Executive Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness

Job Description

PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT REVIEW APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED THROUGH MASSCAREERS. PLEASE APPLY VIA THE LINK BELOW:

https://necc.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=196270

About Northern Essex Community College:

THE COLLEGE: Northern Essex Community College (NECC) serves about 5,000 credit students each semester on two campuses located in the beautiful, historic Merrimack Valley region of northeast Massachusetts. Our suburban Haverhill campus sits on 106 acres near Kenoza Lake and features a Technology Center and an award-winning Student One-Stop Center. Our urban campus in Lawrence occupies a number of buildings in the heart of downtown. Most recently, we have constructed a new 44,000 square foot health technologies facility, the Dr. Ibrahim El-Hefni Allied Health & Technology Center. Both campuses are a short drive to Boston and to the beaches and state parks along the coast.

The College has been building an organizational culture that values initiative and innovation, and seeks to identify and develop the strengths in students, faculty, staff, and programs in order to grow and improve. NECC is also committed to using evidence to guide planning and decision-making. These values are reflected in the use of Appreciative Inquiry for strategic planning and accreditation; in our investment in strengths-based, institution-wide professional development; and in our ten-year involvement as a Leader College in Achieving the Dream, a national network of community colleges dedicated to using data to close student achievement gaps.

We are also committed to the recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. With over 40% Hispanic students, NECC was the first federally recognized Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in New England.

We seek leaders who are committed to the community college mission, actively engaged in promoting diversity, and prepared to use their unique strengths and innovation with the goal of student success.

Job Description:

POSITION: Full-Time Executive Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness (Executive Director): Institutional Research and Effectiveness; Haverhill Campus;; 37.5 hours per week; Non-Unit Professional Position.

SUMMARY: The Executive Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness manages a team of four, the college's reporting and data analytics portfolio, a suite of technology systems, and is the owner of the college's Data Governance initiative. The Executive Director also provides institution-wide leadership for accreditation coordination, strategic data use, and the responsible adoption of emerging technologies in support of informed decision-making and continuous improvement. Additionally, the Executive Director ensures ongoing institutional assessment and guides the implementation and evolution of the college's strategic plan. This position reports to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement and serves on the Leadership Cabinet.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

Data Strategy, Emerging Technologies, and Accreditation:

• Demonstrate strong data curiosity and analytical leadership by proactively exploring institutional data, asking critical questions, identifying trends and gaps, and uncovering opportunities for assessment, improvement, and innovation beyond standard reporting requirements.
• Provide strategic leadership for the responsible and effective use of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies on the staff and administrative side of the college, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, data analysis, planning, and institutional effectiveness.
• Partner with college leaders to take an entrepreneurial yet pragmatic approach to AI adoption, including piloting tools, evaluating impact, and scaling practices that demonstrably enhance institutional operations while remaining aligned with institutional values, ethics, and compliance expectations.
• Serve as the central coordinator for the college's work related to New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) accreditation, operating within a hub-and-spoke model that brings together content experts across the institution to ensure timely, accurate, and well-integrated reports, narratives, and evidence.
• Act as both project manager and data lead for NECHE-related efforts, aligning institutional data, assessment results, and strategic priorities with accreditation standards and reporting requirements.

Manage Institutional Effectiveness Strategy, Team, and Deliverables:

• Manage IE Team workflow, deadlines, and requests from stakeholders (internal and external).
• Provide leadership, coaching, and professional development for the Institutional Effectiveness team to ensure high-quality, timely, and impactful work.
• Serve as principal project manager and determine prioritization for Data Governance.
• Collaborate with college-wide stakeholders to improve processes with data and assessment.
• Serve as subject matter expert (SME) for the college's data portfolio and relevant projects happening in sector-specific areas.
• Lead strategic work with Achieving the Dream (ATD).
• Collaborate with college-wide stakeholders on annual Community Impact Report.
• Lead all qualitative research conducted by IE Office.
• Represent the IE on college committees and working groups, and with external partners to ensure data needs are considered as new initiatives develop, and that once collected data is accessible, comprehensible, and actionable to those groups (e.g., DHE Data Council, Non-Credit HEIRS team).
• Assist Grants Development Office in ensuring effective data reporting for sponsor requirements.
• Provide leadership to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process

Ensure Ongoing and Effective Assessment:

• Lead the college's progress towards building a culture of assessment and informed improvement by establishing baseline and progressive metrics related to ongoing and developing initiatives, built on a deep understanding of best practices for assessment at all levels within the institution.
• Create data-driven, institution-wide assessment practices to support accreditation and continuous improvement at the institution, division, and program levels.
• Collaborate with each area of the college to establish processes for using data to measure progress towards strategic goals and implementing changes to ensure continued growth.
• Create a system for monitoring the effects of policy change based on student- and institution-level data.

Support Ongoing Implementation of Strategic Plan:

• Collaborate with directors and deans across the college to promote and ensure ongoing use of strategic planner, strategic planning rubric, and overall prioritization of strategic goals.
• Oversee strategic work with campus stakeholders on development of goals and metrics as well planning tools that inform budgets, evaluations, etc.
• Measure progress toward strategic goals and provide leadership for subsequent strategic planning processes.

Qualifications

PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT REVIEW APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED THROUGH MASSCAREERS. PLEASE APPLY VIA THE LINK BELOW:

https://necc.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=196270

Requirements:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as information systems, statistics, mathematics, data analytics, business, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible professional experience, including at least five years in institutional research, analytics, assessment, or a closely related function, with demonstrated experience leading teams or complex portfolios.
• Demonstrated leadership experience overseeing professional staff and managing multiple, concurrent priorities in a complex organizational environment.
• Working knowledge of application implementations, upgrades, or major system enhancements.
• Strong understanding of enterprise systems and data ecosystems (e.g., ERP, CRM, CMS) and the ability to guide effective use of tools and platforms within an institutional research and effectiveness context.
• Understanding of data management and data governance and its relationship across all campus constituencies.
• Demonstrated experience supporting institutional planning, assessment, or accreditation-related work through data, analysis, and coordinated reporting.
• Excellent skills in telling a data story in a concise and effective fashion for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to problem-solve using appropriate statistical and analytical methodologies.
• Willingness and ability to investigate, learn, and initiate new processes, technologies, and analytical tools.
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically about data?asking meaningful questions, identifying patterns and gaps, and translating analysis into actionable insights for institutional improvement.
• Proven ability to build consensus and work effectively within cross-functional teams for the purpose of planning and execution.
• Propensity to meet tight deadlines regularly and manage work across overlapping timelines.
• Ability to learn new systems quickly and effectively.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with ethnically, culturally, and socially diverse populations in a multi-campus environment.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree in a related field.
• Direct experience leading or significantly supporting strategic planning processes, including development, implementation, assessment, and transition to a subsequent planning cycle.
• Experience serving in a leadership role related to accreditation (e.g., NECHE), including coordination of evidence, narratives, timelines, and cross-functional contributors.
• Experience with Modern Campus Lifelong Learning (fka Destiny One), Navigate, and Banner.
• Experience with a data warehouse and/or business intelligence system(s).
• Experience providing technical or systems-level guidance to maximize the effective use of data platforms, dashboards, and analytics tools within an institutional research or effectiveness office.
• Experience with ZogoTech Data Warehouse.
• Experience implementing or advancing data governance strategies.
• Experience building customer lifecycle models or longitudinal student outcomes frameworks.
• Experience developing data frameworks to capture drivers of student, employee, or customer experience.
• Experience piloting, evaluating, or scaling emerging technologies (including AI-enabled tools) in administrative or planning contexts.
• Bilingual (Spanish/English).
• Experience working with and supporting a culturally diverse population.

EQUIVALENCY STATEMENT: Applicants who do not meet the qualifications as noted above are encouraged to put in writing precisely how their background and experience has prepared them with the equivalent combination of education, training, and experience required for the responsibilities of this position.

BACKGROUND CHECK: Candidates will be required to pass a CORI and SORI check as a condition of employment.

Additional Information:

SALARY: Anticipated starting salary range is $125,000.00 - $131,000.00 annually with complete fringe benefit package including competitive health insurance, dental insurance, basic life insurance, long-term disability insurance, paid sick, vacation and personal leave, educational benefits for employee/spouse/dependents, and excellent retirement benefits. Official transcripts will be required at the time of hire.

ANTICIPATED START DATE: ASAP

Application Instructions:

TO APPLY: To be considered for this position click on the "Apply Now" button, you will be prompted to set up a new account or login to an existing account. You will be able to upload the following required documents for consideration:

• Cover Letter, describing your qualifications and/or how you may be best suited for the role
• Resume/CV

Review of applications will begin 5 business days from the posting date and will continue until the position is filled.

**Please note that finalist candidates will be asked to provide contact information for three (3) professional references, including current supervisor (or at least two previous supervisors)

DEADLINE: Open until filled

Northern Essex Community College is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran or military status, genetic information, gender identity, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statues and college policies. The College prohibits sexual harassment, including sexual violence. Inquiries or complaints concerning discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or sexual violence shall be referred to the College's Affirmative Action Officer/Title IX Coordinator, Elizabete Trelegan (Assistant Director of Human Resources, B-219,978-556-3928/ etrelegan@necc.mass.edu), the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission or the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. Northern Essex Community College will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

Prospective employees are encouraged to review the College's Annual Security Report (ASR), in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, which can be found on the disclosure page of the College's website at: http://www.necc.mass.edu/clery

Client-provided location(s): Haverhill, MA

Job ID: Commonwealth_of_Massachusetts-2600006S

Employment Type: FULL_TIME

Posted: 2026-01-10T18:34:57