Director of Business Intelligence (26-27)

IDEA Public Schools•El Paso, TX

5d•$108,100 - $128,600

About The Position

The Director of Business Intelligence leads IDEA's enterprise BI strategy, enabling data-driven decision-making across all states and departments through scalable, governed, self-service analytics. This leader establishes the Power BI Center of Excellence, semantic layer, and federated BI model that empowers domain to build their own insights while maintaining enterprise standards for quality, security, and consistency. The Director of Business Intelligence has final accountability for the semantic layer, including metric definitions, certification, and readiness for executive decision-making, partnering closely with Analytics Engineering to ensure the definitions are implemented in the data warehouse. Reporting to the VP of Enterprise Data & Strategy, this role partners closely with data platform, governance, analytics, and research teams to translate data into actionable dashboards and reports that improve student outcomes and operational excellence.

Requirements

Business Intelligence Expertise: Deep expertise in Power BI including advanced DAX, data modeling (star schemas, snowflake, wide tables), Power Query, performance optimization, and governance features
Strong understanding of BI best practices including visualization principles, dashboard design patterns, storytelling with data, and user experience
Experience building BI Centers of Excellence and federated BI operating models that balance standardization with flexibility
Knowledge of semantic layer concepts and tools (Power BI datasets, Tabular models, dbt Semantic Layer, Cube.dev)
Data & Analytics Acumen: Solid understanding of data warehousing concepts (dimensional modeling, slowly changing dimensions, fact/dimension tables)
Proficiency in SQL for troubleshooting data issues, validating calculations, and understanding upstream data transformations
Experience with modern data stack tools and how they integrate with BI laye
Understanding of data quality concepts and ability to collaborate with governance teams on standards and monitoring
Awareness of statistical concepts to distinguish operational reporting (BI) from statistical analysis (research/data science)
Education Sector Knowledge: Understanding of K-12 education KPIs (enrollment, ADA, persistence, matriculation, assessment proficiency, growth measures, staff retention)
Familiarity with student information systems (PowerSchool, Focus), assessment platforms, and education data standards (Ed-Fi)
Awareness of education-specific compliance requirements (FERPA) and how they impact dashboard design and access controls
Leadership & Soft Skills: Proven ability to influence without authority—driving adoption and standards across distributed teams
Strong facilitation skills to run requirements sessions, design workshops, and prioritization discussions with diverse stakeholder
Change management experience building BI literacy and self-service culture in organizations new to data-driven decision-making
Excellent stakeholder management balancing competing priorities and managing expectations with transparency
Technical credibility to earn respect of both BI developers and data engineers while remaining business-focused
Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Analytics, Business Administration, or related field
Experience: Minimum 7 years of professional experience in business intelligence, data analytics, or related roles with at least 5 years focused on Power BI
Leadership experience: At least 3 years in supervisory or leadership capacity managing BI teams or leading enterprise BI initiatives
Proven track record: Demonstrated success building BI platforms, dashboards, or analytics capabilities that drove measurable business outcomes
Advanced Power BI skills: Expert-level DAX, data modeling, and Power BI administration; able to solve complex technical challenges and mentor others
Federated BI experience: Experience establishing BI standards, governance, and enablement models that allow distributed teams to build dashboards

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree: Master's degree in Data Analytics, Business Intelligence, or MBA with analytics focus
Certifications: PL-300 (Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst), DA-100 (legacy), or other Microsoft data/analytics certifications
Education sector experience: Direct experience building dashboards for K-12 education, higher education, or education technology companies
Multi-state/multi-region: Experience supporting BI needs across geographically distributed organizations with semi-autonomous operations
Semantic layer implementation: Hands-on experience implementing semantic layers using dbt, Power BI composite models, or enterprise BI platforms
Additional tools: Experience with Posit/Shiny, Tableau, Looker, or embedded analytics platforms for multi-tool BI environments

Responsibilities

Define and execute IDEA's multi-year BI strategy balancing centralized governance with federated development across states and departments and supporting legacy reports while new reporting is developed
Establish Power BI Center of Excellence (CoE) providing templates, standards, training, and support that enable self-service BI
Own and govern the semantic layer, ensuring implementation by Analytics Engineering aligns with approved metric definitions, certification standards, and executive reporting requirements across all BI tools.
Partner with MD of Data Platform & Engineering to ensure BI platform architecture supports current needs and scales for future growth
Define BI roadmap prioritizing high-impact dashboards that drive student outcomes, operational efficiency, and strategic decision-making
Build federated BI operating model where domain teams (state-level data teams, academic departments, operations) develop their own dashboards within enterprise guardrails
Create governance framework for federated BI including certification tiers (certified enterprise reports vs. team reports vs. personal reports), review processes, and quality gates
Develop comprehensive BI standards covering data modeling, DAX best practices, visualization design, performance optimization, and security/row-level security
Provide "BI platform as a service" where domain teams get reusable datasets, semantic layer access, templates, and technical consulting
Certify semantic definitions implemented by Analytics Engineering and ensure only approved, documented metrics are deployed in enterprise and executive reporting.
Implement monitoring and usage analytics to understand dashboard adoption, identify unused reports, and optimize BI investment
Own the semantic layer defining consistent business metrics (enrollment, attendance, persistence, assessment scores, staff retention) used across all BI tools
Partner with Director of Data Governance to ensure semantic layer aligns with business glossary and approved data definitions
Collaborate with MD of Data Science & Analytics to bridge operational reporting (BI) and advanced analytics (R/Posit) through shared metrics layer
Define requirements for core enterprise data models and partner with Analytics Engineering to ensure implementations support BI performance, usability, and certified metric definitions.
Establish metric certification process ensuring all enterprise reports use approved calculations with clear documentation and ownership
Build metrics catalog documenting formulas, business rules, data sources, and appropriate use cases for each metric
Provide hands-on technical leadership for highest-priority enterprise dashboards when needed (BOY readiness, district ratings, matriculation) in partnership with BI analysts
Implement DataOps practices for BI including version control (Git/Azure DevOps), CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and deployment rings
Define and enforce quality standards including peer review, user acceptance testing, performance benchmarking, and post-launch monitoring
Manage dashboard lifecycle from requirements gathering through launch, adoption tracking, iteration, and eventual retirement
Balance stakeholder requests against team capacity and strategic priorities, managing expectations through transparent communication
With multiple BI analysts, maintain player-coach approach providing technical guidance while enabling team to own delivery
Serve as primary BI point of contact for stakeholders seeking data insights or new dashboard capabilities
Translate business questions into BI requirements and guide stakeholders on most appropriate visualization and delivery methods
Facilitate showcases demonstrating BI capabilities and celebrating data-driven wins across states
Partner with Director of Research & Evaluation to ensure operational dashboards complement research studies without duplication
Evaluate emerging BI technologies and capabilities (AI-powered insights, natural language query, embedded analytics) for potential adoption
Establish BI metrics and KPIs tracking dashboard adoption, user satisfaction, time-to-insight, and business impact
Conduct regular retrospectives and user feedback sessions to improve BI processes, templates, and platform capabilities
Build and maintain BI technical debt backlog addressing performance issues, deprecated features, and technical upgrades