Job Description:Title: Senior Data and Research Analyst
Unit: Non-Unit Professional (NUP)
Department: Institutional Research
Reports to: Senior Director of Institutional Research
Date: August 17, 2026
General Summary: The Senior Data and Research Analyst serves as a primary driver of actionable, data-informed decision-making across the College by designing high-impact data products, visual analytics, and compelling data stories. Building on demonstrated expertise with modern visualization tools and in a higher education environment, this role bridges the gap between complex institutional data and the College-wide data strategy. The Senior Data and Research Analyst leads the design of intuitive Tableau dashboards, creates clear narratives for leadership, supports compliance and reporting, and fosters campus-wide data literacy.
Duties and Responsibilities:Data Visualization, Storytelling, and Strategic Analytics
- Lead the visual design, user experience, and deployment of interactive dashboards and data products using Tableau Desktop in a Tableau Server environment.
- Transform complex quantitative and qualitative datasets into compelling visual stories and digestible reports.
- Synthesize analysis into concise summaries, interactive scorecards, and high-level presentations tailored for stakeholders at all levels of the College.
- Apply analytical techniques, such as trend evaluation, cohort tracking, and predictive insights, to illuminate key institutional questions and drive strategic action.
- Communicate local, statewide, and national higher education trends through highly visual, engaging formats, including executive briefings and regular campus data publications.
- Translate student voice and survey outcomes into actionable narratives that highlight core student experience themes and policy implications.
Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration
- Serve as a partner to College leadership, deans, directors, and operational leads, proactively identifying information needs and translating them into analytical tools.
- Lead and coordinate high-visibility institutional analysis projects from inception through completion, managing project scope, stakeholder communication, and final deliverable design.
- Partner with all areas of the College, including leadership, student and academic affairs, enrollment management, and faculty, in the design, administration, analysis, and reporting of College-wide and departmental surveys, including advising on survey best practices, question design, and data interpretation to ensure campus research efforts yield meaningful, unbiased insights.
Reporting and Compliance
- Support the College's accreditation activities by preparing and validating data for regional and programmatic accrediting agencies, ensuring compliance with reporting standards.
- Assist in preparing data for state and federal reporting, including submissions to the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, IPEDS, and other regulatory bodies.
- Engage with labor market tools such as Lightcast Analyst to align workforce and labor market data with academic program curriculum.
- Support the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Institutional Data Capability Building
- Facilitate interactive workshops, data drop-in sessions, and targeted training to empower faculty, staff, and leadership to confidently navigate and interpret data tools.
- Develop intuitive user guides, documentation, and data dictionaries that enhance self-service analytics and increase everyday engagement with data products.
- Participate in and support college-wide committees as a representative for data-informed strategy and decision support.
- Partner with data stewards and data warehouse consultants to ensure data integrity, accuracy, and consistency across dashboards and reports.
- Proactively identify opportunities to streamline manual reporting, modernize legacy data delivery methods, and increase departmental operational efficiency through AI integration and workflow automation.
Requirements: - Bachelor's degree in data analytics, business, communication, education, social sciences, statistics, or a relevant field of study.
- At least three years of professional experience in data visualization, analytics, or decision-support reporting.
- Demonstrated expertise in visual design and interactive dashboard development using Tableau Desktop (or similar data visualization tools).
- Proven ability to synthesize complex quantitative data into clear, compelling narratives and visual formats for executive and senior leadership.
- Excellent oral, written, and graphic presentation skills, with a track record of communicating insights effectively to non-technical audiences.
- Ability to manage multiple analytical projects independently in a collaborative environment.
Preferred Qualifications:- Master's degree in relevant field of study.
- Experience working in a higher education environment.
- Demonstrated willingness and ability to integrate AI techniques and automated tools to augment routine tasks, optimize analytical workflows, and enhance reporting.
- Familiarity with working alongside cloud-based relational database environments (such as AWS or managed data warehouses) using pre-built data structures or basic analytical queries.
- Experience managing survey initiatives and translating survey results into intuitive reports and infographics using platforms like Alchemer, Qualtrics, or similar tools.
Additional Information:Salary Range: $77,000-$87,000 actual salary commensurate with academic background and experience. Employees of Middlesex Community College are considered employees of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and receive benefits, which include:
- High-quality and affordable health insurance through the Commonwealth's Group Insurance Commission (GIC)
- Competitive Dental and Vision Plans
- Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Assistance programs
- Low-cost basic and optional life insurance
- Retirement Savings: State Employees' Pension or Optional Retirement Program (ORP) and Deferred Compensation 457(b) plan or 403(b).
- 12 paid holidays per year and competitive Sick, Vacation, and Personal Time
- Tuition Benefits for employees and dependents at state colleges and universities
- Short-Term Disability and Extended Illness program participation options
- Professional Development and Continuing Education opportunities
- Cell Phone Bill Discounts with Verizon and T-Mobile Cell Phone Carriers
- Access to the Commonwealth's Mass4You, employee assistance program
- Free employee parking on Bedford and Lowell campuses
- Eligibility towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
Location: Lowell campus with occasional travel to Bedford as needed
Hours: 37.5 per week, schedule to be determined upon hire.
Expected Start Date: October 2026
Application Deadline: September 14, 2026
Application Instructions:All applicants must apply online by submitting:
- Cover Letter
- Resume
- Names and contact information for three (3) professional references
