Senior Institutional Analytics Specialist

Radford University•Radford, VA

3d•$85,000 - $100,000•Remote

About The Position

Radford University is modernizing its institutional data and analytics environment to support sustainable, scalable, and data-informed practices aligned with the university's strategic goals. The Senior Institutional Analytics Specialist is the university's primary institutional data and reporting specialist, supporting institutional research, analytics, reporting, compliance, and data governance. Reporting to the Director of Institutional Research & Analytics, the Specialist develops and maintains institutional reporting resources, analytical datasets, business rules, dashboards, and reporting methodologies that support decision-making across the university. The position works closely with Information Technology and campus stakeholders to ensure institutional data are accurate, accessible, well-documented, and effectively used in support of strategic planning, student success, accreditation, operational effectiveness, and regulatory reporting. It promotes data governance, reporting consistency, business continuity, and organizational resilience through documentation, cross-training, shared ownership of reporting knowledge, and reduced reliance on individual personnel for critical reporting functions. The position is based at Radford University's main campus in Radford City and offers the possibility of fully remote work. Remote employees must be available to travel to campus as needed for required in-person activities. The position is 40 hours per week, year-round, with a normal Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. schedule. Salary is $85,000 to $100,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Requirements

Master's degree in statistics, social sciences, business analytics, information systems, data analytics, or a closely related field; or a bachelor's degree combined with substantial directly related professional experience.
Demonstrated experience analyzing, interpreting, and communicating complex data and analytical findings to technical and non-technical audiences.
Experience developing reports, dashboards, analyses, data visualizations, or decision-support resources that inform organizational planning, operations, and decision-making.
Advanced SQL proficiency, including writing, optimizing, troubleshooting, and maintaining complex queries for data extraction, transformation, and reporting.
Knowledge of data management principles, data quality practices, relational databases, reporting methodologies, and institutional metrics.
Ability to establish collaborative relationships across technical and functional units and manage multiple priorities in a complex organizational environment.
Experience translating business needs and stakeholder questions into analytical solutions, reports, dashboards, and actionable recommendations.
Strong written, verbal, and presentation communication skills, including the ability to explain complex analytical concepts to diverse audiences.
Experience supporting external reporting requirements and associated data validation processes, including federal, state, accreditation, or other accountability reporting.
Experience working with enterprise administrative systems such as Ellucian Banner or comparable student, financial, or human resource information systems.
Commitment to data stewardship, documentation, knowledge sharing, and sustainable business processes that promote data quality, organizational continuity, and continuity of mission-critical functions.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in an office of institutional research or another higher education analytics office.
Experience with Ellucian Banner and higher education reporting requirements, including IPEDS, SCHEV, Common Data Set, accreditation, or related accountability reporting.
Experience collaborating with Information Technology and functional business units to develop reporting solutions, improve data quality, and support institutional decision-making.
Experience supporting implementation, adoption, or use of enterprise analytics and reporting platforms such as Edify, K16 Solutions, Power BI, Tableau, or comparable technologies.
Experience conducting advanced analytics, including trend analyses, forecasting, benchmarking, predictive modeling, or related methodologies.
Experience developing data governance resources such as data dictionaries, business rule documentation, reporting standards, or other resources promoting consistency and shared understanding of institutional data.

Responsibilities

Promote the accuracy, consistency, accessibility, and effective use of institutional data across the university.
Collaborate with Information Technology and functional offices to establish and maintain institutional data definitions, business rules, reporting methodologies, and data standards.
Identify data quality issues and work with campus partners to resolve discrepancies; participate in data governance initiatives and promote data stewardship, data literacy, and reporting consistency.
Develop and maintain analytical resources, SQL queries, reporting views, analytical datasets, reporting logic, dashboards, visualizations, and other reporting resources.
Work with Information Technology to reflect institutional reporting requirements in enterprise data resources and reporting environments, validate enterprise data resources, and improve automation, efficiency, accessibility, and analytical capabilities.
Conduct recurring and ad hoc analyses of enrollment, retention, graduation, student success, academic performance, and operational data to support institutional planning and decision-making.
Develop visualizations, trend analyses, forecasts, projections, and performance indicators; support strategic planning, accreditation, institutional effectiveness, and student success initiatives.
Communicate analytical findings to technical and non-technical audiences and assist with developing and maintaining institutional key performance indicators.
Support institutional compliance and external reporting, including maintaining expertise in IPEDS, SCHEV, Common Data Set, Gainful Employment/STATS, and other reporting requirements.
Coordinate external reporting data collection, validation, and quality assurance; maintain reporting calendars, procedures, and documentation; review data before submission and monitor regulatory changes.
Maintain comprehensive documentation for reporting processes, analytical datasets, calculations, business rules, and institutional metrics, and ensure critical processes are transferable and regularly reviewed.
Support cross-training, backup coverage, and knowledge transfer within Institutional Research and in collaboration with Information Technology.
Consult with stakeholders about reporting methodologies, institutional metrics, and available data; help offices define reporting and analytical needs.
Foster collaboration across divisions and functional areas, represent Institutional Research on committees and working groups, participate in professional development, and perform other duties as assigned.