Data Analyst

The Institutional Data Analyst will support data-informed decision-making by collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting institutional information to leaders and departments throughout the organization.

This individual will develop reports, dashboards, and visualizations supporting strategic planning, operational effectiveness, compliance requirements, and student-success initiatives.

This is not an entry-level analytics position. While the organization is willing to teach someone the nuances of higher education, the successful candidate needs practical experience working with data and must be capable of stepping in and performing the core technical responsibilities.

Responsibilities:

• Collect, analyze, interpret, and communicate institutional data.
• Develop recurring and ad hoc reports for organizational leadership and departmental stakeholders.
• Build dashboards and data visualizations that make complex information easier to understand and act upon.
• Support strategic planning, operational effectiveness, and organizational decision-making.
• Maintain the integrity, consistency, accuracy, and usability of data across systems.
• Partner with academic, administrative, student-services, financial-aid, and other internal departments.
• Support regulatory and institutional reporting requirements.
• Perform ad hoc analysis in response to evolving organizational questions.
• Assist with data governance and reporting improvements.
• Support an environment undergoing significant technology modernization and cloud migration.
• Identify opportunities to improve or automate reporting and data processes.
• Manage multiple priorities and projects while meeting established deadlines.

• Bachelor’s degree in data analytics, information systems, education, business, or a closely related field OR an equivalent combination of education and directly related experience.
• 2+ years of progressively responsible experience in institutional research, data analysis, business intelligence, or a related discipline.
• Hands-on experience with reporting, data management, and/or project coordination.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• High attention to detail and data accuracy.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and collaborate across departments.
• Experience with tools such as Power BI, Informer, Excel, or comparable reporting/BI platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to perform ad hoc analysis and use data to answer evolving business questions.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Preferred:

• Higher-education experience.
• SQL or other data-querying experience.
• Tableau experience.
• Experience supporting data governance, compliance, institutional research, or highly regulated data environments.

We are a well-established public educational institution serving thousands of students throughout Southwest Michigan. Our organization combines a strong community mission with an increasing focus on technology, data governance, operational effectiveness, and evidence-based decision-making.

We are currently making a significant investment in how data is collected, governed, analyzed, and used across the organization. As part of that evolution, we have redesigned our institutional research and data structure and are building a new team designed for where the organization is headed, not simply replacing positions that existed in the past.

This transformation coincides with a multi-year cloud migration and broader effort to modernize systems, reporting, automation, and access to actionable information.

Why join us?

• Newly created position with an opportunity to help shape how the data function operates.
• Join a newly structured three-person team, rather than stepping into a long-established hierarchy.
• Be part of a significant multi-year cloud and technology transformation.
• Opportunity to build dashboards, reporting, analytics, and processes that directly influence organizational decisions.
• Excellent work-life balance with flexibility and the ability to work from home one day per week.
• Strong annual salary increases and a robust public-sector benefits package.
• Dental and vision coverage provided by the organization.
• Summer Friday scheduling and a mid-winter break.
• Very low employee turnover and an organization that puts significant effort into its culture.
• Opportunity to learn the higher-education environment; prior higher-education experience is preferred, not required.