Research/Data Analyst (Research Development and Philanthropy)

The Specialist, Research and Data Analytics works with Clearinghouse stakeholders to expand the usage of Clearinghouse data for educational research purposes. As a member of Education Solutions, the Specialist, Research and Data Analytics contributes to research on student enrollment, movement, and other important student outcomes using student-level data provided exclusively to the Clearinghouse by our nationwide network of postsecondary institutions. These reports are to benefit and better inform the educational community, policymakers, community leaders, and others.

Currently, this position is 100% telework, however, as our company starts to return to our new normal, a hybrid work pattern, this position may be required to periodically work on-site at our office and the frequency would depend on the department/division's requirements. Therefore, candidates must either reside within a reasonable distance to commute to our office, or be willing to travel to our office in Herndon, VA when required.

How You Contribute:

• Core Competencies include: Customer Focus, Optimizes Work Processes, Collaborates, Communicates

Customer Focus:

• Extract and manipulate large data sets for analysis to meet the client's needs.
• Assist in requirements gathering and client relationship management.

Collaborates:

• Provide timely communication, coordination, and collaboration on overlapping projects/assignments and deadlines and across departments, especially with the communications and marketing units.

Communicates Effectively:

• Assist with writing literature reviews, maintaining data warehouse documentation, and responding to information requests from internal and external stakeholders.

Be Open and Authentic:

• Demonstrate openness to new perspectives and ideas.
• Build trust with internal and external stakeholders by demonstrating consistency between words and actions.

Position may be required to perform other duties as required. These essential functions are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the job. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

What You Bring to the Table:

• Master’s degree in education, Information/Data Science, Social Sciences, Statistics, or related field; Or a Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of two years of relevant research experience. A combination of education and experience, including through military service will be considered.
• Proficiency with a combination of some of the following (typically acquired by 2-3 years of directly related work experience and experience working on relevant school projects):
  • Conducting quantitative research projects,
  • Manipulating and analyzing large-scale data,
  • Administering quality assurance control checks,
  • Writing research findings.
• Experience with SAS programming or other command line driven programming (Python, R, STATA, SPLUS, or SPSS Syntax).
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and the demonstrated ability to communicate technical terms to a diverse audience.
• Excellent attention to detail, time management and analytical skills.
• Team player and the demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively on a team.
• Demonstrates the Clearinghouse’s core competencies: customer focus, optimizes work processes, communicates effectively, collaborates, and is open and authentic.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and other collaboration tools.
• Familiarity with Tableau or other data visualization software, or the ability and willingness to learn it.
• Live within a commutable distance of Herndon, VA, Pittsburgh, PA or may be performed remotely from any of the following states: AL, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, IL, KY, ME, MD, NV, NJ, NM, NC, NY, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA, WV, WY.

Additional Desired Requirements:

• Strong research planning and project management skills with the demonstrated ability to conceptualize research ideas and develop implementation plans to complete work timely.
• Professional experience in conducting quantitative research that focus on postsecondary education access and success.
• Experience with large database, data warehouse and working with large SAS databases.
• Familiarity with national and state data sources in secondary and postsecondary education.

Physical Demands:

• Use of a computer for 8 or more hours a day.
• Use of a copy machine and telephone.
• Frequently required to sit for 7 or more hours per day in close proximity to others in an open office environment.
• Occasionally required to use hands and fingers to operate, handle, and reach.
• Vision abilities include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.
• Travel via car, train, or airplane, when needed for training or professional development (up to 10%)

Benefits and Related Information

The National Student Clearinghouse provides a robust benefit program designed to help meet the needs of each employee and their family, both now and in the future. We offer comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as life and disability insurance benefits, for employees and their qualified dependents. Health care, dependent care, and limited purpose flexible spending accounts, as well as a health savings account, are options available for employees to set aside pre-taxed dollars for certain qualifying expenses. We offer a very generous 401k matching contribution program with the opportunity to defer pre-tax and Roth contributions, as well as catch-up contributions for those who are eligible! We are proud to offer a competitive paid leave program consisting of vacation, sick, and personal time, as well as paid holidays. Vacation time will accrue based on length of service, and new full-time hires can accrue up to 13 days of vacation and up to 10 days of sick time per year. On an annual basis, new employees may use up to 32 hours of accrued sick time as personal time. Additionally, the Clearinghouse observes at least 11 paid holidays per year.

Another perk is that employees have the option to get reimbursed for basic wholesale company and roadside assistance memberships (e.g., Costco and AAA) and to request a buy back on portions of unused accrued vacation based on tenure and certain other qualifications. Employees can further their education and professional development by using our Employee Education Assistance Program, which establishes reimbursement for qualified education expenses upon successful completion of the program, and leveraging the enterprise-wide LinkedIn Learning subscription. There are additional employee benefits, to find out more, please request a copy of our complete benefit package!

We reasonably believe that the salary range for this position is between $53,700 to $70K.