Director of Institutional Research

The City University of New York; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 126,000 - 141,000; Full time

Job summary

The City University of New York's CUNY School of Professional Studies seeks an Institutional Research Director to lead planning, data analytics, and reporting across the School. This role reports to the Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness and oversees data-driven decision making and performance measurement.

Responsibilities include developing dashboards, managing institutional surveys, ensuring data quality, and guiding strategic analytics in a higher education setting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree and eight years’ relevant experience required.
• Graduate degree in a relevant analytic or social science discipline preferred.
• Experience in institutional research within higher education, preferably online learning.
• Knowledge of IPEDS standards and accreditation processes; CUNY data systems experience preferred.
• Proficiency with data access and querying tools (SQL), data analytics software (R, SPSS, SAS, Stata), and BI tools (Tableau).
• Programming with Python and/or R to develop advanced visualizations and dashboards.
• Experience supervising staff in data engineering, programming, analytics and visualization.
• Experience designing and conducting rigorous quantitative and qualitative analyses.
• Experience with large datasets, data warehouses, and survey development and analysis.
• Excellent communication and ability to present to diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for the Office of Institutional Research.
• Direct research and data analytics initiatives and ensure timely, accurate information for decision‑making.
• Lead design and implementation of institutional research and assessment activities.
• Develop dashboards and data visualizations to communicate findings to stakeholders.
• Coordinate surveys and manage a data warehouse for survey results.
• Serve as liaison to University committees and promote data‑driven decision making.
• Supervise staff and provide direction to data teams.

Skills

Data analysis

Communication

Collaboration

Leadership

Problem solving

Strategic thinking

Public speaking

Diversity & inclusion

Education

Bachelor's degree and eight years’ relevant experience

Tools

SQL

Python

R

Tableau

SPSS

SAS

Stata

Job description

POSITION DETAILS

As a leading online school in New York since 2006, the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) offers the most online bachelor's and master's degree options at the City University of New York, and serves as the University's first undergraduate all-transfer college. With 26 degrees and numerous other non-degree and grant-funded workplace learning programs, CUNY SPS meets the needs of adults who wish to finish a bachelor's degree, progress from an associate's degree, earn a master's degree or certificate in a specialized field, and advance in the workplace or change careers. Consistently ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report for its online offerings, CUNY SPS has emerged as a nationwide leader in online education. The School's renowned and affordable online programs ensure that busy working adults may fulfill their educational goals on their own time and schedule. As CUNY SPS moves beyond its 20th year, we dedicate ourselves to engendering an innovative and transformative student-centered experience.

POSITION DETAILS

As a leading online school in New York since 2006, the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) offers the most online bachelor's and master's degree options at the City University of New York, and serves as the University's first undergraduate all-transfer college. With 26 degrees and numerous other non-degree and grant-funded workplace learning programs, CUNY SPS meets the needs of adults who wish to finish a bachelor's degree, progress from an associate's degree, earn a master's degree or certificate in a specialized field, and advance in the workplace or change careers. Consistently ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report for its online offerings, CUNY SPS has emerged as a nationwide leader in online education. The School's renowned and affordable online programs ensure that busy working adults may fulfill their educational goals on their own time and schedule. As CUNY SPS moves beyond its 20th year, we dedicate ourselves to engendering an innovative and transformative student-centered experience.

POSITION DETAILS

As a leading online school in New York since 2006, the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) offers the most online bachelor's and master's degree options at the City University of New York, and serves as the University's first undergraduate all-transfer college. With 26 degrees and numerous other non-degree and grant-funded workplace learning programs, CUNY SPS meets the needs of adults who wish to finish a bachelor's degree, progress from an associate's degree, earn a master's degree or certificate in a specialized field, and advance in the workplace or change careers. Consistently ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report for its online offerings, CUNY SPS has emerged as a nationwide leader in online education. The School's renowned and affordable online programs ensure that busy working adults may fulfill their educational goals on their own time and schedule. As CUNY SPS moves beyond its 20th year, we dedicate ourselves to engendering an innovative and transformative student-centered experience. Housed within the Office of the Dean, the CUNY SPS Office of Institutional Research (IR) measures, collects, manages, and organizes data to support the analytic and reporting needs and performance outcomes of CUNY SPS. IR leadership and staff responsibilities include, but are not limited to, meeting the ongoing quantitative and qualitative data needs of strategic planning and institutional effectiveness; broadening the Office’s scope to include measurement of team performance against new institutional goals; providing data support for the CUNY Performance Management Process; analyzing enrollment, retention, and degree completion data; submitting annual surveys, including the US News and World Report Online College Ranking Survey; supporting grant applications and reporting; and various ad hoc projects as needed. Reporting to the Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness, the Director of Institutional Research provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for the Office of Institutional Research. The Director supervises professional staff, directs research and data analytics initiatives and ensures the delivery of accurate, timely, and actionable information to support institutional planning, assessment, decision‑making and continuous improvement. In addition to the CUNY Title Overview, the Director of Institutional Research will:

• Provide leadership and direction in the design, prioritization and implementation of institutional research and assessment activities in support of institution‑wide decision making, planning and across the board performance measurement.
• Work with the Dean’s office and key stakeholders to determine primary benchmarks, key performance indicators, and measures of institutional success and high performance.
• Lead collaborative performance management for the school; including facilitating discussions of performance and outcomes data, as well as the development of new or enhanced reporting and dashboards to communicate data across the School, in support of decision‑making and institutional self‑assessment.
• Plan, lead, and manage data collection and analysis activities to support strategic planning, enrollment management, student persistence and graduation goals, post‑graduation career outcomes, and accreditation and compliance processes, and other metrics as determined by the Dean. Ensure that institutional data collection and reporting processes are reliable, valid, ethical and systematic.
• Oversee survey functions of the School, including instrument development; annual survey schedule planning; survey distribution and data collection; and management of a data warehouse for survey results.
• Act as a liaison to University committees regarding institutional data, participate in institutional research professional organizations, and serve on the University Institutional Research Council.
• Regularly communicate relevant, timely, accurate and actionable institutional data to School stakeholders through accessible and compelling dashboards, data visualizations, and other data presentation tools; prepare presentations in a variety of formats to communicate research findings to the college community; and monitor the extent to which research findings are accessed and used by constituents to ensure appropriate distribution and promote data‑driven decision making.
• Serve as a content area expert on research methods, data analysis, data integrity, quality assurance and common data definitions.

Note

• Until further notice, work will be performed in a hybrid manner with 70% onsite presence.

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree and eight years’ relevant experience required.

The Preferred Candidate Will Have

• Graduate degree in a relevant analytic or social science discipline (e.g., Data Analytics, Statistics, Psychology, Educational Psychology, Sociology) preferred.
• Experience working in an Institutional Research setting within higher education, preferably in an online learning environment (prior CUNY experience a plus), with an understanding of current issues in higher education, particularly those affecting online learners, transfer students, working adults, and underserved populations.
• Comprehensive knowledge of higher education data and reporting standards, including national IPEDS standards, as well as familiarity with Middle States Accreditation and other industry standards. CUNY‑specific data and systems experience preferred.
• Demonstrated proficiency with core applications in three areas: 1) data access and querying tools (e.g., SQL); 2) data analytic software for manipulation of large datasets (e.g., R, SPSS, SAS, Stata); and 3) data visualization and business intelligence tools for working with complex data structures (e.g., Tableau).
• Demonstrated experience using programming and scripting languages such as Python and/or R to develop advanced data visualizations, interactive dashboards, and other dynamic data products that translate complex institutional data into clear, engaging, and actionable information for a range of audiences.
• Experience supervising and providing technical direction to staff engaged in data engineering, database development, programming, statistical analysis, and data visualization, including reviewing work for accuracy, quality, and adherence to established data standards and practices.
• Demonstrated experience designing and conducting rigorous quantitative and qualitative analyses, interpreting findings, and translating results into actionable recommendations to support institutional planning and decision‑making.
• Experience with large and complex datasets, including blending and analyzing data from multiple data sources; managing institutional data collection and reporting; preparing, formatting, validating, and cleaning research data to ensure integrity in analysis and reporting, and, with data warehouse environments, database queries; and using data to develop projections and support data‑driven decision‑making.
• Experience with survey development, administration, and analysis; understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods.
• Experience presenting and communicating technical information professionally, clearly, and effectively in oral, written, and graphic form to individuals with varying quantitative proficiency.
• Experience with providing briefings and trainings to enhance understanding of institutional research and data.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, interpersonal skills, teamwork skills, supervisory skills, and demonstrated ability to interact and collaborate professionally and build capacity among colleagues from culturally diverse backgrounds and in different project settings.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Cuny Title Overview

• Works collaboratively with senior management on issues of assessment, including general institutional effectiveness and measures of student success and learning
• Designs and oversees research efforts with an institutional scope and assists departments and offices with focused research needs
• Coordinates program reviews and accreditation reporting
• Manages institutional research data systems and other resources
• Maintains standard management information and official statistics for internal and external reporting
• Develops procedures to support analytical, planning, and assessment functions in student and academic areas
• Performs related duties as assigned.

Job Title Name: Institutional Research Director

CUNY TITLE

Higher Education Officer

FLSA

Exempt

Compensation And Benefits

Salary commensurate with education and experience, from $126,478 - $141,325.

CUNY's benefits contribute significantly to total compensation, supporting health and wellness, financial well‑being, and professional development. We offer a range of health plans, competitive retirement/pension benefits and savings plans, tuition waivers for CUNY graduate study and generous paid time off. Our staff also benefits from the extensive academic, arts, and athletic programs on our campuses and the opportunity to participate in a lively, diverse academic community in one of the greatest cities in the world.

CLOSING DATE

September 22, 2026

JOB SEARCH CATEGORY

CUNY Job Posting: Managerial/Professional

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

CUNY encourages people with disabilities, minorities, veterans and women to apply. At CUNY, Italian Americans are also included among our protected groups. Applicants and employees will not be discriminated against on the basis of any legally protected category, including sexual orientation or gender identity. EEO/AA/Vet/Disability Employer.

Job ID: 32713

Location: School of Professional Studies

Job Type: Full-Time