Senior Director - Research and Data Science

About the role

The Senior Director leads the Research and Data Science department in executing rigorous, actionable research that directly improves outcomes for Detroit students. This leader ensures all research activities maintain a clear "students first" orientation, connecting analytical work to tangible improvements in teaching, learning, and student success across the district.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership focused on student impact. Articulate a compelling vision for how research drives student outcomes and ensure research priorities align with school needs and strategic objectives.
• Collaborate with senior leaders to develop coherent research agendas. Work with practitioners and district leadership to develop research priorities aligned to the strategic plan.
• Develop and manage transparent annual research plans. Create clear year-long calendars with defined timelines and deliverables that balance responsive requests with comprehensive evaluations.
• Build and maintain sustainable research systems. Establish and document standard operating procedures, technical standards, and quality assurance protocols including version control, code documentation, and peer review.
• Lead research design and set quality standards. Maintain high standards for analysis planning, replicability, data visualization, and presentation.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Minimum of three (3) years of experience designing and conducting educational research with direct connection to practice and student outcomes
• Minimum of three (2) years of experience leading effective teams and building positive team culture; experience managing research or technical analysts strongly preferred
• Deep commitment to equity and improving outcomes for students, with ability to articulate clear connections between research activities and student impact
• Strong interpersonal and coaching skills with ability to create empowering team environments; growth mindset approach with openness to feedback
• Experience developing annual research plans with clear priorities and timelines that balance proactive strategic work with responsive analyses; demonstrated ability to manage stakeholder expectations and protect team capacity
• Track record of building sustainable systems and implementing research best practices including version control, code documentation, and reproducible analysis pipelines
• Strong analytical background with understanding of applied statistics, program evaluation, and experimental design in education settings
• Proficiency in statistical software (R preferred) with focus on leading others' technical work
• Strong written and oral communication skills that enable effective collaboration with school leaders, practitioners, and both technical and non-technical audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing research projects of varying scope and duration, from rapid-turnaround analyses to multi-year comprehensive evaluations
• Knowledge of research ethics and legal requirements in educational research, including student data privacy and security
• Experience working in urban school district settings

Benefits

• Benefits eligible
• Eligible for telecommuting up to 20% (one day per week)

Pay

$102,471 - $138,637

Schedule

Full-time position at Fisher Building, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202