Director, Research and Planning

Salary : $154,992.00 - $194,796.00 Annually
Location : 11110 Alondra Blvd., Norwalk, CA
Job Type: Full time
Job Number: Director Research and Plan-26
Division: Academic Affairs
Opening Date: 09/29/2026
Closing Date: 11/10/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

Description

Summary
Plans, supervises, assesses, evaluates and integrates institutional research supporting strategic planning processes, development and measurement of performance outcomes, institutional and academic planning, and other indicators of institutional effectiveness. Oversees the development and maintenance of up-to-date information databases to support demographic, enrollment, strategic planning, special programs, and institutional performance research, processes, and decisions. The position also provides complex administrative support to the Vice President, Academic Affairs.

Distinguishing Career Features
The Director of Research and Planning reports to the Vice President, Academic Affairs and is responsible for institutional research and decision support.
Job Duties

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Plans, organizes, performs, integrates and evaluates programs, services and research activities of the department including, but not limited to institutional and faculty research, strategic planning, and performance measurement.
• Develops and manages an annual institutional research agenda; establishes and administers processes to intake, prioritize, track, and communicate status of research requests and deliverables.
• Performs research studies that support planning, evaluation, budgeting, accreditation, and policy.
• Provides evaluation design, performance measures, and outcomes reporting support for grants and initiatives aligned with institutional priorities.
• Responsible for ensuring accuracy, consistency, and appropriate use of institutional data in official reports, dashboards, publications, and external submissions.
• Develops and monitors budgets and maximizes financial resources.
• Provides leadership for research, reporting, and analytics technologies (e.g., data warehouse, dashboards, reporting tools) to support institutional planning and decision-making.
• Leads, supervises, trains and evaluates assigned personnel. Certifies payroll for assigned personnel. Applies the terms and provisions of applicable collective bargaining agreements; state and federal laws; and District Board Policies and Administrative Procedures in personnel matters.
• Directs and conducts an array of research to identify and assess the District's short and long range institutional needs and opportunities. Collects, prepares and maintains statistical information and establishes the appropriate quantitative and qualitative research design and statistical tools to be used in research and decision support.
• Directs and participates in research for establishing institutional accountability measures and key performance indicators. Works with administrators and external agencies to determine outcomes and measures.
• Leads equity-focused research and reporting, including disaggregation of student outcomes by disproportionately impacted groups; supports the college in identifying equity gaps and monitoring progress toward equity goals.
• Provides data and performance measurement support to processes that review programs, accreditation, and compliance.
• Provides leadership and coordination for accreditation-related evidence, metrics, and reports; serves as a key resource to accreditation committees for standards-related data, analysis, and documentation.
• Researches trends in community-based demographics and economics, trends in education and a variety of other information used to support decisions.
• Directs the design and conduct of feasibility studies for new curricula, programs, facilities, and other services that enhance student success.
• Assists the college in developing assessments for student learning outcomes.
• Assists with, or directs the development of, surveys conducted by the college and directs or performs analysis and preparation of reports based on these surveys.
• Directs and coordinates institutional research information reporting to other institutions and agencies (e.g., IPEDS, California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office reporting and accountability metrics).
• Audits and releases official information about college student enrollment, faculty, student and staff characteristics.
• Directs and coordinates the college strategic planning process as well as other college planning processes.
• Ensures integration of program review, assessment, and strategic planning with resource allocation and budgeting cycles; develops and monitors planning calendars, progress reports, and evidence of implementation.
• Monitors data integrity.
• Leads data governance practices including standard definitions, data documentation, and validation procedures to ensure consistent, audit-ready reporting across systems and stakeholders.
• Directs or serves as research consultant for college program review activities.
• Coordinates the development and maintains an expanded Data Warehouse for research, planning, and development. Develops and maintains dashboards and other self-service reporting tools to improve transparency and campus access to timely, accurate information.
• Supervises data analysis and trend monitoring.
• Assists managers, faculty, and staff in construction of reliable and valid research instruments.
• Prepares recommendations and/or contracts as appropriate and submits them to administration and/or Board of Trustees for consideration.
• Anticipates, prevents, and resolves conflicts and problems under areas of supervision.
• Participates in community, state, and national organizations and meetings.
• Participates on or chairs committees, task forces, and special assignments.
• Maintains currency of knowledge and skills related to the duties and responsibilities.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications for Education and Experience
Requires a master's degree in a social science, mathematics, statistics, business, economics, research, or other related field, or the equivalent and two years of experience conducting research, analyzing data, and presenting findings. Understanding of and sensitivity to meeting the needs of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability and ethnic background of the student, community, and employee population.

Preferred Qualifications

• Management experience in institutional research, planning, or institutional effectiveness in a higher education setting, preferably a community college.
• Experience supervising, leading, or coordinating professional research or data-analysis staff and managing multiple research priorities and deliverables.
• Experience with state and federal higher education reporting requirements, such as IPEDS and California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office reporting.
• Experience developing or using data warehouses, dashboards, business intelligence tools, or other self-service reporting systems.
• Experience supporting institutional planning, program review, accreditation, or institutional effectiveness processes through research and data analysis.
• Experience with data governance and data integrity, including data validation, documentation, and consistent institutional reporting.

Supplemental Information

Knowledge and Skills
The position requires professional knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of institutional research, decision support, and institutional effectiveness in higher education.
• Development, maintenance and administration of a budget.
• Philosophy and objectives of the community college.
• Principles of functional leadership, training and performance evaluation.
• Pertinent federal and state laws and regulations.
• Student learning outcomes assessment, program review, and measures of student success.
• Strategic planning in organization and management practices, assessment, analysis and evaluation of programs, policies and administrative needs.
• Current principles and procedures of social science or higher education research planning, design, methodology, and analysis; principles, theories, techniques and methods of inferential and descriptive statistics; computerized information systems used in research such as statistical analysis, word processing, database management, spreadsheets, graphics, and telecommunications.
• Student outcomes assessment and measures of institutional effectiveness.
• Legislative and educational oversight body processes, requirements, and trends.
• Relational database concepts, including logical and physical data layout, programming and report writing tools.
• Data privacy and the protection of student records, including FERPA and applicable state requirements.
• Data governance principles, including data definitions, documentation, validation, and audit-ready reporting.
• Accreditation standards and evidence requirements (ACCJC), and the role of data in accreditation.
• Equity-minded research methods, including disaggregation of outcomes and analysis of disproportionate impact.
• State and federal reporting frameworks and mandates (e.g., IPEDS and California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office reporting).

The position requires demonstrated knowledge of:

• Designing assessment and research processes that support student success and institutional effectiveness.
• Organizing work and building an effective team to meet the needs of the assigned areas.
• Oral and written language sufficient to prepare reports and professional correspondence.
• Human relations/interpersonal skills to conduct performance reviews, deliver presentations, and convey technical information to a wide variety of audiences.
• Data visualization and business intelligence tools (e.g., dashboards/reporting platforms) and querying data from student information systems and data warehouses.

Abilities

This position requires the ability to:

• Learn, interpret, and ensure compliance with state and federal laws, Title 5, and other federal and state regulations as related to the responsibilities of the position.
• Exercise sound judgment in handling sensitive institutional and stu