Assistant Director of Research Administration
- Tracking Code
- 535-662
- Job Description
-
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION
The Office of Research Administration (ORA) at Lawrence University is responsible for collecting and analyzing institutional research data, facilitating and supporting research activities among members of the university community, and reporting and disseminating information useful for establishing policies and making decisions.
The assistant director of research administration is a member of a team responsible for the collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of institutional data necessary to inform decisions, policy and planning at the University level in a timely and effective manner. The assistant director will work collaboratively with the director of research administration and diverse members of the Lawrence community including students, staff, faculty, administration, board of trustees, and others. In addition, the assistant director will work harmoniously with others outside of Lawrence (i.e., external evaluators, consortia members).
Duties and responsibilities include:
- Processing institutional data (collecting, cleaning, recoding, organizing, extracting, analyzing, and summarizing data) for internal use, consortia use (i.e., HEDS, ACM, WAICU), external surveys (i.e., U.S. News and World Report, college guidebooks, rankings) and government and agency compliance reporting (i.e., CDS, IPEDS, NCAA),
- Preparing and disseminating a variety of regular and ad hoc reports and publications (i.e., Profile, Fact Book, and consortia/state/federal reports),
- Responding to time-critical internal and external ad hoc requests for institutional information and analyses,
- Developing, administering, and managing surveys; preparing reports from internal surveys (i.e., climate, trustees, ad hoc),
- Assisting in the process for administering and analyzing Tenure, Promotion, and Reappointment reviews,
- Coordinating the University’s participation in national surveys (i.e., CIRP, NSSE, NCHA),
- Supporting grant development by assisting with writing and reporting, conducting research, and preparing and maintaining documentation,
- Supporting the coordination and implementation of evaluation, accreditation and assessment activities related to the Strategic Plan,
- Representing the Office of Research Administration at meetings, conferences, and workshops with and/or in the absence of the Director, and
- Conducting other duties as requested/assigned.
- Building, merging, and analyzing large data sets,
In addition, the assistant director will assist the Title III project director, director of research administration, and external evaluators with the evaluation of a five-year, federally-funded Title III Strengthening Institutions Program grant (2013-2018 with the possibility of a no-cost extension) on improving retention and student success at Lawrence University including coordinating, collecting, analyzing and reporting evaluation data. Half of the assistant director’s time will be spent on Title III grant evaluation until the grant funding ceases; at that time, the assistant director will spend 100% of their time in the office of research administration. This role is critical as it contributes to the University’s diversity and inclusion efforts, and, ultimately, student success.
Duties and responsibilities related to the Title III grant include:
- Coordinating data collection and prepare data to be used in writing the evaluation, interim, annual and final reports,
- Extracting data to measure progress toward grant goals and objectives,
- Administering Title III surveys, analyzing data, and preparing reports,
- Interpreting and reporting quantitative and qualitative analyses in written and oral formats,
- Coordinating meetings and focus groups as needed,
- Taking and transcribing minutes at meetings related to Title III grant evaluation (Advisory Committee, Activity Directors, Evaluation Team),
- Complying with grant reporting requirements, and
- Conducting other duties as requested/assigned.
The successful candidate possesses:
- The ability to manage multiple projects and strict deadlines while maintaining high degree of accuracy in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
- Sensitivity to confidential matters and able to exercise high level of discretion and judgment.
- Strong quantitative, qualitative, research design, and statistical skills.
- Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills with the ability to communicate technical information to groups of diverse backgrounds.
- Proven analytical, project management, organizational, multi-tasking, problem-solving, prioritizing, and time management skills.
- The ability to work independently as well as collaboratively within a diverse campus community with minimal supervision,
- A demonstrated commitment to multicultural competency and clear interest in all dimensions of diversity.
- Focused attention to detail.
- The ability to follow projects through to completion with a focus on quality.
- Proven competency in typing, keyboarding, and data entry skills.
- Working knowledge of data management systems.
- Demonstrated experience in survey design, administration, and analysis.
- A genuine desire to help students succeed.
- A sense of humor.
- The ability to work some evenings on rare occasion.
Preferred qualifications include:
- Two to three years of higher education work experience or an understanding and appreciation for a liberal arts education.
- Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Statistics, or related discipline.
- Experience in evaluation of federally- or state-funded grants.
- Prior experience in an institutional research office/setting at a liberal arts institution
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) and statistical software (i.e., SPSS, SAS, STATA, R).
- Proficiency with web-based survey software (Qualtrics), open source web content management systems (Drupal), and web enabled enterprise reporting systems (Banner, Hyperion, and/or Argos).
- Experience with data visualization software (i.e., Tableau, Microsoft Power BI) and National Student Clearinghouse services (i.e., Student Tracker).
This is a regular full-time, 12-month (1.0 FTE) benefits-eligible position, which reports to the director of the office of research administration.
We encourage applications from individuals who will help us create a more inclusive Lawrence by: (1) further diversifying the staff; and/or (2) demonstrating experience serving diverse populations and working successfully with diverse colleagues; and (3) showing interest in developing initiatives to address the needs of a diverse student, faculty, staff and community. See https://lawrencecareers.silkroad.com/lawrenceuniversity/About_Us.html for more information about Lawrence and its surrounding community, including the New North Regional Guide which lists resources that promote diversity in the community.
Please submit résumé, cover letter, and a statement on your experience in terms of your identity and personal lived experience and/or experience with contributing to diversity and inclusion initiatives on campuses, in the workplace, or through other communities and ways that you can contribute to these efforts at Lawrence University.
Employment requirements include a successful completion of criminal record check, driving record check (as applicable), and reference checks. In addition, the candidate must have a valid Driver’s License (as applicable) and must complete campus safe driving training session before driving any campus vehicles (as applicable).
- Job Location
- Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
- Position Type
- Full-Time/Regular