Manager, Quantitative Research & Data Analytics | Research, Data, & Impact Team

Good Reason Houston•Houston, TX

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager, Quantitative Research & Data Analytics works with Good Reason Houston’s Research, Data, and Impact team to ensure the organization’s efforts are informed by rigorous data analysis and to share insights that advance its impact. The Manager helps execute the organization-wide research agenda set by the Director by identifying research questions and data collection methods, conducting analyses, and communicating findings to varied audiences. This hands-on role builds and manages data systems and may develop staff capacity to use them. The team codes in R, manages code in GitHub, is moving data from shared drives to a SQL database, and is transitioning dashboards from Tableau to R Shiny. The role reports to the Director, Quantitative Research & Data Analytics. The position leads research and analysis, data storytelling, data management and partner relationships, and people management. It designs and conducts quantitative and mixed-methods research, develops reusable and documented code, builds and maintains dashboards and other data products, supports the team’s SQL database, manages data requests and district data relationships, and mentors an Associate, Data Analytics. Good Reason Houston is an education-focused regional backbone organization working with public school systems and community partners to improve student outcomes and advance economic mobility. The organization partners with 25 public school systems serving 700,000 students across 900 public schools in the Houston region. This is an exempt, office-based position. Virtual work is allowed on Mondays and Fridays. The starting salary is $82,000 annually, with the final salary depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field; equivalent combinations of relevant education and experience will be considered.
At least 4 years of professional experience in quantitative research or data analytics.
Prior experience independently leading quantitative research and data analytics projects.
Demonstrated project management experience.
Strong proficiency coding in R for data cleaning, analysis, and visualization.
Experience with version control such as GitHub and writing documented, reproducible code.
Experience with data analysis or statistical software such as R, SPSS, Alteryx, or Stata.
Experience with Texas public education data (TAPR, PEIMS, STAAR) or comparable state education data.
Working knowledge of FERPA and masking small counts in public reporting.
Familiarity with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Canva.
Ability to produce quality work under tight deadlines and to translate complex data outputs into meaningful insights.
Sound judgment in using AI tools: verify outputs, understand and explain the work and approach, and hold managed staff to the same standard.
Ability to receive feedback openly and adapt quickly to changing information.
Strong data visualization, relationship management, written communication, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize and accurately present analytics to varied audiences.
Extremely strong organization skills and attention to detail.
Experience working in an organization or team that requires flexibility, responsiveness, and comfort with ambiguity.

Nice To Haves

An advanced degree in a relevant field.
Experience with SQL or relational databases.
Experience with data visualization software such as Tableau; R Shiny experience is a plus.
Experience with THECB, TWC, National Student Clearinghouse, or student-level data.

Responsibilities

Support development and execution of the organization-wide research agenda, drawing from questions across programmatic areas.
Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to develop research questions and data collection instruments.
Design methodologically sound analytic plans and conduct analyses in R, including descriptive, regression, cohort, and longitudinal methods as appropriate.
Partner with the Qualitative Research & Insights team on mixed-methods studies, joint analysis plans, and integrated findings.
Conduct recurring and ad hoc quantitative analyses aligned with organizational impact, strategic priorities, and external affairs objectives.
Write reusable, documented R scripts and functions, maintain them in GitHub, and ensure published numbers can be traced to their source code.
Use existing data sources, including large administrative datasets, to answer secondary research questions.
Carry out new research projects aligned with Good Reason Houston’s mission and vision.
Develop, maintain, and share expertise in public state and national education data, including Texas Education Agency data and relevant higher education and workforce sources.
Support research using student-level longitudinal data through the Texas Education Research Center, including proposal preparation, IRB submissions, analysis, and compliance with output review requirements.
Develop and facilitate data trainings and workshops, provide coaching, and consult with internal teams on research questions.
Create visualizations, dashboards, presentations, blogs, memos, and reports that communicate analytical insights to varied audiences.
Own dashboards and recurring data products from determining user needs through building, maintaining, and deploying them in Tableau and R Shiny.
Present findings internally and externally and help staff and partners understand methods, interpret results, and apply findings.
Collaborate on reports, annual reports, grant reports, funder updates, presentations, and other external communications.
Help design, document, and maintain the team’s SQL database, including table structure, naming conventions, data dictionary, refreshes, user access, schedules, and backups.
Establish and perform quality-control checks for data and analyses; review the Associate’s work and code before release and submit own code and methods for Director review.
Manage internal and external data requests, including Public Information Reports from the Texas Education Agency, districts, and nonprofit organizations.
Manage day-to-day district data relationships, draft data-sharing agreements for Director review, and oversee appropriate data selection, transfer, storage, and destruction.
Apply FERPA understanding and review tables, charts, and dashboards against data-masking rules before sharing.
Maintain project plans and communicate contingencies and changes to timelines and deliverables to internal and external partners.
Lead and mentor an Associate, Data Analytics, including coaching, performance feedback, evaluations, career planning, workload prioritization, onboarding, and training.
Promote methodological rigor, best practices, and an inclusive, collaborative team culture through mentorship and peer review.
Perform other duties as assigned.