Data and Decision Analyst

Position Description

The Data and Decision Analyst serves as a quantitative and technical analyst within the Division of Strategy and Effectiveness. Reporting directly to the Associate Director of Strategic and Data Analysis, this role performs hands-on data collection, statistical modeling, dashboard development, and analytical reporting to inform institutional decision-making and strategic initiatives.

In addition to core analytics, this position plays a pivotal operational function in divisional process automation and optimization, identifying manual workflows across systems and leveraging data pipelines, scripts, and automation tools to streamline division-wide initiatives.

Through a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Director of Institutional Effectiveness, the analyst also directly supports key assessment, accreditation, and institutional performance monitoring processes.

• Stakeholder Consultation:
  Partner with academic and administrative stakeholders to clarify decision questions, define metrics and data requirements, identify appropriate data sources,and translate analytical findings into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Data Extraction & Integration:
  Extract, clean,integrate, and analyze complex datasets across enterprise systemsto support strategic decision-making.
• Visualization & Dashboard Development:
  Build,deploy, and maintain interactive business intelligence dashboard sand data visualization tools for divisional and institutional leadership.
• Predictive Analytics & Tracking:
  Conduct trend,cohort, longitudinal-outcomes, comparative, and predictive analyses of institutional, IPEDS, and other external higher-education datato identify patterns, benchmark performance, and inform decisions related to student enrollment, retention, academic performance,post-graduation outcomes, and institutional efficiency.
• Briefings & Reporting:
  Assist the Associate Director in preparing analytical briefs, data presentations, and executive summaries for strategic initiative teams.

• Workflow Automation:
  Identify, design, and implement automated workflows, scripts, and scheduled data feeds to reduce manual data manipulation across divisional initiatives.
• Process Optimization:
  Audit recurring data collection and reporting tasks across the division to standardize metrics and establish automated, repeatable processes.

• Assessment & Plan Tracking:
  Support the Director of Institutional Effectiveness in gathering, structuring, and analyzing data related to assessing institutional programs,priorities, strategies, and strategic plan KPIs.
• Automated Unit Reviews:
  Assist in developing automated data templates and digital survey tools that support administrative unit planning and review.
• Continuous Improvement:
  Process and evaluate qualitative and quantitative data and metrics to support mission-driven continuous institutional improvement.

• Data & Process Governance:
  Maintain rigorous standards for data accuracy, consistency, documentation,confidentiality, and compliance with FERPA and institutional data-governance policies across assigned projects and initiatives.
• Institutional Research Alignment:
  Collaborate with the Institutional Research team to cross-verify metrics and data toensure alignment and accuracy in reporting.

• Stay current on developing trends in higher education analytics, IR, and emerging technologies.
• Serve on institutional committees as requested.
• Attend University meetings and events as required.
• Embody Eastern University’s vision, mission, and core values…