Senior Manager, Strategic Analytics

When you join Sallie Mae, you become a champion for all students.

We’re on a mission to power confidence as students begin their unique journey. To help them plan their higher education, successfully finish, and prepare for life after school. To help them Start smart. Learn big.

Students need guidance navigating this important time in their life. They need someone who acknowledges that their education path is unique. They need a partner willing to evolve and not only meet but surpass their expectations. We’re changing. Because students need a better way.

We’re looking for people who are excited to drive this transformation. To break barriers and think of new ways to adapt, help, and create better experiences for students—and for each other.

This is where diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives matter. It’s where you’re empowered to bring your authentic self to work.

Feeling your best allows you to do your best. Our benefits take care of the whole you—from physical and mental to financial and professional. You’ll get opportunities to further your education and career, support for you and your family (including your pets!), paid time off to volunteer for the things that matter to you, and more.

We’re obsessed with impact and making a real difference. For us, that means putting relationships first, asking “why not?” when tackling challenges, and continuously learning new skills.

Come do more than join something, change something. For students, for future generations, for the future of education.

What You'll Contribute

As the Senior Manager, Strategic Analytics, you will lead our analytics team, driving data-driven decision-making and providing valuable insights to support business strategies. You will be responsible for managing and executing analytics projects, collaborating with stakeholders, and overseeing the development and implementation of analytics solutions.

What You'll Do

• Lead and manage a team of analysts, providing guidance, coaching, and professional development opportunities.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and senior leadership to understand business objectives, identify analytical needs, and translate them into analytical projects.
• Design and execute analytics initiatives, including data collection, analysis, modeling, and visualization, to extract actionable insights.
• Develop and implement analytical models, algorithms, and methodologies to solve complex business problems.
• Provide strategic guidance on data-driven decision-making, utilizing advanced analytics techniques and tools.
• Collaborate with IT and data engineering teams to ensure data quality, integrity, and accessibility for analytics purposes.
• Present findings, recommendations, and insights to stakeholders in a clear and concise manner, adapting communication to different audiences.
• Stay up-to-date with industry trends and best practices in analytics, and identify opportunities to leverage emerging technologies or methodologies.
• Manage and prioritize multiple analytics projects, ensuring deadlines are met and resources are allocated effectively.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, promoting the use of analytics to drive innovation and operational efficiency.
   

The above information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this job; it is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees in this role.
 

What you have

Minimum education, skills and experience required.

• Strong experience with SQL, Python, R, or other programming languages commonly used in analytics.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing analytical frameworks and developing KPIs.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage projects and deliver high-quality analytics outputs.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex data in a clear and concise manner to stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
• Strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across departments and functions.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or similar.

Preferred education, skills, and experience.

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in mathematics, statistics, economics, computer science, or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in analytics, with at least 3 years of experience managing a team of analysts.
   

The Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination by employers, in c