Through management of the Research & Insights group at ASA, the Director is responsible for enabling the team to act as partners to ASA’s key stakeholders, with oversight of a holistic research and analytics plan that:

• Measures the impact of ASA and key partner-provided efforts through rigorous qualitative and quantitative research, and data analytics.
• Drives ASA innovation of new products and services through voice of the teen research and insights communities, existing product and program data, and advanced data analytics strategies.
• Uncovers data that supports advocacy, philanthropy and thought leadership efforts to expanded career education and future planning opportunities, and supports ASA’s position as an expert on Gen Z.

In order to successfully deliver on this learning and measurement agenda, the Director works closely with senior leadership to build and execute on a research and data strategy. The Director is also responsible for:

• Creating and executing on a coordinated rollout of insights sharing, KPI and outcomes dashboard reporting, to drive a high performing, engaged culture for the organization.
• Developing and expanding a data management and analytics team that can support ASA's digital assets. This includes leading ongoing efforts with 3rd party consultants, internal stakeholders (marketing, partnerships, ISD, Legal) and external partners to manage the operations, governance and enhanced capabilities ASA's data warehouse and analytics.
• Developing and managing new internal research to establish ASA as a thought leader with insights into our key demographics
• Developing and managing external research done on ASA’s behalf by consultants or partners including oversee all aspects of contracted research, including defining project scopes, selecting contractors, and managing deliverables.

Essential Functions:

• Develop an annual research agenda using platforms and methodologies optimized for high-quality, cost-effective voice-of-the-teen and their influencers
• Design and implement research projects that deliver impactful insights on career readiness education and our target audience
• Develop and optimize best-in-class tools and processes for managing our analytics pipelines, data warehouse, and data visualization efforts
• Provide exploratory data analysis and research work to help advocacy and thought leadership teams create content that is useful to the field
• Develop methods for measuring the impact of ASA grantees, ASA Impact Investing and ASA internal work (digital, advocacy, and thought leadership)
• Lead and mentor a high-performing Research & Insights team, including the Segal Research Fellow
• Some travel required

Experience:

• 8-10+ years of experience in a research-focused role using a mix qualitative and quantitative primary research and secondary research, ideally within the education sector or related fields.
• Experience leading and mentoring a research or business intelligence/data analytics team.
• Demonstrated experience in managing comprehensive research projects.
• Experience in presenting actionable insights and implications to senior and executive-level audiences.
• Experience in education, workforce readiness, or grant evaluation preferred.
• Qualitative research design and execution including moderation and discussion facilitation.
• Experience with statistical analysis and modelling, SQL, and Cloud-Based Warehouses.
• Experience creating a data governance strategy is preferred.
• Strong proactive and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Experience working within a design thinking methodology.

Education:

• An advanced degree (PhD) in statistical analysis, impact measurement, behavioral sciences, educational outcomes, etc. is required

Skills:

• Self-motivated, and pro-active project management within an agile environment.
• Outstanding collaboration skills, working across the organization at all levels.
• Management and development of teams and direct reports including professional development, performance reporting, goal setting and tracking, etc.
• Quantitative and qualitative research design and methodologies for segmentation, driver analytics, brand equity, user journey research, product optimization (e.g., conjoint analysis, etc.), impact measurement and experimental design (e.g., pre- and post-testing)
• Data visualization and storytelling to facilitate strategic business decision-making
• Business intelligence tools like MS Excel, DOMO, Power BI, Google Analytics, Tableau, Alteryx, etc.
• Experience working with learning data, data architecture and platforms like Snowflake, Sharepoint Analytics, SumTotal, etc.
• Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills
• Skilled at public speaking and presenting data