Director of Strategic Analytics

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, life, dental, and vision ins.

Retirement options

Paid holidays

Tuition exemption for qualified staff

Training and development opportunities

Job summary

Louisiana State University is seeking a Director of Strategic Analytics to lead the university's analytics function within the Office of Data & Strategic Analytics. The role blends hands-on programming with consultation, decision support, and training for campus partners.

Responsibilities include designing analyses, building dashboards in Tableau, and integrating AI tools. The position requires a strong background in SAS/SQL/Python/R and collaboration with executive leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in statistics, analytics, data science, economics, education, public policy, or a related quantitative or social science field
• 7 years of progressively responsible experience in data analysis, institutional research, business intelligence, or related
• Analytical programming in SAS, SQL, Python, or R; dashboards in Tableau; presenting findings to senior leaders and non-technical audiences

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic analytics and decision support for the university.
• Consult with executive leadership, colleges, and administrative units to define analytical questions, scope projects, and recommend methods.
• Design analyses using regression, forecasting, quasi-experimental methods, and scenario modeling with institutional data.
• Prepare briefs, memos, and presentations for Provost, Chancellor and executives.
• Write, test, and maintain analytical code in SAS, SQL, Python, or R; produce datasets and models.
• Design and build interactive Tableau dashboards for monitoring strategic initiatives.
• Integrate AI tools into analytical workflows and governance processes.

Skills

Analytical programming

Data visualization

Stakeholder communication

Analytical reasoning

Education

Bachelor's degree in statistics / analytics / data science

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

SAS

SQL

Python

R

Tableau

Job description

Job Description: The Office of Data & Strategic Analytics (ODSA) provides the university with accurate, timely data and analysis to support planning, decision-making, and compliance. The Director of Strategic Analytics leads LSU's strategic analytics function within ODSA. The Director designs and conducts analyses that inform policy and strategic decisions by the Provost, the Chancellor, executive leadership, and colleges. The role combines hands‑on analytical programming with consultation, decision support, and training for campus partners. The Director works with the Directors of Institutional Research and Data Management to deliver accurate, consistent, and well‑documented analytics products. The Director also leads ODSA's work on institutional data definitions in the university's data catalog to define metrics clearly, connect definitions to dashboards and reports, and expand their use to campus units.

Position Details

• Position Type: Professional / Unclassified
• Department: LSUAM AA - Data and Strategic Analytics (Dr. Anna Castrillo Bartel (00004718))
• Work Location: 0146 Thomas D. Boyd Hall
• Pay Grade: Professional

Job Responsibilities

• Lead strategic analytics and decision support for the university, in partnership with the Associate Vice Provost.
• Consult with executive leadership, colleges, and administrative units to define analytical questions, scope projects, and recommend appropriate data and methods.
• Design and conduct analyses using methods such as regression, predictive modeling, enrollment and financial forecasting, quasi-experimental program evaluation, and scenario modeling, drawing on institutional and external data such as labor market, alumni outcomes, and faculty productivity data.
• Prepare briefs, memos, and presentations that translate results into clear recommendations for the Provost, Chancellor, and executive leadership.
• Support institutional performance and benchmarking work.
• Contribute to conference presentations and publications based on ODSA's analytical work. (40%)
• Write, test, and maintain analytical code in SAS, SQL, Python, or R to produce datasets, models, and recurring analyses.
• Design and build interactive dashboards and reports in Tableau for monitoring strategic initiatives.
• Integrate AI tools into analytical workflows and contribute to the development of institutional analytics tools.
• Establish coding standards, version control, methodology documentation, and peer review so analytical products are reproducible and transferable to other staff.
• Stay current on developments in higher education analytics, data science, AI, and machine learning. (20%)
• In partnership with the Director of Data Management, draft and maintain business and technical data definitions in the university's data catalog and governance platform for institutional metrics, reports, and dashboards.
• Work with the Associate Vice Provost to design and carry out a plan for expanding the data catalog to additional campus units and data domains, including onboarding processes, and create training documentation and videos for new domains and users.
• Integrate Tableau dashboards and published reports with the data catalog through its API so users can see how each measure is defined.
• Support the quarterly data steward community meetings. (15%)
• Develop and deliver training, workshops, and guides on data use, analytical methods, and ODSA tools for faculty and staff, in partnership with the Associate Vice Provost.
• Develop training materials and resources that could support a future ODSA shared service model, in coordination with other ODSA staff.
• Mentor ODSA staff in analytical methods and programming. (10%)
• Manage multiple strategic analytics projects with competing priorities, setting timelines and resource needs.
• Supervise and develop assigned staff.
• Coordinate with the Directors of Institutional Research and Data Management and with Information Technology Services on shared data, definitions, and projects. (10%)
• Other duties as assigned by the Associate Vice Provost for Data & Strategic Analytics. (5%)

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Statistics, analytics, data science, economics, education, public policy, or a related quantitative or social science field
• 7 years of progressively responsible experience in data analysis, institutional research, business intelligence, or related
• Specific Experience: Analytical programming in SAS, SQL, Python, or R; building dashboards in Tableau or a comparable tool; presenting findings to senior leaders and non-technical audiences

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Statistics, analytics, data science, economics, education, public policy, or a related quantitative or social science field
• 7 or more years, including supervisory or project leadership experience
• Specific Experience: Higher education analytics or institutional research; predictive modeling and forecasting; developing training for data users

Additional Position Information

• Background Check - An offer of employment is contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check.
• Benefits - LSU offers outstanding benefits to eligible employees and their dependents including health, life, dental, and vision insurance; flexible spending accounts; retirement options; various leave options; paid holidays; wellness benefits; tuition exemption for qualified positions; training and development opportunities; employee discounts; and more!
• Essential Position (Y/N):
• LSU is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

All candidates must have valid U.S. work authorization at the time of hire and maintain that valid work authorization throughout employment. Changes in laws, regulations, or government policies may impact the university’s ability to employ individuals in certain positions.

LSU includes institutions, facilities and programs in each of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, and its campuses stretch the length of the state from New Orleans to Shreveport. Each institution plays a vital role in preparing students to incorporate new knowledge and technologies into their daily lives. LSU researchers across Louisiana are working on developing a wide-range of innovations to improve quality of life by studying issues such as disease management, advance medical treatments, obesity, coastal protection, hurricane preparedness, energy, natural resource management and agriculture, among others. Louisiana’s Flagship University is a land-, sea- and space-grant institution with academic programs in all areas of science, engineering, humanities, arts and social sciences. The University comprises of nine institutions: Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College (“LSU”), the premier flagship university for the state, which include the Paul M. Hebert Law Center and the School of Veterinary Medicine Louisiana State University at Alexandria Louisiana State University at Eunice Louisiana State University at Shreveport LSU Health Sciences Center – New Orleans LSU Health Science Center – Shreveport The Health Care Services Division Louisiana State University Agricultural Center Pennington Biomedical Research Center Any other college, university, school, institution, or program now or hereafter under the supervision and management of the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College In implementing its mission, LSU is committed to: Offering a broad array of undergraduate degree programs and extensive graduate research opportunities designed to attract and educate highly qualified undergraduate and graduate students; Employing faculty who are excellent teacher-scholars, nationally competitive in research and creative activities, and who contribute to a world-class knowledge base that is transferable to educational, professional, cultural, and economic enterprises; and Using its extensive resources to solve economic, environmental, and social challenges.