Executive Director for Institutional Effectiveness

Society for College and University Planning; Moscow (ID); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Idaho is seeking an Executive Director for Institutional Effectiveness to lead IR and AA and partner with the VPAI to strengthen data-informed decision making across the campus.

The role focuses on building intuitive dashboards, expanding data literacy, and guiding strategic reporting to support enrollment, student success, budgeting, and accreditation efforts. Collaboration across units is essential to advance UI's goals.

Qualifications

• Creating data literacy, data democratization, and data-informed decision-making as demonstrated in application materials
• Strategic leadership to forward key institutional goals and effectively balance multiple competing priorities by providing needed data, analyses, and solutions
• Leadership in designing processes for maximum efficiency in routine reporting as demonstrated in application materials
• Leading the development of intuitive, accessible, interactive dashboards and other tools that broaden data access and promote effective data use institution wide
• Experience designing and executing quantitative studies, and knowledge of qualitative and mixed methods study design
• Creativity and flexibility in meeting stakeholder needs while sustaining integrity of data definitions and other unit priorities as shown in application materials

Responsibilities

• The Executive Director will supervise UI’s Institutional Research (IR) and Assessment and Accreditation (AA) offices
• Provide visionary leadership and high-level direction of institutional effectiveness to equip colleagues with data, analyses, and information
• Guide collaborations with faculty, administrators, and staff to define key metrics and improve outcomes
• Promote data-informed decision-making through trainings and data governance practices

Skills

Data literacy

Strategic leadership

Dashboard development

Quantitative & qualitative methods

Data governance

Stakeholder communication

Education

Ph.D. in statistics / educational measurement / assessment / cognitive science / database management / ML

Job description

Executive Director for Institutional Effectiveness

Moscow, ID 83844

Posted: 7/21/26
Deadline: 8/22/26

About This Organization

University of Idaho

Job Duties

Executive Director for Institutional Effectiveness
University of Idaho
Search conducted by Ferra Executive Search

The Executive Director will supervise UI’s Institutional Research (IR) and Assessment and Accreditation (AA) offices and will report to the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President through the Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives (VPAI). A key focus for this role will involve strengthening collaboration between the IR and AA teams. Working closely with the VPAI and other colleagues, the Executive Director will help UI use evidence-based practices in education, operations, and resource allocation; assessing these practices’ impact; and iteratively improving outcomes.

Position Overview
The executive director will provide visionary leadership, and high-level direction of institutional effectiveness at UI to equip colleagues with the data, analyses, and information needed to achieve key institutional goals. Goal areas include strategic enrollment; student success; curricular delivery and efficiency; budgeting; assessment and accreditation; federal, state, and other reporting; and other university priorities. To help the institution define key metrics, develop strategies, and gauge progress, the executive director will provide strategic leadership, high-caliber collaboration, problem-solving, and creativity. Further, the executive director will guide collaborations with a broad range of colleagues, including disciplinary faculty, academic administrators, assessment and accreditation professionals, research support units, human resources professionals, and others. The person in this role will supervise the creation of intuitive, user-friendly interactive dashboards and other resources for sharing data broadly throughout and beyond the campus community while maintaining requisite protections.

Further, the Executive Director will promote data-informed decision-making by leveraging relevant experience in designing and executing a broad range of quantitative analyses, building a data-literate, participating in UI’s data governance, implementing data democratization, and working with qualitative and mixed-methods studies. For example, the Executive Director will design and implement trainings to effectively engage colleagues at all levels of data literacy in using institutional data in decision-making and program improvement. The person in this position will take initiative to solve problems and address institutional challenges. Further, the Executive Director will draw on prior leadership experience with an emphasis on completing routine but essential tasks while also designing analyses, tools, and approaches needed to achieve university goals in key areas.

Required Qualifications

Required Experience

Three years’ experience in the following:

• Creating data literacy, data democratization, and data-informed decision-making as demonstrated in application materials
• Strategic leadership to forward key institutional goals and effectively balance multiple competing priorities by providing needed data, analyses, and solutions
• Leadership in designing processes for maximum efficiency in routine reporting as demonstrated in application materials
• Leading the development of intuitive, accessible, interactive dashboards and other tools that broaden data access and promote effective data use institution wide
• Experience designing and executing quantitative studies, and knowledge of qualitative and mixed methods study design
• Creativity and flexibility in meeting stakeholder needs while sustaining integrity of data definitions and other unit priorities as shown in application materials

Required Education

Additional Preferred

• Ph.D. in statistics, educational measurement, assessment, cognitive science, database management, machine learning, or other relevant discipline.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating effectively with assessment, accreditation, research support, and other colleagues, including disciplinary faculty and academic administrators; building, leading, and contributing to effective cross-unit working groups; and tailoring effective communications in formal and informal settings.
• Experience establishing, communicating, and leading others to implement a vision for promoting effective data use across an organization, including a demonstrated ability to effectively engage hesitant, skeptical, and/or inexperienced colleagues in developing data literacy and the capacity to use data effectively to inform decision-making.
• Experience establishing unit priorities; motivating direct reports and staff to achieve priorities; and building collaborative, responsive, high-performing teams.
• Demonstrated experience engaging faculty, staff, and students in using data effectively to improve academic, curricular efficiency, operational, budgetary, and other outcomes. Such experience will ideally include designing and implementing trainings, professional development materials and workshops, and the like.
• Strong experience in sophisticated analytical projects, e.g., diagnostic and prescriptive analyses designed to help identify students who could succeed with particular interventions and/or to measure the effectiveness of such interventions.
• Experience leading or co-leading the development of data governance policies; structures and demonstrated knowledge of data definitions, storage, and management; and experience designing, implementing, or applying data ethics policies.
• Evidence of strong initiative, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and other reporting required for institutions of higher education.

Other Info

Link to posting: https://uidaho.peopleadmin.com/postings/52156

Contact:
Ferra Executive Search has been retained to manage the search. If you have any inquiries or nominations, please send an email to:

Please use ‘Executive Director, Institutional Effectiveness’ as the subject line when you contact Kevin

Applicant Resources
https://www.uidaho.edu/human-resources/careers/applicant-resources

Applicants who are selected as final possible candidates must be able to pass a criminal background check.

The University of Idaho is an equal employment opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.