Director of Data & Information Management

UP Partnership•San Antonio, TX

3h•Hybrid

About The Position

UP Partnership brings school districts, higher education institutions, community-based organizations, government agencies and funders around the Future Ready Plan. The Data function builds shared evidence about progress and outcomes so UP and its partners can understand what is working, for whom and where action needs to change. The Director of Data & Information Management leads that function. The Director sets its direction and operating approach, decides how resources are used, builds capability across the team and connects Data to UP's wider work. This is a build role, responsible for strengthening shared measurement across early childhood, K-12, postsecondary and workforce; creating a dependable core of data products; and helping partners turn evidence into action. During the Research and Evaluation function's build-out, the Director may commission and manage externally delivered work and will continue to provide the data and measures that evaluation requires.

Requirements

Seven or more years of progressively responsible experience in education data, institutional research, accountability, shared measurement, information management, research and evaluation or a related field.
A master's degree in a related field, or equivalent experience, is required.
At least three years supervising staff, managing external providers or leading complex cross-organizational work.
Direct experience with school district student data and with district or campus leaders responsible for research, accountability, technology, counseling, student support or executive decision-making.
Strong knowledge of K-12 measures and data processes related to attendance, course performance, assessment, discipline, graduation, college and career readiness and postsecondary transitions.
Experience building or managing shared measurement systems, dashboards, scorecards or comparable data products across multiple organizations.
Experience managing protected or confidential information, data-sharing agreements, data-quality processes and responsible data-use requirements.
Demonstrated ability to facilitate cross-sector groups, build agreement among partners with different priorities and translate data into decisions and action.
Excellent written, verbal, presentation, facilitation, project management and data-storytelling skills.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of Texas public education data and reporting, including PEIMS or TSDS, TEA accountability, STAAR, CCMR, graduation and postsecondary readiness measures.
Experience working within a school district research, accountability, data, technology, counseling or student support department.
Experience in a collective impact, backbone, intermediary or regional partnership environment.
Experience spanning early childhood, K-12, higher education, workforce or community systems.
Experience with continuous improvement methods in a partnership setting.
Experience with advanced Excel, Tableau, Power BI, Salesforce, SQL, R, Stata, Alteryx or comparable tools.
Doctoral degree in a related field.

Responsibilities

Set the direction for the shared measurement system, including the indicators, definitions and targets partners hold in common and the process for agreeing changes.
Maintain a data partnership roadmap showing which institutions have agreements with UP Partnership, what each agreement covers, where coverage needs to grow and the milestones for doing so.
Steward the longitudinal outcomes data set across early childhood, K-12, postsecondary and workforce, including its definitions, documentation and refresh cadence.
Oversee the collection, validation, analysis and interpretation of student-level and aggregate data, including attendance, course performance, assessment, discipline, graduation, college and career readiness and postsecondary transitions.
Establish shared definitions, data dictionaries, submission requirements, quality standards and timelines with partners, and communicate limitations that affect interpretation or comparability.
Build effective working relationships with district research, accountability, technology, counseling, student support and leadership teams, and align the work to their reporting calendars and operating realities.
Set the approach and standards for consistent data collection and a core set of data products that internal teams and partners can rely on.
Own the lifecycle of dashboards, scorecards, community reports and other partner- or public-facing data products.
Set functional requirements, quality assurance standards, testing processes and user feedback practices for products delivered by staff, contractors and vendors.
Ensure data products are accurate, accessible, actionable, sustainable and designed with equity and user experience in mind.
Set the standard for how evidence is communicated through reports, briefs, visualizations and partner conversations so it informs priorities, investment and collective action, including what changed and for whom.
Lead recurring data-to-action and continuous improvement cycles in which partners review results, examine root causes and system conditions, agree next steps and monitor whether they worked.
Ensure quantitative and qualitative analyses use sound methods and appropriate statistical, data management and visualization tools.
Disaggregate findings by race, ethnicity, income and geography and report community-level results alongside program measures.
Integrate youth, family, practitioner and partner perspectives into data interpretation when appropriate.
Build data literacy across UP Partnership and present community-wide results to staff, partners, funders and public audiences.
Own data governance standards for quality, documentation, access, security, retention, sharing and responsible use.
Lead the development, negotiation, implementation and monitoring of data-sharing agreements with school districts, higher education institutions, community organizations, workforce agencies and public entities.
Ensure compliance with FERPA and other applicable privacy and confidentiality requirements, including HIPAA when relevant, and communicate expectations to staff, contractors and partners.
Oversee secure data transfer, role-based access, quality assurance, documentation and continuity practices for protected and confidential information.
Coordinate with organizational leadership, legal counsel, technology vendors and external experts to identify and address data privacy, quality and security risks.
Supply the outcomes and KPI data used in funder and grant reporting to an agreed reporting calendar, with definitions, sources and limitations attached. Development owns grant reporting and Finance owns financial reporting.
During the Research and Evaluation function's build-out, commission and manage externally delivered work and ensure its quality. Continue to provide the data and measures that evaluation requires after the function is established.
Identify partner data-capacity needs and secure external support to address them rather than providing that support directly.
Own the data agenda and evidence base for the Future Ready Data Council and related groups, and follow through on data commitments. External Partnerships owns convening.
Set the Data function's direction, priorities, operating approach and timelines.
Decide how the function's people, budget, grant-funded work and external providers are used. Escalate choices that affect other functions or shared commitments to the Managing Director or Chief.
Create clarity and accountability across staff, peers, contractors and partners. Set standards, develop the team and secure the contributions the function depends on.
Resolve ambiguous functional problems involving delivery, partner relationships, data quality, privacy, cost or reputation.
Set functional requirements for data infrastructure and work with Operations and Systems, which owns technology and enterprise systems.
Hold accountability for the function's performance, capacity, resources and contribution to UP and shared Future Ready outcomes. Maintain the processes and documentation needed for quality and continuity.