Associate--2-Year Limited term position

American Council on Education•Washington, DC

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The American Council on Education (ACE) is a major coordinating body for U.S. colleges and universities, representing nearly 1,700 institutions and their leaders. ACE's mission is to mobilize the higher education community to shape effective public policy and foster innovative practices. The newly-formed Data Insights and Policy Analysis (DIPA) group is dedicated to producing timely, relevant, and actionable insights to inform public policy and research. This two-year, term-limited position is designed for ambitious recent college graduates interested in public policy, finance, higher education, economics, data science, or related fields. The role aims to prepare associates for career growth or graduate school, with supervision and mentorship from DIPA staff. Work will be project-based, involving rotations to provide broad experience in analyzing federal datasets, modeling higher education policy questions, consuming academic literature, and communicating insights through various formats.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as public policy, social sciences, data science, education, statistics, or related discipline.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize complex information from multiple sources and identify key insights.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated ability to write clearly and concisely for diverse audiences.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); ability to work with data in spreadsheet formats.
Ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities simultaneously while meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
Strong attention to detail and commitment to producing high-quality, accurate work.
Collaborative mindset with ability to work effectively both independently and as part of cross-functional teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience with statistical software (e.g., Stata, R, etc.) preferred.

Responsibilities

Draft and prepare policy briefs, data visualizations, implementation guides, internal memos, and stakeholder-facing talking points that translate complex higher education data into accessible insights.
Translate scholarly and evidence-based research into actionable recommendations for practitioner audiences, including institutional leaders, policymakers, and higher education professionals.
Conduct literature reviews, landscape scans, environmental scans, background research, and secondary data analysis.
Assist with data collection, cleaning, analysis activities, and survey design.
Contribute to the development of data products, dashboards, and interactive tools that make higher education information accessible to diverse stakeholder groups.
Contribute to analytical support of other business units within ACE, including through data gathering, surveys, and analysis as well as products and data insights that can benefit ACE’s membership.
Support quality assurance processes to ensure accuracy, rigor, and relevance of DIPA's research outputs and data products.
Perform other duties and responsibilities as needed to advance DIPA's strategic objectives.