Executive Director of Institutional Research

Nevada System of Higher Education

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) invites applications and nominations for the position of Executive Director of Institutional Research. This is a renewable, full-time, non-tenured, administrative position and reports to the Vice Chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs. The position may be physically located in either Las Vegas or Reno, Nevada.

The NSHE is comprised of eight institutions: three universities, four community colleges and a research institute. The public system of higher education in Nevada continues to experience growth with significant opportunities in serving over 105,000 students and 15,000 employees.

The position provides strategic direction for the Institutional Research department and serves as the bridge between NSHE's data capacity and the leaders who depend on it. The position exists to ensure that NSHE leadership, the Board of Regents, and state policymakers have accurate, timely, and well-interpreted data to inform policy and decision-making.

Within NSHE, the position leads implementation of data initiatives tied to the Success by Design strategic plan and represents the system in cross-agency and national data initiatives.

Requirements

• A Master's degree from an institution accredited by a federally recognized accrediting body in a relevant field (such as data science, statistics, education, public policy, or information systems)
• five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in institutional research, data analytics, or a closely related field, including supervisory experience
• hands-on experience with SQL and relational databases
• an extensive understanding of data associated with secondary education

Nice To Haves

• experience in a higher education system office
• experience with statewide longitudinal data systems
• experience with Oracle, Tableau, and web technologies such as PHP, HTML/CSS, and JavaScript

Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of data initiatives tied directly to the Nevada System of Higher Education’s (NSHE) Success by Design strategic plan, including tracking equity, access, completion, and workforce goals through data-informed metrics and systemwide reporting.
• Direct the complete data lifecycle for informed decision-making, setting priorities and standards for design, collection, analysis, reporting, and timely distribution of accurate data.
• Engage with and respond to the needs of NSHE leadership, the Board of Regents, and state legislators, helping them understand what data is available and how it can be utilized to inform policy and decision-making.
• Serve as an expert resource during legislative sessions and Board of Regents meetings, providing testimony, briefings, and policy analysis grounded in institutional data.
• Identify and pursue external funding opportunities, and serve as the data and research capacity supporting institutional grant applications.
• Represent NSHE in regional and national data and research networks to align systemwide practice with emerging standards.
• Supervise departmental staff as positions are established and filled, including coordinating cross-training and workload across the department.
• Develop succession and continuity plans ensuring departmental knowledge and critical functions survive staff transitions.
• Manage budgets for externally funded data projects, including tracking expenditures and preparing invoices and supporting documentation for funding partners.
• Direct training, onboarding, and technical support for institutional research staff across NSHE to build capacity and ensure consistency in reporting practices.
• Update report content as trends and needs change, determining necessary inclusions and available data, and building institutional consensus.
• Support the integration of new systemwide tools and visualizations aligned with strategic plan metrics and Board reporting priorities.
• Manage and oversee comprehensive analysis and reporting for institutional needs, including enrollment trends, remedial programs, diversity initiatives, faculty workload, and other research requests.
• Interpret complex data using diverse techniques, ranging from fundamental descriptive statistical analysis to advanced data mining methodologies.
• Oversee the exchange of data for the Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) with the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) and the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), serve as the designated committee representative as defined in Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 400, and direct longitudinal reporting for secondary and postsecondary decision-makers.
• Provide essential support to Academic and Student Affairs (ASA) and Budget and Finance departments, directing the fulfillment of data requests.
• Ensure production of all reporting mandated by Board policy or regulatory guidelines.
• Negotiate, execute, and maintain data-sharing agreements and memoranda of understanding with state agencies, institutions, and research partners.
• Serve as the accountable authority for student data privacy, ensuring compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and applicable state statutes across all data exchanges and releases.
• Ensure data integrity and uphold reporting standards through data security protocols and regular audits of key data elements.
• Establish data validation rules, data definitions, and collection standards in collaboration with institutions.
• Oversee data quality across all NSHE institutional reporting, directing resolution of systemic data issues.
• Serve as the department’s representative to external data partners and governance bodies.
• Administer the NSHE student data warehouse: perform audits to ensure data quality and integrity, work with institutions to resolve data issues, define and onboard new data elements in the templates used to collect data, and manage the load of data to the warehouse.
• Manage the institution file submission portal, including validation, notification, and user feedback criteria as well as back-end data processing and storage.
• Develop, implement, and manage the full Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) lifecycle for IPEDS data and other data sources as needed.
• Generate data extracts and perform validation checks for the taxonomy audit.
• Maintain the Institutional Research website, including code, applications, and associated databases, as well as the CCN and APIS content management systems and databases.
• Develop, maintain, and update Tableau dashboards and other interactive applications, and convert static data reports to dynamic applications.
• Research, design, document, and modify reports, queries, and applications; collect, extract, compile, and report data from sources including NSHE data warehouses (Oracle), NPWR and SLDS tables, PeopleSoft, IPEDS, National Student Clearinghouse, U.S. Census, state workforce and state demographer data, and P-12 data.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Health Insurance: includes health, dental, vision, and life insurance.
• employer paid long term disability plan
• Outstanding Retirement Plan: professional employees are required to participate in the 401(a) Retirement Plan Alternative (RPA).
• Employee contributions of 19.25% are matched 100% by the employer and employees experience an immediate vesting in the plan.
• Employees who currently or previously participated in Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) of Nevada may be eligible to continue in the PERS plan.
• Paid Leave: generous annual leave (accrual of 2 days per month), sick leave (granted 30 days at time of hire), 12 paid holidays, and paid family leave.
• Education Benefit: employees and their qualified dependents may take advantage of a tuition savings benefit.
• Faculty may take up to six credits per semester at a reduced rate and their dependents may access an unlimited number of credits, if they meet specific criteria.
• Additional Perks: Employee assistance programs and professional development opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive