Associate Director, Research Data

University of Chicago • Chicago, IL

10d • $65,000 - $80,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Director of Research Data serves as a strategic partner in advancing the University’s research infrastructure by supporting faculty and institutional research initiatives. Reporting to the Director of Data Governance and Stewardship, this role provides high-level leadership in the planning, coordination, and execution of non-technical research data projects, ensuring alignment with academic priorities and institutional data governance standards. The Associate Director also contributes to broader data governance and administrative data efforts, providing expert guidance and expanding institutional capacity in data stewardship.

Requirements

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Master’s degree.
• A minimum five years of experience in research support, data governance, or higher education administration.
• Designing and facilitating instructional materials, workshops, or professional development related to data literacy or research best practices.
• Familiarity with data stewardship, privacy, security, and compliance frameworks, such as IRB, HIPAA, FERPA, etc.
• Demonstrated understanding of the research data lifecycle, metadata standards, and ethical/legal considerations in handling academic research data.
• Outstanding verbal, written, and presentation skills, as well as organizational skills.
• Work independently with little supervision; possess a self-motivated disposition; identify opportunities for improvement and recommend effective changes, all while achieving key objectives resulting in desired outcomes.
• Excellent strategic planning, critical thinking, analytical, and persuasion skills.
• Handle multiple detailed tasks/projects simultaneously and meet strict deadlines with frequent interruptions.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and diplomatically with colleagues, as well as with students, faculty and corporate contacts in a multitude of communication methods, including in-person, email, and phone.
• Professional demeanor, including tact, discretion, and a customer service-oriented approach.

Responsibilities

• Primarily responsible for working closely with and reports directly to the Director of Data Governance and Stewardship, playing a key role in faculty research support.
• Develops policies and plans critical to the strategic stewardship of Chicago Booth’s various datasets.
• Fields requests sent via intake form, creates tickets and routes to appropriate teams/departments, communicates with requesters on status, monitors request until data has been acquired and technology needs have been met.
• Assists with research data subscriptions, invoices, and payments process.
• Creates and edits policies, process documentation, communication plans, and training programs.
• Leads high-priority data governance projects with guidance from Director.
• Manages data vendor relationships.
• Collaborates with various centers to help govern research data sets, data sharing, and agreements.
• Is responsible for tracking progress, conducting analysis, as well as preparing for and facilitating project meetings.
• Acts as a resource for a project team and provides analytical guidance.
• Interprets complex project issues and provides analytical guidance to a project team.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Benefits

• The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook .

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees