Senior Research Associate, Survey - Higher Education Team

Hanover Research

19h • $53,800 - $65,000 • Remote

About The Position

The Senior Research Associate works with Research and Content Directors and other analysts on survey research projects for colleges, universities, and related organizations. The role designs and refines survey instruments, programs them in Qualtrics, analyzes results, and creates clear narratives and visual outputs to help clients make decisions about higher education needs. Projects may address brand awareness and perception, prospective student and program demand, stakeholder satisfaction, alumni outcomes and engagement, and tuition sensitivity.

This role offers the opportunity to develop market research skills and take on increasing responsibility in a fast-growing enterprise. The position reports directly to the Director of Higher Education Survey and is based remotely in the USA.

Requirements

• Strong written English and demonstrated ability to write, edit, and quality-assure survey instruments and analytical outputs.
• Advanced proficiency in Qualtrics survey programming, including complex logic and troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing survey data and translating findings into clear visual and written outputs for applied research audiences.
• Ability to use AI-enabled tools responsibly and judge the accuracy, quality, and appropriateness of AI-generated content.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality work in a deadline-driven, fast-paced research environment.
• High attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and consistent adherence to standards and documentation.
• Ability to accept feedback constructively and iterate efficiently within standardized workflows.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and ability to collaborate across research and client-facing teams.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with higher education research contexts, such as institutional research, assessment, enrollment, student experience, alumni, or employer studies, is strongly preferred.
• A bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in Economics, Business, Psychology, Education, Sociology, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related discipline is preferred.
• Professional or academic experience conducting research or survey design and analysis is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design and refine higher education survey instruments that translate client research objectives into analytically sound, decision-oriented data.
• Write clear, unbiased, logically structured survey questions aligned with higher education research best practices.
• Program standard and complex surveys in Qualtrics, including advanced skip logic, quotas, piping, and embedded data, while meeting survey-document and quality-control standards.
• Apply data quality controls throughout the survey lifecycle, including screening logic, attention checks, speed flags, and open-ended response review.
• Use AI-enabled tools thoughtfully to improve research workflows, and independently review and validate their outputs.
• Manage multiple survey projects under tight deadlines, following standardized templates and workflows and producing work that requires minimal revision.
• Analyze survey data using established analytical plans, including segmentation logic, cross-tabulation, and descriptive statistics.
• Produce clear, accurate charts, tables, and summaries for higher education decision-making and standardized deliverables.
• Collaborate with Research Directors and Content Directors to align survey design, analysis, and reporting.
• Contribute to process improvement by adopting tools, templates, and analytical approaches that increase project efficiency and consistency.

Benefits

• Starting at 18+ days of paid time off
• 14 paid holidays, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, Indigenous People’s Day, and personal holidays
• 401(k) employer matching program
• Comprehensive health and dental benefits package
• Health and wellness packages with discounts to local gyms
• Community service opportunities
• In-office snacks and beverages

What This Job Offers

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