Research Analyst and Program Assistant

If you have any questions about the position or our application process, reach out to us at recruiting-u.Department Institutional Research

Job Description Are you curious, analytical, and excited by the power of data to tell a story?

Join Smith College's Institutional Research team and gain real-world experience at the intersection of research, data science, and higher education.

Well-suited for emerging professionals while also welcoming candidates with relevant experience, this role provides opportunities to contribute to survey research, data analysis, visualization, reporting, and accreditation projects that inform strategic decision-making across the college.

Job Summary Support Smith's IR and accreditation teams through data analysis, survey administration, report preparation, project tracking, and reporting of institutional statistics, along with limited administrative support. Collaborate with IR's technical and analytic teams to analyze data and prepare reports. Manage survey processes, prepare research reports for presentation and distribution, maintain and provide appropriate access to information about institutional statistics to internal and external constituencies including guidebooks, grant reports, accreditation, and media inquiries.

Maintain IR website and provide administrative support as needed.

Take appropriate actions to support a diverse workforce and participate in the College's efforts to create a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming work environment.

Essential Functions Institutional Research, Assessment, and Accreditation Support (50%):
Coordinate and respond to external surveys, ad-hoc, and routine queries about college facts and statistics. Find, retrieve, and process information from public higher education and internal data sources. Manage survey data collection processes, including incentive payments and data collection timelines. Provision Qualtrics survey system users, and provide technical support for user provisioning issues. Work as a part of the IR team on diverse projects, including reaccreditation.

Research Analyst (40%):
Under the direction of senior IR team members, conduct research design and analysis, including the development of automated systems to process structured data collected from administrative records, surveys, and other means. Clean, combine, restructure, and aggregate data from multiple sources to support research objectives and provide clear, accurate tables, data visualizations, reports, and slide decks.

Administrative Support (10%):
Process invoices, maintain records, and track expenditures for the IR office. Proofread and number-check reports, enter data, prepare documents for publication and presentation. Maintain website documents to ensure that information is up-to-date. Develop and maintain organization of documents, including IRB and NDA records; implement document retention policy. Maintain IR project list including tracking timelines and confirming deliverables for IR team.

MINIMUM REQUIRED Qualifications (education, experience, certifications, licenses, knowledge, skills)
Bachelor's Degree and 1-5 years' experience in social science or educational research, analytic, statistical, or data-related work. Hands-on experience gained during undergraduate or graduate education may be included.

Knowledge of data wrangling, data presentation, and research methods. Advanced knowledge of G-Suite and MS Office, including graphing, document formatting, and data management capabilities. Demonstrated track record as a proactive learner.

Skills Excellent attention to detail, strong organizational, writing, and data visualization skills; comfort with quantitative data. Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines independently. Demonstrated track record as a proactive learner. Excellent communication skills, including visual, verbal, and written communication.

Preferred Qualifications Knowledge of Institutional research or other higher education data analytics. Knowledge of Tableau, R, Qualtrics.

Statistical analysis, R programming, Tableau data visualization, Qualtrics system use and administration.

Compensation In addition to a competitive…