, data analysis, and executive-level reporting.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in information or data sciences, Business or Data Analytics, Statistics, Social Sciences, Planning or Assessment, Administration, or related fields.
• Four (4) years of full-time related experience or equivalent.
• One (1) year of supervisory or team leadership experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in a related field from an accredited institution.
• Experience in higher education.

Skills

• Knowledge of higher education data systems and institutional data environments preferred.
• Advanced knowledge of relational databases and structured data modeling concepts.
• Advanced proficiency in SQL for complex querying, optimization, and performance tuning preferred.
• Strong knowledge of Python, R, or similar programming languages for data preparation, statistical analysis, and automation preferred.
• Advanced knowledge of data validation methodologies, quality-assurance frameworks, and root cause analysis of data discrepancies.
• Advanced understanding of descriptive and inferential statistics, trend analysis, predictive modeling, and appropriate methodological selection.
• Advanced knowledge of data visualization standards and dashboard design principles; ability to implement and enforce unit-level visualization standards using Tableau or similar tools.
• Strong knowledge of survey research design, sampling approaches, instrument validation, and response analysis preferred.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to coordinate a unit project portfolio across staff and meet institutional deadlines.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills with exceptional attention to detail and accuracy.
• Excellent written, verbal, visual, and oral presentation communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex, multisource analyses into clear, strategic narratives tailored to varied audiences, including executive leadership.
• Ability to oversee, enforce, and continuously improve quality-assurance and documentation standards.
• Ability to mentor and develop analytical staff at multiple levels in analysis, visualization, documentation, scripting, and data storytelling practices.
• Ability to evaluate and pilot emerging analytical tools and guide the unit through change management processes.
• Ability to maintain effective collaborative relationships across academic and administrative units.

Physical Demands

Sedentary work - exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, a negligible amount of force frequently, and/or constantly having to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met. Positions in this class typically require talking, hearing, seeing, grasping, standing, walking and repetitive motions. Relatively free from unpleasant environmental conditions or hazards. Office environment. Little physical effort required.

Pay

Hiring range: $81,958.00 – $99,948.50. Compensation is determined based on experience.

Schedule

Full time. This position is exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

This position is security sensitive, therefore candidates will be subject to a criminal background check.