Job DescriptionPosition Summary:Reporting to the Senior Director of Operations and Analytics, this role serves as the school's lead institutional data steward and primary manager for major business school ranking surveys and comparative publications. The Senior Associate Director advances Rice Business's institutional objectives by conducting quantitative and qualitative analyses, harmonizing decentralized departmental data, providing data support for accreditation reviews, and building interactive executive dashboards that inform decision-making for Dean's Office leadership.
Special Instructions to Applicants:
All interested applicants must submit a resume and cover letter. Please attach these documents in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in PDF format to avoid formatting issues. In your cover letter, please highlight your experience managing complex data reporting cycles, building executive dashboards, or coordinating major organizational surveys.
Ideal Candidate Statement: The ideal candidate is an independent, detail-oriented data strategist who combines technical proficiency in data manipulation and visualization with strong project management capabilities. They thrive on turning complex, decentralized datasets into clear executive reporting and streamlined workflows. The candidate possesses the technical acumen to build clean, repeatable reporting processes in Excel, Tableau, or Power BI, alongside the interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively across faculty and administrative leadership to ensure data accuracy and meet firm publication deadlines.
Workplace Requirements:- Environment: Standard office environment located within McNair Hall/Virani Hall at Rice University.
- Work Schedule: Full-time, exempt position (Monday through Friday, standard university business hours). Eligible for Rice University's staff hybrid work policy following initial onboarding.
- Physical Demands: Standard office physical demands, including extensive computer work, sitting for extended periods, and light moving of meeting/presentation materials (up to 15 lbs).
- Travel: Minimal local or professional travel required (less than 5%).
- Dress Code: Professional business casual attire.
Workplace Location: This position is offered as a hybrid role, combining both in-office and remote work to provide flexibility and support collaboration. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.
Minimum Requirements: - Bachelor's Degree in Data Analytics, Statistics, Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related quantitative field.
- In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience, above and beyond what is required, may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.
- Three or more (3+) years of professional experience in data analytics, business intelligence, institutional research, or data strategy.
- In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education above and beyond what is required may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.
Skills
- Advanced mastery of Microsoft Excel (Power Query, data validation, dynamic lookup formulas, and pivot tables) to clean, merge, and structure raw data.
- Demonstrated ability to build, maintain, and publish clear, interactive dashboards in Tableau, Power BI, or Excel for leadership consumption.
- Practical experience pulling and querying data from enterprise systems or relational databases using SQL or built-in reporting tools.
- Meticulous attention to detail with a strong focus on data integrity, auditability, and consistent metric definitions across reporting cycles.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to translate technical data into clear, compelling executive briefs.
- Exceptional organizational skills and high attention to detail, with a track record of managing competing priorities and firm deadlines independently.
Preferences:- Experience with Python, R, or advanced scripting tools for workflow automation.
- Prior experience in higher education, institutional research, or managing AACSB and ranking survey submissions.
Annual Hiring Range: $80,000 to $90,000. *Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.
Essential Functions:- Leads the end-to-end collection, validation, audit, submission, and the analysis of data for annual business school ranking publications, accrediting bodies (AACSB), and institutional surveys.
- Translates complex datasets into clear dashboards, summary briefs, and recurring reports for the Dean's Office and operational leadership.
- Establishes standard data definitions, cleanses incoming departmental datasets, and creates repeatable templates to ensure data consistency.
- Identifies opportunities to streamline manual reporting processes using standard Excel, Power Query, or dashboarding features.
- Performs all other duties as assigned
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