Department: Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning

Job Category: Administrative or Professional Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning (OIEP) advances the strategic goals of George Mason University through collaborations and partnerships that engage stakeholders (senior leaders/administration, faculty, staff, and students) in data-informed strategic, operational, and tactical decisions. OIEP does this by capitalizing on our experience and professional judgment drawing upon quantitative and qualitative analytic information.

About the Position:

The Senior Research Associate conducts a range of complex analyses using internal and external data sources. The position supports accreditation and state/federal compliance reporting through the collection, analysis and reporting of relevant data. The Senior Research Associate partners closely with colleagues within and outside of OIEP in the development of actionable analytical research focused on student success; faculty activity and productivity; competitive positioning; enrollment projections; and other institutional effectiveness projects that inform university planning and initiatives.

Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and complete state/federal compliance reporting, as well as regional and programmatic accreditation, by developing efficiencies for standardized collection, analysis, and reporting;
• Execute complex quantitative analyses in support of academic planning, data informed strategic decision-making, and external reporting. Identify and integrate external data sources (e.g., National Student Clearinghouse, IPEDS, U.S. Census) with internal census data as part of analyses. Research topics would include, but not be limited to, student success (e.g., enrollment projections, retention, completion/degree production, career outcomes); faculty activity and productivity; institutional performance benchmarking; and ad-hoc studies based on current higher education developments;
• Support cross-functional teams in the development of tools to support data integrity as part of the work of the Mason Insight Data to Analytics Solutions (MIDAS) project;
• Perform other related special and ad-hoc duties as assigned; and
• Engage in national conversations to identify and anticipate institutional research needs through enhanced knowledge of industry developments and trends through participation in national conferences, scanning of online higher education sources, etc.

Required Qualifications:

• Master's degree in a related field;
• Full-time professional experience of at least three years of demonstrated progressive experience with education or social science related research;
• Demonstrated experience working with relational databases to extract and merge data from multiple sources;
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in statistical analysis (e.g., inferential statistics, multivariate analyses) and research design;
• Experience programming in a statistical analysis package (e.g., SAS, SPSS, R, or Stata);
• Advanced skill in written and verbal communication with various technical and non-technical audiences; and
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Terminal degree in a related field;
• Five years of demonstrated progressive experience with institutional research/institutional effectiveness;
• Experience programming in SAS;
• Experience programming in SQL; and
• Knowledge of ERP such as Banner, PeopleSoft, or SAP.

Instructions to Applicants:

For full consideration, applicants must apply for the Senior Research Associate at https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide and a cover letter and curriculum vitae.

Posting Open Date: May 2, 2024

For Full Consideration, Apply by: May 31, 2024

Open Until Filled?: Yes