Associate Director of Accountability and Data Analytics

State-of-Illinois; Springfield (IL); Hybrid; USD 87,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work schedule

Competitive benefits package

Job summary

The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) seeks an Associate Director of Accountability and Data Analytics to lead IBHE’s accountability system, analyze data across the research lifecycle, and translate findings into clear, actionable insights for non-technical stakeholders through dashboards and reports.

You will design dashboards and interactive tools, ensure data quality and governance, collaborate with institutions and agencies to support enrollment, persistence, and student completion.

Qualifications

• A minimum of a Master's degree in Data Science, Data Analytics, Social Science, Education, or related field.
• In lieu of a Master's degree, a Bachelor's degree with five or more years in institutional research may be substituted.
• 5+ years of relevant professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop the higher education accountability system with metrics, rules, and data logic.
• Analyze data across the research lifecycle; translate findings into clear insights for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to ensure data quality, governance, and compliance.
• Develop dashboards and interactive data tools to track KPIs and business metrics; deliver actionable leadership reports.
• Identify inefficiencies in data processes and suggest automation improvements.
• Support reporting to inform agency decisions and strategic goals.
• Other duties as assigned within scope of position.

Skills

Analytical skills

Project management

Communication skills

Stakeholder collaboration

Problem solving

Public service mindset

Education

Master's degree in Data Science / Data Analytics / related field

Bachelor's degree + 5+ years institutional research experience

Tools

SQL

Power BI

R / SAS / SPSS / Stata

Job description

Search by keyword (e.g. County, Job Title etc.)

Select how often (in days) to receive an alert:

Associate Director of Accountability and Data Analytics

We continually strive for a workforce that reflects the growing diversity within the State of Illinois. A variety of employee backgrounds, perspectives, ideas and experiences are crucial to our ability to most effectively serve the public. Bilingual skills welcome

Reasonable Accommodation Statement

The State of Illinois is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. Further, federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job, interview for a job, or for any other activity related to the hiring process. Examples of reasonable accommodation include, but are not limited to, making a change to the application process (if possible), providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.

To be provided a Reasonable Accommodation during the hiring process, you will need to provide a certification of disability from a physician, psychiatrist, school official or an Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Counselor. Supporting documentation should be uploaded under My Documents → Additional Documents section for each application.

Any questions on Reasonable Accommodations can be directed to Central Management Services Disability Resource Center at [e-mail] or call [phone] for further information and to request or discuss an accommodation.

Sponsorship for Employment

The State of Illinois does not provide sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H-1B visa status), nor is the State able to provide extensions of optional practical training (OPT) under the STEM-designated degree program for F-1 students. To be considered for permanent employment with the State of Illinois, applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Disclosure of Salary Information

do not include wage or salary information in your resume or other profile or application materials

Job Requisition ID:58586
Opening Date: 09/09/2026
Closing Date: 10/07/2026
Agency: Illinois Board of Higher Education
Salary: Commensurate with experience, starting salary within the range of $86,500-max $110,000/yr
Job Type: Salaried
Category:Full Time
Number of Vacancies: 1
Bargaining Unit Code:None
Merit Comp Code:Agency Excluded from Collective Bargaining Coverage
Work Hours: 8:00am-4:00pm Mon-Fri
Anticipated Hybrid Work Schedule Availability:It is required that a person reports to the headquarters on this job position as necessary (could be weekly, monthly, or other schedule) dependent on operational need
Headquarter Location:Springfield - 1 N Old State Capitol Plz
Work County:** IBHE offers remote and hybrid work arrangements, based on position and supervisor discretion. IL residency is required. Travel within IL is expected, as required by the work.

About the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE)
IBHE has been supporting higher education in Illinois for more than 50 years. We are a dedicated team of professionals, overseen by a Board appointed by the Governor, who are working for a strong, equitable higher education system, which we believe is essential for the state to thrive. We work with leaders in colleges, universities, state and federal government agencies, governors, legislators, and other entities to strategically further this mission.
In its strategic plan, A Thriving Illinois: Higher Education Paths to Equity, Sustainability, and Growth, IBHE has identified three goals and 25 strategies to help achieve its vision of a higher education ecosystem that ensures individuals, families, and communities across the state thrive.

About the position:

The IL Board of Higher Education (IBHE) is responsible for extensive data collection, analysis, andreporting to share data to increase understanding in support of improved enrollment, persistence, andstudent completion. The Associate Director of Accountability and Data Analytics is responsible forleading the build out and support of IBHE’s accountability system, and interpreting and analyzing data toinform high-quality, actionable analytics that support Agency decisions and goals; responsible fordrawing on insights and communicating findings in accessible ways to non-technical audiences, includingthrough dashboards, interactive data tools, and reports.

IBHE offers the State's competitive benefits package

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• • Drives the design, and development of the higher education accountability system; defines and documents the metrics, business rules, and data logic that underpin it, and independently advances its capabilities to meet emerging agency and policy needs; performs complex data integration, analysis, reporting, and visualization in support of A Thriving Illinois
• • Performs sophisticated data integration, analysis, and interpretation across the research lifecycle; Extracts and transforms data from multiple sources using ETL processes while ensuring accuracy, completeness, and integrity; Safeguards data privacy and compliance standards; Identifies meaningful trends, patterns, and anomalies using statistical techniques and predictive modeling; Conducts ad hoc analyses to address emerging questions; Translates complex analytical findings into clear, actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders through reports, visualizations, and presentations
• • Partners with cross-functional teams to establish and maintain data quality standards, ensure data integrity, implement best practices, and uphold compliance requirements across the organization; works with institution partners to design and develop metrics
• • Develops compelling dashboards, interactive data tools and executive presentations that track key performance indicators and business metrics; Delivers actionable insights to leadership and stakeholders through clear, visually engaging reports that drive informed decision-making
• • Designs, implements, and maintains robust processes and procedures to safeguard data security and protect sensitive information across all systems and workflows
• • Identifies inefficiencies in current data processes and suggests improvements or automation to streamline workflows and enhance data accuracy and usability
• • Other duties as assigned, within scope of position

Position Requirements and Qualifications

Education:

Required:

• • A minimum of a Master's degree* from an accredited institution in Data Science, Data Analytics, Social Science, Education, or a related field
• *In lieu of a Master's degree, a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in a related field and five (5) or more years of professional experience in an institutional research capacity may be substituted.

Preferred:

• - Additional, relevant graduate-level (or higher) certifications

Experience:

Required:

• • 5+ years of relevant professional experience
• • Experience in the design, development, and implementation of streamlined or automated reporting solutions
• • Demonstrated proficiency with SQL, including experience writing moderately complex queries against a data warehouse or relational database
• • Experience with one or more common statistical or analytical software packages (e.g., R, SAS, SPSS, Stata)
• • Experience with data warehousing, data migration and/or data integration techniques

Preferred:

• • Experience in Higher Education
• • Experience developing reports and dashboards in a data visualization tool, with proficiency in Power BI

Knowledge Requirements

• Advanced knowledge in the manipulation of data to providecharts, graphs, and reports
• Advanced knowledge of data integrity methods and techniques

Required Skills and Traits

• Ability to align data strategy with business objectives
• Strong project management and organizational skills; Ability to meet deadlines and follow through on the completion of projects and initiatives
• Technical aptitude with strong logical, problem solving and decision‑making skills, strong analytical skills, and attention to detail; ability to process large datasets and extract meaningful insights.
• Commitment to public service and passion for education and equity
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with a strong focus on collaboration and teamwork; ability to build and maintain positive working relationships with all stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to work with a variety of constituents and stakeholders, such as other state agency staff, institutional faculty and staff, employers, and community-based partners
• Excellent problem-solving and written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently managing projects, while ensuring alignment to and coordination with a larger vision and initiative