Senior Research Analyst - Institutional Research

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Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Job Description

Job Profile Summary

The Institutional Analytics and Research (IAR) team supports and enables most WGU teams, departments, and colleges to make data-informed decisions that lead to better student outcomes. Our analysts, scientists, researchers, and managers are distributed across several teams: Faculty Experience Analytics, Institutional Research, Learning Analytics, Outreach Analytics, and Student Success Analytics.

Joining the Institutional Research team, the Senior Research Analyst will leverage both qualitative and quantitative research methods to gather data and derive insights, primarily focusing on survey research administered in Qualtrics.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Research Execution: Performs analysis tasks and follows research plans under minimal guidance and supervision. Supports research planning and design, in collaboration with peers and partners (e.g., research scientists).
• Literature Review: Efficiently organizes, critically reads, and clearly synthesizes across findings and limitations.
• Statistical Modeling: Understands and deploys a variety of mathematical models, descriptive statistics, and classification algorithms to make predictions and identify relationships based on limited sets of data.
• Requirements Gathering: Drives the documentation of data, analytics, and research needs in projects of high complexity with a student and equity-centered lens, collaborating with peers, cross-functional partners, faculty staff, and leaders. Leads the translation of user stories into technical requirements.
• Expectation Management: Sets and manages expectations about research tasks and activities through clear, timely, and effective communication with partners and stakeholders.
• Data Querying & Manipulation: Answers complex business questions requiring extensive knowledge of the university's data assets across several domains and departments. Identifies adequate data sources and data sets to evaluate hypotheses, build forecasts, and support findings of research projects and experiments. Collaborates with Data Engineering to develop complex ETL/ELT processes and data pipelines.
• Data Quality & Troubleshooting: Identifies, investigates, and solves complex data issues, contributing to the accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, and validity of the university's data. Collaborates with Data Engineering and other data & analytics partners to define standards and best practices that increase data quality across the university.
• Data Visualization & Storytelling: Combines data analysis, visualization, and narrative structures to convey information in compelling ways that instigate deliberate action.
• Mentoring: Supports and accelerates other team members' development through constructive feedback and sharing of technical and institutional knowledge.
• Communication: Conveys information effectively to peers, partners, and senior leaders, using a variety of resources and formats (synchronous and asynchronous, verbal and written) such as e-mails, presentations, meetings, and workshops. Defines and owns communication plans for complex projects and programs.
• Knowledge Management & Documentation: Creates and organizes information about processes, projects, operations, data assets, and insights from analyses and research, making it accessible in ways that increase the university's knowledge and efficiency. Writes and interprets technical documentation (e.g., Entity-Relationship, Conceptual, Logical, and Physical data models). Contributes actively to the development of the university's data management platforms (e.g., data dictionaries, catalogs, etc.).
• Project & Initiative Leadership: Drives tasks, activities, and small-scale projects with high levels of autonomy, confidence, and collaboration with peers and partners.

Other Relevant Responsibilities

• Project Execution: Breaks down complex goals into concrete tasks and activities. Tracks and reports own progress, dependencies, and challenges diligently.
• Continuous Learning: Works actively to improve own skills and knowledge through internal and external, formal and informal, structured and unstructured learning. Is a lifelong learner and embodies a growth mindset. Stays abreast of innovative developments in their area work and plays an active role in deploying them at IAR and the university.
• Data Security & Privacy: Understands and abides by the relevant policies and methods to access, use, transform, store, and delete data in responsible, secure, and compliant ways.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skill and Abilities

• Survey Methodology: Experienced in the creation of surveys that elicit clear and relevant inputs from target groups and in using them to acquire data to draw meaningful conclusions.
• Research Execution: Experience with various research software such as Qualtrics and Recollective.
• Research Leadership & Experimental Design: Knowledge of methods and techniques to conduct studies, including A/B testing, quasi-experimental, mixed methods, and others.
• Literature Review: Proficient and experienced in using tools like Google Scholar and peer-reviewed journals to identify valid and reliable sources of research, using critical thinking, judgment, and reading skills.
• Data Querying & Transformation: Familiarity with SQL or willingness to learn.
• Data Visualization & Storytelling: Experience with tools like Tableau and Power BI to present data and information utilizing charts, graphs, and maps, in ways that make it easy to understand trends, patterns, and outliers.
• Research Leadership & Experimental Design: Experienced selecting and deploying methods and techniques to conduct studies, including A/B testing, quasi-experimental, mixed methods, and others.
• Research Execution: Has experience working with qualitative research software (e.g., Recollective, Quirkos).
• Literature Review: Highly proficient and experienced in using tools like Google Scholar and peer-reviewed journals to identify valid and reliable sources of research, using critical thinking, judgment, and reading skills.
• Survey Methodology: Highly experienced in the creation of surveys that elicit clear and relevant inputs from target groups, and in using them to acquire data to draw meaningful conclusions.

Other Relevant Competencies

• Project Execution: Comfortable with common project management methodologies and frameworks (e.g., Waterfall, Agile, SDLC).
• Proficient in the MS Office suite, including advanced Excel knowledge.
• Self-Organization: Performs with very high levels of autonomy, reliability, self-direction, and with a bias for action. Manages conflicting and concurrent activities with minimal need of supervision.

Job Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in a related field.
• 5 or more years of experience in Data Analysis, Market Research, Qualitative Analysis, or a related domain.

Preferred Qualifications

• Mater's degree in a related discipline
• Experience in survey administration (Qualtrics)
• Experience in higher education

Experience in lieu of education:

An equivalent combination of training, experience, credentials, or accomplishments demonstrating the ability to perform the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements.

Work Location

• This position is in-office in Salt Lake City, UT.
• Schedule: 4 days onsite, 1 day work from home

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Position & Application Details

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.