Senior Research Associate

Senior Research Associate

The George Mason University Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning invites highly qualified candidates to apply for the position of Senior Research Associate. George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Mason’s academic and culturally inclusive environment.

About the Position:
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning (OIEP) is seeking a Senior Research Associate to provide collaborative and partnership support that engages stakeholders in data-informed strategic, operational, and tactical decisions. This position will:

• Perform complex analyses, forecasting, and modeling utilizing data from multiple internal, as well as external sources;
• Work with units across campus to develop data collection mechanisms, build bridges to integrate data into a cohesive student experience model that will then be transformed into data visualizations to enable the evaluations and assessment of initiatives and the deployment of key performance indicators for senior leadership; and
• Extract, integrate, and manage data files to support OIEP’s effort in responding to and completing data requests and responding to multiple external surveys, e.g., CDS, College Board, Petersons, THE Times Higher Education, U.S. News, etc.

Responsibilities:
The Senior Research Associate will:

• Execute complex quantitative analyses in support of data informed strategic decision-making and external reporting. Topics would include but not be limited to retention, persistence, completion/degree production, time to degree/credits to degree and career outcomes, institutional performance benchmarking; and, ad-hoc studies based on current higher education developments;
• Create accessible and dynamic data visualizations and dashboards for campus use that inform and advance strategic decision-making across the institution broadly and within the schools/colleges and senior leadership;
• Work with units across campus to develop data collection and management processes and provide training/coaching to personnel on best practices in data collection, management, and reporting;
• Support cross-functional teams in the development of data integrations and tools that align disparate data sources;
• Contribute to the development of assessments using qualitative and quantitative research methods; and
• Perform other special and ad-hoc duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in quantitative disciplines such as Business Administration, Public Policy, Statistics, Educational Research, or a related discipline;
• Considerable full-time professional experience (generally 3+ years) with demonstrable ability to work independently, managing contributions to multiple projects accurately and efficiently, preferably with institutional research/institutional effectiveness;
• Knowledge and experience using a statistical analysis package such as SAS, SPSS, R or Stata;
• Demonstrated experience working with relational databases to extract and merge data from multiple sources;
• Working knowledge of a visualization tool such as SAS Viya, Tableau, Power BI, or R Shiny;
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in statistical analysis, including multivariate statistics and research design; and
• Advanced written and verbal communication skills with various technical and non-technical audiences. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Doctoral degree;
• Full-time professional experience of at least five years of demonstrated progressive experience with institutional research/institutional effectiveness; and
• Experience programming in SAS.

Special Instructions to Applicants
For full consideration, applicants must apply for position number FA73Gz at https://jobs.gmu.edu/  complete and submit the online application; and upload a cover letter, CV, and a list of three professional references with contact information.

George Mason University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, committed to promoting inclusion and equity in its community. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any characteristic protected by law.